The first gay marriage in Britain has taken place in Northern Ireland. Shannon Sickles and Grainne Close exchanged vows at Belfast City Hall. There was a 15 day waiting period for couples wishing to go ahead with the ceremony after the Civil Partnership Act became law on the fifth of December.

The new law means homosexual relationships are legally recognised for the first time and provides gay and lesbian couples with similar rights to heterosexual couples. But not everyone agrees. Reverend David McIlveen of the Free Presbytarian Church was among a few dozen protestors outside City Hall. “Now we find ourselves in the even more tragic position to stage the first ever sodomite wedding,” he said. Hundreds of couples nationwide are expected to go ahead with the ceremony before the end of the year.

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