Sir Elton John, You Do Weddings Right

Whoever thinks that marriage is dead need only look to Sir Elton John and David Furnish to know that is a simple falsehood. The long-term couple finally tied the knot formally, following a civil partnership nine years ago and a relationship lasting more than 20 years.

Appropriately the wedding merited a hashtag all its own on social media: #ShareTheLove.

Sir Elton and Madonna: the Ultimate Cat Fight

Though only 50 of their closest friends attended the ceremony at the John-Furnish Windsor home, it was as lavish as you would expect. Among the glitterati guest list, Liz Hurley, Sharon Osborne and the entire Beckham clan et al happily tweeted away images of everything from the rose-laden invitation to the elegant table settings to the ceremony in-progress. (Witness the fact that Elton and David are such a power couple that they warrant their own logo!)

Even though they were one of the first couples to enjoy civil partnership when it was legalized in the UK, Elton and David are taking advantage of new legislation in England that allows gay couples to be formally married. For many homosexual couples that difference is monumental. Finally—finally—your relationship is not just begrudgingly acknowledged but fairly honoured and celebrated by the state.

For die-hard romantics, the Elton-David union is guaranteed to get you a little misty-eyed. After all, they've been together for nearly a quarter of a century. In celebrity years, much like dog years, you can double that to get at the true figure.

"I'm very proud of Britain and the laws that we've seen come into existence since we've been together," said Sir Elton in a previous interview. "Having our civil partnership was an incredible breakthrough for people that have campaigned for a long time. Through the 60s and the 50s in England when it was so hard to be gay and hard to be open about it. And it was a criminal act."

This Intimate Photograph of Two Dads Holding A Newborn Went Viral

When you are denied your rights, suddenly those rights feel like the most important thing in the world. So many couples are content to co-habitate, and that's cool. After all there's no rush or real driving reason to get hitched. Except when you can't.

Coming from a long-time married person, I do feel that 'little bit of paper' marks a difference in the Before and After of a couple. It somehow cements and legitimizes the relationship, and shouts it out to the world: See this! We are together!

For someone like Sir Elton, who had to hide his sexuality for so long — marriage can't help but be a bloody big deal.

May they share many more years of happiness together.

^{Photo: Instagram}