First church wedding for gay couple is held in UK

First church wedding for gay couple is held in UK

The Guardian | April 14, 2014

Two women have married in what is believed to be the UK's first gay wedding held in a church. Jan Tipper and Barb Burden tied the knot at the Metropolitan community church (MCC) in Bournemouth, Dorset, on Saturday.

The law allowed same-sex couples to marry on 29 March, but this was the first ceremony to be conducted in a religious building, the MCC said.


The Rev Dwayne Morgan, who officiated at the ceremony, said the church had taken pride in celebrating diversity and called it a historic day.

Burden and Tipper, who have attended MCC for 15 years, said they were surprised to discover their wedding was a first.

"To get married in our church was very significant to us," Tipper said. "Even though we have been together for almost 19 years it didn't feel right for us to have just a blessing or even a civil partnership.

"We have hoped for years for the opportunity to legally marry and once it became possible we knew it was time for us to tie the knot and to do it before God in our church with our friends and family."

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/14/first-church-wedding-gay-couple-uk