Northern Ireland witnesses its first same-sex marriage
The couple
Robyn Peoples, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, tied the knot in an afternoon ceremony in a hotel in Carrickfergus, near Belfast, after the new legislation came into effect on Monday.
A landmark moment
The legal change followed campaigning by Amnesty International and partner organisations in the "Love Equality" coalition, which hailed it as "a landmark moment for equality in Northern Ireland".
"Living the dream"
"We are literally living the dream, it's incredible," Edwards, a waitress from Brighton on the British mainland, told the domestic Press Association news agency shortly after the service. "We didn't expect to be the first couple, it's coincidental."
A hard-fought victory
Her new wife, Peoples, a senior care worker from Belfast, added: "We fought so long and hard for this opportunity to be seen as equal and now we are here and it's just amazing."
Tribute to the activists
The pair paid tribute to the activists from the Love Equality campaign who led the years-long push to liberalise the British-ruled province's marriage laws. They also thanked the politicians who eventually voted for the change. "Without you, our wedding wouldn't have been possible," they said. "We will be forever thankful."
)
)
)
)
)