Costas & John: Civil Partners in London

[BOND MAGAZINE]

Costas & John - London

Costas and John met through friends one evening and ended up getting married on the same day one year later. “John proposed to me in bed. It was a Saturday night, after we’d been going out for about two months, and just out of the blue he turned and asked me to marry him. He said, ‘You’ve been taking care of everybody for so long, let me take care of you now.’”

They had their wedding in London at the Islington Town Hall, a month after Civil Partnerships were legalized in the UK. “The ceremony was in this chamber room that resembled Parliament with these ornate woodcarvings, every seat had a microphone and a book table – it looked like a men’s smoking club. My friend who I’ve known since I was 14 married us. I wore Dior Homme and jeans, John his best suit.” Though they first planned to a have a simple ceremony with just five or six close friends, after calling and texting people with the news a few days prior to the wedding, more than 80 friends showed up. “The great thing was that all of our friends got together to celebrate. Friends from all over the world came. It was a fantastic party. It started Saturday morning and ended Sunday evening.”

About the couple
Costas Constantinou, Design Director, Bond Magazine
John Richmond, Accountant, Pricewaterhouse Coopers UK
Living in London, England

Wedding Date: February 25 2006
Ceremony type: Civil partnership
Where: Islington Town Hall, London
Reception: Party at their flat in London
Number of guests: 80
Invitations: Text messages, emails and phone calls

Cos wore: Dior Homme jacket and jeans
John wore: His best suit

The Civil Partnership Act:

Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, granted under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, give same-sex couples rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage. Civil Partners are entitled to the same property rights as married opposite-sex couples, the same exemption as married couples on inheritance tax, social security and pension benefits, and also the ability to get parental responsibility for a partner's children, as well as responsibility for reasonable maintenance of one's partner and their children, tenancy rights, full life insurance recognition, next-of-kin rights in hospitals, and others. There is a formal process for dissolving partnerships akin to divorce. (Source: Wikipedia)

Registering for a Civil Partnership >