A same-sex couple who recently married on the island have expressed their joy, thanking Bermuda for giving them a positive experience.

In a social media post, Bryce Whayman and Roland Maertens wrote that they were warmly welcomed, despite the often heated debate about marriage equality on the island.

Mr Whayman wrote: “Roland and I had an amazing time in Bermuda, we felt the love from everyone, complete strangers were approaching us in the grocery stores, restaurants, shops, and tourist attractions offering their congratulations. “It was amazing to see and feel! We were presented with gifts (blows my mind!) from anonymous shopkeepers and I recall each and every one of these special moments and the people.

“My father was amazed too, he was pulled aside by restaurateurs who wanted to tell him how good this is for business and Bermuda as a whole. Humanity coming together giving support. Beautiful!”

The couple particularly praised Wahoo’s Bistro, Ascots, Café Acoreano, the Village Pantry, Rock Island Coffee, Island Life, the Bermuda National Museum and Fort St Catherine’s for their kindness and generosity.

Based on their experience, he wrote that it appeared that those speaking out against same-sex marriage appeared to be the vocal minority.

“Bermuda can really turn it on when it needs to but in our case, it was more heartfelt and genuine,” he wrote. “The politicians need to drop the marriage equality showdown and focus on building Bermuda. It’s in dire need of some love right now.”

Kevin Dallas, the CEO of the BTA, commented on the post, writing: “That’s great to hear! It speaks to Bermuda’s legendary spirit of hospitality — we welcome all visitors — and to some of our service providers’ desire to serve a lucrative market segment.”