Thursday’s historic decision in federal parliament to finally legalise same-sex marriage was, hopefully, a defining moment for our nation.

It was a moment when not only the people of Australia stood up to say they supported marriage equality but also the lawmakers.

While the celebrations did not match the outpouring of joy that followed the release of the same-sex marriage postal survey results last month, the parliament’s decision meant we woke on Friday to a different Australia – a better Australia.

We are now living in an Australia that no longer pretends to value equality while simultaneously denying the most basic form of equality.

We are now living in an Australia where young men and women struggling to understand their own identity and sexuality no longer need to feel ignored by their own government.

And we are now living in an Australia that has recognised the time for talk is over and has taken real steps to right a wrong of the past.

We congratulate everyone who supported this push for overdue equality, but we congratulate most strongly those couples who have waited for this chance to marry and have those unions recognised as the equal of every other marriage in Australia.

One Bathurst couple who did not have to wait for Thursday’s decision was Ben Mann and Aimee Garland, but they could not have timed their engagement more beautifully.

The Bathurst West Public School teachers became engaged in front of a whole-school assembly on Friday morning after Ben had carefully planned and executed a brilliant surprise.

The Western Advocate was honoured to be invited along to share the special moment and to be given the chance to share it with our readers.

We jumped at the chance to be there, because there can never be too much love in our world.

The next step, then, will be to finally abandon the terms same-sex marriage and traditional marriage.

If Australia can now accept that marriage is the union of two loving adults then there should soon be no need to differentiate between the two.

One day it will just be marriage, and that will something else to celebrate.

What a wonderful world.