Those plans are now on hold, with the possibility conscience vote in federal parliament bringing same-sex marriage closer to reality for thousands of Australian couples.

For 54-year-old Mr Zurvas, who lived through the criminalisation of homosexuality in Queensland and remembers Sydney's first Mardi Gras, it's hard to believe the country could be on the cusp of such a milestone.

"We went through the whole 70s and 80s being put in jail for having sex in our own homes. So the prospect of being able to get married is pretty impressive," he says.

Mr Zurvas and Mr Blewitt met in 2003 underneath the jukebox at Oxford Street's Stonewall Hotel. "It was more or less love at first sight," recalls Mr Zurvas, who had been "going through an 'I hate men' stage" at the time.

Mr Blewitt, 37, did not have strong opinions about marriage equality when the couple first met, but was eventually convinced to view it as a right.

"Alan just opened my eyes up...why can't we?" he said.

Mr Zurvas proposed on Christmas Day last year and the couple have been scouting out dates and locations in New Zealand, which legalised same-sex marriage in 2013. But they ideally want to marry in Sydney, so the wedding can be attended by their family and friends. Mr Blewitt will be the last of his brothers to get married.

"It seems a shame that we can't celebrate our love in the same way," Mr Zurvas says.

"Matt's stepmum is pestering us daily to see if we've actually made any arrangements and of course we haven't."

Mr Zurvas is wary of jumping the gun on the likely conscience vote, and recalls that the federal government disallowed the ACT's same-sex marriage laws - a decision upheld by the High Court. But he said he would be happy to see politicians come together for a co-sponsored motion, as Mr Abbott has suggested.

"The issue is bigger than any one particular political party and it's certainly bigger than any one person," he says. "What we want is equality."