Same-sex marriages legal from midnight tonight in England and Wales

Same sex couples will be able to marry in England and Wales from the stroke of midnight tonight.

A number of couples are vying to have the first same-sex marriange in Britain, by saying their vows just seconds after the new law comes into force at midnight.

The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act came into force in July last year, and couples were able to register their intention to marry under the Act from March 13.

While whoever says the words “I do” first thing tomorrow morning can claim the title of first gay couple to be wed in the UK, other couples who previously married abroad have already had their unions recognised.

On March 13 law in England and Wales changed to recognise same-sex marriages performed overseas.

Sue Wilkinson, 60, and Celia Kitzinger, 57, married in Canada in 2003 and fought for eight years to have their union recognised in Britain.

They took their fight to the High Court in 2006, when a judge refused to make a declaration that their marriage was valid in this country.

But, due to the change in the law, their marriage became legally binding at one minute past midnight on March 13.

One man who will wed his partner tomorrow said he could only dream that same sex marriages would happen during his lifetime.

Louis Monaco will wed his partner Aarron Erbas at 10am on Saturday morning.

The 46-year-old is originally from New Jersey in the US but now lives in Angel, north London with Mr Erbas, 23.

The pair will tie the knot at Islington Town Hall. They will then celebrate with a reception at a north London pub where they met a year and a half ago.

“We’re very excited, we have family coming from New Jersey and California,” said Mr Monaco, a clinical psychologist.

“We’re going to the Town Hall and we’ll have a ceremony there and after we’ll be going to a pub where we met.

“Aarron is so excited, he proposed to me. Once I told him we were able to get this date he had the invitations and the reception venue picked out by that night.

“We wanted to do it for different reasons. I am older and I didn’t think this would happen during my lifetime anywhere in the world. For Aarron, he’s younger and he only came out last year. It is historic and we thought: ’yes, let’s do it’.”

Islington Town Hall will also host a wedding tonight, with the vows to be exchanged as soon as the clock strikes 12.

Peter McGraith and David Cabreza, who have been together for 17 years, said they wanted to wed as soon as the marriage laws changed.

Mr McGraith said: “We are thrilled to be getting married. It is a mark of significant social progress in the UK that the legal distinction between gay and straight relationships has been removed.

“Very few countries afford their gay and lesbian citizens equal marriage rights and we believe that this change in law will bring hope and strength to gay men and lesbians in Nigeria, Uganda, Russia, India and elsewhere, who lack basic equality and are being criminalised for their sexual orientation.”

Vying for the title of first same-sex couple to marry in Britain will be Brighton couple Andrew Wale and Neil Allard. The pair will wed in Brighton’s famous Royal Pavilion.

Five same sex couples will be married in Brighton on the first day that the Act comes into force.

Meanwhile, broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and her civil partner Debbie Toksvig will renew their vows at a public event at the Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank in London on Saturday morning.

Gay rights campaigners have rejoiced at the move saying Saturday will be a “momentous day”.

Ruth Hunt, acting chief executive of gay rights charity Stonewall, said: “Saturday is a momentous day for England and Wales, as the first same-sex marriages mark full legal equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

“The first weddings will send a powerful message to every person in Britain and around the world that you can live and love as you choose, regardless of your sexual orientation.”

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, who will attend the McGraith Cabreza wedding tonight, said: “Peter and David are personal friends and long-time gay rights campaigners. I am delighted to be their witness on this historic day.

“Their marriage is a celebration for them and for the whole lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. It marks the end of the ban on same-sex marriage and is another hugely significant milestone in the quest for lesbian and gay equality.

“The legalisation of same-sex marriage ends the last major legal discrimination against gay people in England and Wales. Scotland will follow later this year. Sadly, Northern Ireland remains a bastion of homophobia.

“Same-sex marriage is an unstoppable global trend because love and commitment are universal human traits, regardless of sexual orientation or nationality. No ignorance or prejudice can hold back the triumph of love.”

Rainbow flags will be hung all over the country to celebrate the occasion.

Britain's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said a multi-coloured flag – adopted as a symbol of the gay community in 1970s San Francisco – will be flown above the Cabinet Office and Scotland Office from today.