Since the laws changed in the UK in December 2005 allowing same sex couples to formally cement their relationships, over 15,000 couples have taken the plunge to walk down the aisle.
The Office for National Statistics in Britain said 15,672 gays and lesbians formed civil partnerships between December 2005 and the end of September this year. Of these, 14 084 were in England, 537 in Wales, 942 in Scotland and 109 in Northern Ireland.
Surprisingly, there were around three times as many male partnerships as female partnerships. The act that has allowed for these civil unions gives same-sex couples rights in areas such as employment and the pension, but is not officially regarded as marriage.
On average, 1,621 partnerships took place each month between January and March and this fell to 1,498 between July and September, the ONS report said. The most famous of those who have celebrated their love in this way so far in the UK are British pop star Elton John and his long-term partner, the Canadian film maker David Furnish.
