In this hand-picked timeline of LGBT couples marrying throughout history, we say thank you to those courageous campaigners and same-sex couples for bravely placing same-sex marriage firmly on the agenda.
Read their stories, share yours and celebrate a century of diversity and equal love…
The Invisibles: Vintage Portraits of Love and Pride
French film-maker, Sebastian Lifshitz’s collection of images are an unforgettable time capsule of photographs of our queer, brave ancestors, to whom we owe so much.
Captured during a much darker time and published in this brilliant book, we challenge you not to be moved by the contents of these pages.
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Jack Baker and Michael McConnell (1970)
In 1970, university students Jack Baker and Michael McConnell (pictured above in 1970, and below, more recently), took their wish to marry each other to court.
Rebuked, but refusing to let it prevent them from marrying, they relocated to a different county where McConnell adopted Baker, Baker changed his name to the gender-neutral one of Pat Lyn McConnell and, a year later, they were legally married.
Baker continued to publicly advocate for gay rights until the ‘80s.
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Their journey and memoirs are printed in The Wedding Heard ‘Round the World: America’s First Gay Marriage.
View more on this story at mprnews.org
First Mass Same-Sex Wedding Ceremony, 1987
On 10th October 1987, more than 7,000 people gathered outside the National Mall in Washington DC to cheer on, applaud and throw confetti at the largest mass wedding in America’s history… and it wasn’t just a ‘mass’ wedding; it was a mass wedding of same-sex couples and symbolically marked the beginning of almost 2,000 same-sex marriages.
Joy Wasson and Liz Throop (pictured) were among the same-sex couples to marry at this monumental event.
View more on this story at gaymarriage.procon.org
The Netherlands Goes Down in the LGBT History Books, 2001
On 1st April 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage. Helene Faasen and Anne-Marie (pictured) were one of four couples to celebrate equality in love and marriage by making their vows.
The Netherland’s new law converted registered same-sex partnerships into marriages, giving same-sex couples equal legal status as opposite-sex couples.
From that date onwards, they could marry, claim pensions and other benefits, and adopt Dutch children.
All references to gender in laws surrounding matrimony and adoption were replaced with the gender-neutral term, ‘partner’.
View more on this story at gaymarriage.procon.org
America Joins In, 2004
Tanya McCloskey and Marcia Kadish (pictured) became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in the United States.
Their ceremony took place in In Cambridge, Massachusetts on 17th May 2004.
View more on this story at gaymarriage.procon.org
Ellen and Portia, 2008
Comic media star Ellen DeGeneres and actress Portia de Rossi held their intimate lesbian wedding at their Beverly Hills home on 16th August 2008.
The couple exchanged their self-written vows in front of 19 friends and family. They feasted vegan-style, outside in their garden overlooking the LA skyline, and shared their first dance to Stevie Wonder’s Ribbon in the Sky.
View more on this story at celebritybrideguide.com. Image by Lara Porzak Photography
Tweeting it, 2014
In a tweet on Monday 8 September, 2014, actor Neil Patrick Harris wrote: ‘Guess what? @DavidBurtka and I got married over the weekend in Italy.
Yup, we put the ‘n’ and ‘d’ in ‘husband.’,’.
The couple, who had been together for ten years, rented a castle in Perugia, Italy for a small ceremony and celebration at which Sir Elton John performed.
View more at popsugar.co.uk
Speaking of which…
Going to the Chapel, with Instagram, 2014
After 22 years together, Sir Elton John and David Furnish were officially married on 21 December 2014 at their home in front of family and friends, including the Beckham family, Christopher Bailey and Liz Hurley.
The couple married on the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership and asked their two sons to be ring bearers.
Sir Elton shared their wedding with the world via Instagram, posting ‘The exchange of vows. #ShareTheLove’. We couldn’t have said it better.
View images from their wedding at the DailyMail.co.uk
Family Officiated Lesbian Wedding, 2017
Actress Samira Wiley and her now-wife, script-writer Lauren Morelli, met on the set of ‘Orange Is the New Black.
They announced their engagement via Instagram and celebrated their nuptials on 25th March 2017 at a colourful ‘funfetti’ wedding in a ceremony that was officiated by Samira’s parents.
View more on this story at marthastewartweddings.com
Proposing in Parliament, 2017
On 4 December, 2017, Australian MP Tim Wilson engages in a parliamentary debate on legalising same-sex marriage and ends his speech by proposing to his partner, who is seated in the gallery, saying “Ryan Patrick Bolger, will you marry me?” – what a way to end a debate!
View the video on the Guardian website.
Author: Kate Lovell
Our very first writer for The Gay Wedding Guide with over 300 articles written. Unfortunately, she no longer writes for us as she left to focus on other copywriting and projects but she'll always have a dedicated place in our hearts here at The Gay Wedding Guide.
