North’s gay couples beat the rush to tie the knot

GAY couples in Northern Ireland will be among the first in the United Kingdom to formally tie the knot today.

Andre Graham, 44, and Seamus Sweeney, 33, are expected to be among the first to register their union after applying for a licence to "marry" in their Belfast bar.

While the Civil Partnership Act enables same-sex couples to obtain legal recognition of their relationship, granting them new rights in areas such as employment, pension and inheritance, the partnerships are not officially regarded as gay marriages.

The act came into effect a fortnight ago, but only couples in Northern Ireland and Scotland are entitled to benefit today.

In England and Wales, the first such ceremonies are expected on Wednesday, when an estimated 700 couples are expected to formalise their partnerships.

Pop star Sir Elton John and his long-term partner David Furnish will be among those enjoying a civil partnership ceremony, when they wed at the 17th century Windsor Guildhall in Berkshire, the same venue as the marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles last April.

The first same-sex couple in Scotland is expected to be Californians John Maguire and Laurence Scott-Mackay who will "marry" at the India Buildings Register office in Edinburgh at 9.15am today.

Aberdeen councillors Neil Fletcher and John Stewart will wed just under an hour later at King's College, Aberdeen University, followed by a champagne reception at nearby Elphinstone Hall.

A total of 687 civil partnerships are due to be formed on Wednesday, according to Britain's General Register Office. The registration authority expecting the most civil partnerships is the City of Westminster, with 20 male couples.

In Hampshire, there will be 18 civil partnership ceremonies eight male couples and eight female with 17 in Hammersmith & Fulham and 15 each in Brighton & Hove, Hertfordshire and West Sussex.

Other areas expecting large numbers of civil partnerships include Cornwall, Richmond in south London and Suffolk (14 each), Devon, Kent and Worcestershire (12 each), Oxfordshire (11) and Essex, Kensington & Chelsea and Warwickshire (10 each).