John-Furnish Wedding

Our sincere congrats to the lucky couple. May they live long and prosper...

--ryan



Sir Elton 'Wedding' Takes Place
Sir Elton John and David Furnish's civil partnership ceremony has taken place at the Guildhall in Windsor.

The singer, 58, emerged with his partner, 43, to pose for photos and wave to hundreds of well-wishers.

Arm-in-arm, they blew kisses at the throng and accepted gifts before leaving in a black Rolls-Royce.

The ceremony - to be followed by a party at the singer's nearby mansion - came on the first day same-sex unions become legal in England and Wales.

Sir Elton and Mr Furnish are among 700 gay couples joining in a civil partnership on Wednesday.

Similar ceremonies took place first in Northern Ireland on Monday, then in Scotland on Tuesday.

The couples will be granted new rights in areas such as employment, pension and inheritance. But the partnerships are not officially regarded as marriages under UK law.

The couple arrived seven minutes early for the 1100 GMT service in a black saloon car with tinted windows.

They were preceded by a small number of guests, including the British video artist Sam Taylor-Wood.

Ms Taylor-Wood - who arrived with Jay Joplin, owner of the White Cube Gallery in London - entered the Guildhall with Arthur, Mr Furnish's black-and-white dog, on a lead.

After the service the happy couple were showered with rice on the steps of the Guildhall. Two young women managed to break through the police cordon to present them with an apple ice-cream cake.

Asked how the ceremony went, Sir Elton said: "Great, thanks."

"It was a very emotional service," Ms Taylor-Wood told the BBC News website.

"Everyone clapped, and of course they kissed at the end," added Mr Joplin.

Actor Sir Antony Sher is also celebrating after he and his long-term partner, theatre director Greg Doran, had their own civil partnership ceremony at Islington Town Hall in north London.

"It's wonderful," Sir Antony said. "It's a little bit of history being made.

"I feel very proud this is happening in this country and that we can be part of the very first group to have it done," he continued.

"It means an enormous amount to be legal together after 18 and a half years."


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/4546670.stm

Published: 2005/12/21 13:19:24 GMT

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