In the end, the ceremony was a fizzer. Fourteen long months after the same-sex marriage plebiscite first emerged from its Coalition party room cocoon, it passed the House of Representatives with barely a whimper or cheer.
Maybe that's because, from every indication, the bill that could finally see marriage equality become reality in Australia is destined for doom in the Senate, where the Turnbull government does not control the numbers.
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Liberal MP's emotional journey
Staunch marriage equality advocate Warren Entsch has all but conceded defeat, changing his mind to support the plebiscite, over a free vote.
Around lunchtime on Thursday, while eyes were mostly on the final Hillary Clinton versus Donald Trump debate, Leader of the House Christopher Pyne opted to gag debate on the plebiscite and bring on the vote, which passed 76 to 67.
Warren Entsch, a veteran gay rights advocate in the Coalition, abandoned his usual backbench seat for a spot in the front row. Gay Liberal MP Tim Wilson, a plebiscite sceptic-turned-enthusiast, sat next to Queensland's maverick Bob Katter, who voted with the government.
Independent Andrew Wilkie and the Nick Xenophon Team's Rebekah Sharkie joined with Labor to oppose the public vote. The Greens' Adam Bandt, also a staunch opponent, was absent on paternity leave.
But for a bill with such a tortured past, that has at times threatened to rip apart the Coalition, there was little celebration in seeing it finally notch up a success. When all was said and done, MPs filed quietly out of the chamber with scarcely a hug or a handshake.
Nor was there outrage on the Labor side, which has spent months railing against the plebiscite as a gigantic waste of money and a harbinger of mental harm, anguish and even suicide.
On the expected numbers, the plebiscite will not pass the Senate. Labor has committed to blocking it, along with the Greens and the Nick Xenophon trio (and the Liberal Party's own Dean Smith, who has vowed to at least abstain). If nothing changes, that will be enough to kill it off.
Despite the sense of doom, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull remains publicly optimistic of finding a way through.
"I don't know what the final numbers will be in the Senate and you know something: my experience is that nobody knows until the votes are counted," he said this week.
"I can assure you, we'll be engaging with all of the crossbench to pass it and continue to seek to persuade [Bill] Shorten to support it."
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