Two Henry the VIIIs and their six groomsmaids walked down the aisle to celebrate one of England's same sex 'weddings' yesterday.

James and Brynn Tudor were the first same-sex couple in Birmingham to cement their union with a civil part-nership ceremony at the city's Register Office.

Afterwards they went on to celebrate it with family and friends at a Tudor-themed ceremony at Aston Hall.

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The couple started planning their big day seven months ago soon after the change in the law was announced. As of yesterday they enjoy similar status to a married couple, including entitlement to the same employment and pension rights and recognition under intestacy rules.

After signing the schedule at Birmingham Register Office, the couple, both dressed in the style of Henry VIII, followed a procession in a lamp-lit panelled chamber at Aston Hall to the strains of Greensleeves.

They were proceeded by a column of six 'wives' dressed in hand-crafted silk and brocade Tudor gowns, one carrying a cushion bearing the couple's two rings.

The couple, who met while volunteering for a Citizen's Advice Bureau, pledged to 'love and support each other' for as long as they both lived.

James, who changed his name to Tudor two years ago, has been with Brynn for four years. They share a bank account, the ownership of a house and household bills, and have already celebrated a commitment ceremony.

"It's fantastic that this has happened," said James, a 26-year-old fashion student.

"We are now a legal partnership. We feel very, very lucky to do it and we were determined to do it as we heard the law had changed. We wanted a ceremony that felt important and individual."

James, a history buff, had been crafting the outfits since May.

"He had the creative vision for the ceremony," said Brynn, aged 37, director of an advice line for disabled people. "It's like a dream for us. Everything went to plan.

"The best bit has been having all our friends and family around us. It's 'until death do us part' for us and it was fantastic having everyone here to celebrate that with us."

The couple are both members of the Lib Dem party and Solihull Lib Dem MP Lorely Burt made a special appearance as Anne of Cleves.

She said: "The ceremony was a nice mix of tributes by friends, songs and poetry.

"For James and Brynn it's about celebrating their relationship in the same way as a man and woman. It's about inclusion and ability to care for each other and the change in the law was overdue."

Kate Day, manager of crematorium and cemeteries for Derby Council, was civil partnership celebrant for Brynn and James.

"I've got to know them quite well and I thought it was very loving ceremony," she said.

"Same sex ceremonies are often very touching, and this is the perfect balance to my other job."

Geoff Hardy, aged 55, coowner of the Natural Health Centre, and solicitor Peter Roscoe, aged 53, have campaigning for gay civil rights since the early 1970s.

They have been together for 25 years and enjoyed the first civil partnership ceremony yesterday in Shrewsbury. The couple and their guests wore green carnations, a tribute to Oscar Wilde.

"It marked the link with a man who lived his life honestly and was sentenced to hard labour for it - and died soon after," said Mr Roscoe.