The first same sex marriage to take place at 30,000 feet is happening today – on an Air New Zealand domestic flight.

The ceremony, which will be attended by Modern Family actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson, is taking place in recognition of the legalisation of same sex marriage in New Zealand.

The couple getting hitched at 30,000 feet won an Air New Zealand contest to have their ceremony in the air.

Today is the first day of the Marriage Amendment Act coming into force.

Australian couple Trent Kandler and Paul McCarthy (pictured) won a competition by Tourism New Zealand to be among the first to take advantage of the new laws.

The search for the first Aussie same sex couple to wed in New Zealand was developed by Eleven PR with a Facebook campaign and partnership with The Star Observer.

“We wanted to give Australians the chance to be part of history and make it possible for one Australian same sex couple to become the first to marry in New Zealand,” said Tim Burgess, Tourism New Zealand’s general manager for Australia.