"We thought we were going to have a civil partnership. [Staff at the registry office] said if we wanted to have the marriage, we would be the first ones in Llanelli, so we said yes." That was a then 27-year-old Sarah Keenan (nee Booth) speaking to the Llanelli Star newspaper back in April, 2014.
Together with Danielle Keenan, they became the first lesbian couple to get married in Llanelli, following the legalisation of same-sex marriage in July, 2013
Nine years later, the happy couple are still together and have amazing memories of their wedding day, although Sarah, now aged 36, admitted the press attention at the time made the experience even more nerve-wracking. "I was all nervous," she said. "I remember going there, there were hundreds of people outside, our wedding guests and photographers, people from the press. It was really overwhelming."
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The pair's ceremony took place at Llanelli Town Hall, with both brides dressed in white, and was followed by a reception at Felinfoel's Calsonic Club.
When I asked Sarah what she loved most about her wife Danielle, 34 she said: "She's just an amazing person. Bubbly, outgoing and loving. I just love everything about her. We've got such an amazing marriage, we never argue. I've got two children, my children worship the ground she walks on. I couldn't ask for a better step-mum." You can get more Carmarthen news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
This month marks the tenth anniversary of legislation being passed to allow same-sex marriage in England and Wales. The first same-sex marriage ceremonies for couples not already in civil partnerships took place in March, 2014, and it was not until July, 2018, that legislation to allow same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland was passed by the UK Parliament.
To mark the occasion, Hang Fire's "first ladies of barbecue", Shauna Guinn and Sam Evans, have created a podcast exploring same-sex marriage in Wales. After Shauna proposed to Sam in 2006 - she cringed slightly as she told the story of getting down on one knee on the dancefloor of a gay bar in Cardiff where Sam used to DJ - life got in the way of a big wedding. Then the pair planned "Queer Bash"- a three-day extravaganza for their nuptials complete with live bands and street food stalls - but Covid sadly put an abrupt end to their grand wedding arrangements.
Now the pair are planning another wedding for next year, having been together for 23 years, and discuss their thoughts on same-sex marriage on their new podcast. "I always knew that if I was going to be happily married to a woman and be openly gay, I'd have to leave Northern Ireland. So, that's exactly what I did," said Shauna.
But for Shauna's fiance Sam, marriage did not always feel like an option. "When I did eventually come out I think that officially removed the idea of marriage from my mind. It wasn't legal at the time. I was lucky enough to have a supportive family who had no issues with my sexuality but I did find myself on the fringes of society in terms of how my relationships were viewed. They would not be validated or recognised in the eyes of the law," said Sam on the podcast.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Wales for the past decade under The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act. The Act provides religious organisations the freedom to opt in or out of marrying same-sex couples. Reverend Sarah Jones, of St John the Baptist Church in Cardiff, remembers her feelings when the Act first came into effect.
"I remember rejoicing at the news. It was somewhat unexpected. It moved quite quickly. Two years before, nobody would have thought it was going to happen. Then all of a sudden, it did happen. So, I thought that was a really good move forward," she explained.
"I was with the Church of England at the time and I remember different denominations applying for exemptions to it and I was very sad about that. I really wanted the churches to embrace it but they weren't really ready."
While some groups such as the Quakers campaigned for same-sex marriage to become legalised at the time and have performed countless same-sex marriage ceremonies, only one man and one woman can legally marry in the Church of Wales. But what is thought to be the first same-sex marriage blessing by the Church of Wales took place in November 2021 in Llangollen, Denbighshire.
"We can bless same-sex couples but they can't get married in our churches," said Reverend Sarah Jones. "I'm personally sad about that. But my hope is that in a few years time, it will be absolutely equal between same-sex couples and heterosexual couples. Same-sex couples that have spoken to me over the years wanting to have blessings in church really, really want it. It's a spiritual event," added the Reverend. "Whereas, for some heterosexual couples, it used to just be what we did. We got married in a church because it's what we did."
Over in the Swansea Valley, same-sex marriages have been performed in one Unitarian church since 2016. The first same-sex couple to get married at Gellionnen Chapel was Rory Castle Jones and his husband Rhys. Rory is now the reverend of the church and said, "we've got a long way to go" when it comes to same-sex marriage in Wales.
Discussing the change in law ten years ago, Rory said: "It was quite controversial. Since then, it's been nearly ten years and only quite a small number of religious places have offered same-sex marriage which is in some ways not surprising but might be surprising to the public. It's slowly growing now. In Wales, it would be a couple of places in each county. It's that balance between religious freedom and LGBT inequality which can be a tension in society."
On why he felt same-sex marriage being legal in religious places was important, Rory said: "To be married in the eyes of the law is one thing but to be married in the eyes of God is another. This shouldn't be denied to people and it's really important. What's equally important to a lot of people is to be able to have a wedding like other people in their family. My parents got married in a church, my grandparents did. The traditions around it are just as important as the religious aspect for many people."
For Sarah Keenan from Llanelli, who will celebrate her ten-year anniversary with her wife next April, being married to Danielle has served as an inspiration to other couples of all different sexualities. "People who know us say, 'I wish one day me and my partner will be like you two.' To me, I think everyone is the same. You should be entitled to love and marry who you like."
