Two men marry just after midnight in one of the first gay marriages in England.
Andrew wale and Neil Allard were one of the first couples to marry as a new law, legalising gay marriage came into effect at midnight.
It was thought Brighton would be home to the official first marriage as they signed their marriage certificate in the same hall making it was closer than the ones in London.
The pair won a competition to wed in Brighton’s Pavilion; they met seven years ago on a bench in the grounds so this seems perfect and had only 6 weeks to plan their wedding.
The happy couple arrived together in a black Mercedes awash in light from the flashes of cameras and were met with hollering from the photographers.
The ceremony was a tranquil and classy event, set in the 200 year old music room, John Legend’s “all of you” played, with a live band performing “here comes the sun” as they strutted down the aisle together.
Registrar Trevor Love said it was the highlight of his career but was noticeably nervous, forgetting Allards name and slipping up a few times, much to the rooms delight.
The other two couples that wed in London on the same day wore matching outfits, but not for our Brighton boys, they suited up in complimentary Dark Grey and Silver attire.
The small number of guests arrived before them, all of whom were banned from drinking whilst the press were present in case they said anything scandalous.
The excitement and pride was tangible before the ceremony and positively electric afterwards. As they left on foot at around one am they were greeted by cheers from hundreds of members of the public, all visibly bubbling over with pride. One young man even shook their hands, telling of how inspired he was by them.
The couple held a press conference the following day at 11am, so no honeymoon for these guys.
Following the ceremony, a special message from communities minister Baroness Stowell of Beeston MBE was read out, sending everyone that wasn’t already dabbing their eyes diving for the tissues.
The difference between Marriage and civil partnership–
- Those who back equal marriage say using a different word indicates that society attaches less importance to civil partnerships.
- Living abroad Travel restrictions apply to civil partners but not married couples. Countries like Sweden, Argentina and Portugal, where same-sex marriage is legal, do not see civil partnerships as marriage. UK civil partners living abroad do not enjoy the same rights as same-sex married couples
- The marriages of foreign gay couples who travel to the UK are not legally viewed as marriages.
- Gender is written into the structure of UK marriage law. This means if a married trans person would like to get a Gender Recognition Certificate as part of living in their preferred gender, they must divorce and reapply for civil partnership.
- Official forms such as the UK census require a declaration of marital status. This often means that civilly partnered people are forced to state their sexuality, ticking a separate box that says ‘civil partnership’ rather than ‘marriage’.
- Opposite sex couples can’t get a civil partnership
- A civil partnership doesn’t have to be consummated
- Adultery is not a valid reason to end a partnership
- No vows need to be said during the ceremony
Headlines&Heroes 