42 Unforgettable Moments From The UK's First Same-Sex Wedding
Same-sex marriage ceremonies became possible in England and Wales from 29 March, so Peter McGraith and David Cabreza decided to get married at the stroke of midnight. History has been made.
1.This is Peter McGraith and David Cabreza. They were one of the first same-sex couples to get married in the U.K.
2.And they decided to invite everyone along to celebrate.
3.Supporters of equal marriage started to turn up outside Islington Town Hall from 10pm to celebrate David and Peter's landmark ceremony.
4.Media from all over the world (and from just down the road) turned up to record the historic occasion.
5.And then just after 11pm the couple who were getting married popped out to say hello to the crowd.
6.Peter (left) and David have been together for 17 years and helped fight for same-sex marriage to be made legal.
7.Peter asked for global solidarity: "If every country offered its gay and lesbian people marriage then this would be a much more progressive, safe world. Right now things are going backwards in some countries. We want to say that things can move forwards.”
8.And said this was not the end of the U.K.'s gay equality movement. "We are part of a global community. While we are happy to have won all these little victories it's far from over. We don't want to give the impression that it's all done and dusted."
9.Just 40 minutes before their wedding the couple took the time to speak to a member of the crowd who was concerned about the anti-LGBT laws passed by Uganda's President Museveni.
10.Then gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell popped out to put a marriage equality sign outside the town hall.
11.He has been fighting for equal marriage in the U.K. since the early 1990s.
12.Tatchell is an old friend of Peter and David and was an official witness to their marriage.
13.Tatchell claimed to BuzzFeed that same-sex marriage was only explicitly made illegal in the U.K. in 1971. "Before that time there was no prohibition. So the ban has only lasted 43 years. And at last it's gone."
14.Meanwhile, inside the council chamber the couple are preparing for a private ceremony.
15.By 11.30pm there were around a hundred people outside the town hall. This woman turned up for a pretty straightforward reason.
16.And this man was happy that he could now enjoy the same rights as straight people.
17.This woman said she had been involved in the fight for marriage equality since the start. She had a picture on her phone from 1993 of her in a group called the "Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence".
18.This person was just happy that there were no more barriers to people in love getting married.
19.Or to put it another way...
20.These two just reckoned equal marriage will make everyone happier.
21.See, it works!
22.As it approached midnight the crowd get increasingly excited. And then a man leant out of a window and started pumping the air. Obviously.
23.Inside the building Peter and David's ceremony was almost finished. It had been timed to end on the stroke of midnight, so they could say their vows at the moment the law came into effect.
24.And it all fell into place perfectly.
25.In anticipation the crowd began to, er, 'sing' the tune of "Here Comes The Bride".
