Joyful pictures show gay and lesbian couples tying the knot in Switzerland, where same-sex marriage officially became legal from today.
The weddings took place nine months after the country voted in favour of same-sex unions on September 26 last year.
More than 64% of Swiss voters backed the ‘Marriage for All’ law during a nationwide referendum.
Same-sex couples will also be able to convert their registered partnership into marriage from today.
They can also apply for joint adoption of children and to inherit a partner’s pension when they die.
One of the first couples to tie the knot on Friday morning, Laure and Aline, revealed how they had spent 21 years waiting for this day to arrive.
Laure told Euronews: ‘We sent out the invitations at the last minute.
‘Our family will be there, and some friends too.
‘It’s very exciting and we are happy to be able to represent marriage for all.’
The couple, both native to Geneva, became registered partners in 2014.
They later had a son, now four, carried by Laure during a medically-assisted pregnancy.
But Aline faced a long wait to be recognised as the boy’s other parent.
‘I’m the biological mother so Aline had no rights in relation to him,’ Laure said.
‘So then you have to wait until the child has lived together with you as the couple for a year.
‘And then you have to go through the adoption process, and that takes about two years.’
Now they finally are both legally recognised as the boy’s mothers, she said.
Luca Morreale and Stefano Perfetti were also among the couples who attended a registry office in Zurich today to convert their registered partnership into marriage.
The couple were applauded by delighted friends and family who held a bunch of red heart-shaped balloons to mark the occasion.
Meanwhile guests at the wedding of Annett Babinsky and Laura Suarez held rainbow-coloured umbrellas to celebrate their union.
Switzerland is the 30th country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage.
The referendum vote was hailed as a historic moment by LGBTQ+ campaigners.
Swiss Justice Minister, Karin Keller-Sutter, said at the time: ‘Whoever loves each other and wants to get married will be able to do so, regardless of whether it is two men, two women or a man and a woman.’
Metro.co.uk celebrates 50 years of Pride
This year marks 50 years of Pride, so it seems only fitting that Metro.co.uk goes above and beyond in our ongoing LGBTQ+ support, through a wealth of content that not only celebrates all things Pride, but also share stories, take time to reflect and raises awareness for the community this Pride Month.
And we’ve got some great names on board to help us, too. From a list of famous guest editors taking over the site for a week that includes Rob Rinder, Nicola Adams, Peter Tatchell, Kimberly Hart-Simpson, John Whaite, Anna Richardson and Dr Ranj, as well as the likes of Sir Ian McKellen and Drag Race stars The Vivienne, Lawrence Chaney and Tia Kofi offering their insights.
During Pride Month, which runs from 1 – 30 June, Metro.co.uk will also be supporting Kyiv Pride, a Ukrainian charity forced to work harder than ever to protect the rights of the LGBTQ+ community during times of conflict, and youth homelessness charity AKT. To find out more about their work, and what you can do to support them, click here.
For Metro.co.uk‘s latest Pride coverage, click here.
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