Demonstrators travel from across Scotland to make the case for same-sex marriage at parliament.

An exuberant crowd attempted to woo First Minister Alex Salmond with a Valentine’s Day card reading, “Roses are white, thistles are blue, we believe in equal marriage and we hope the Scottish Government will too,” carried by campaigners at the Love Equally March in Edinburgh on Tuesday 14 February.

More than 1,000 equal marriage supporters from across the country gathered in Bristo Square before marching down George IV Bridge and the Royal Mile to finish with a rally outside the Scottish Parliament.

The march was organised in support of the Equal Marriage campaign, following the Scottish Government’s public consultation on equal marriage rights that ran between September and December 2011.

Initial analysis suggests that over 50 thousand responses were received, of which at least 24 thousand respondents supported same-sex marriage.

Full analysis of the results is as yet incomplete, but publication is expected in March this year. The Scottish Government will also decide whether or not to legalise same-sex marriage during the spring.

The high turnout included student groups from universities in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling and Aberdeen, as well as representatives from Amnesty International Edinburgh, the Equality Network, Stonewall Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland, NUS Scotland and the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Several high-profile supporters of equal marriage spoke at the Holyrood rally, including the Scottish Youth Parliament chairman Grant Costello, the Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP Marco Biagi, the co-leader of the Scottish Green Party Patrick Harvie and Marilyn Jackson of the Humanist Society of Scotland.

Many present wore fancy dress and carried homemade banners, balloons and placards, chanting and singing “All you need is love.”

The official Scottish Youth Parliament event page on Facebook called for attendees to “show the love and positive vision for marriage by wearing wedding attire, bringing banners and balloons,” and numerous participants gladly obliged.

Katie Cunningham, a member of the University of Edinburgh Amnesty International group, explained that 12 group members had joined the march to show support for equal marriage because “it’s a human rights issue.”

She praised the “diverse selection of support” for the introduction of same-sex marriage in Scotland, as demonstrated by the diversity of supporters present at the event. For many attendees of course, this was a matter of huge personal import.

Among the official banners and placards of organisations such as Amnesty International and representatives of the Unitarian Church, were hand-made calls for equality and declarations of love.

Gemma Riddell and Josefine Björkqvist had travelled from Aberdeen to take part in the march. They carried banners announcing their engagement, stating that they would “much rather have a marriage, a proper marriage, instead of any sort of civil partnership, that seems to be the only option we have at the moment.”

There was a sense of triumph at the turn-out and positive atmosphere.

At the rally, the crowd clapped and cheered each speaker as they spoke of the successful event and hope for the future.

Marco Biagi of the SNP commented that the march had been a “fantastic success, we’ve seen a thousand people marching through the city centre in support of equal marriage. “It’s more than anyone could have hoped for. It’s an amazing turnout, a show of support.”

Biagi also spoke optimistically about the likelihood of the Scottish Government legalising same-sex marriage. “I’m entirely confident...We will see by the end of this term, marriage equality will have been passed…I have no doubt about that, I make this prediction now.

“In a few years down the line from now, people will look back and wonder that it had to be fought over quite so hard.”