A same-sex couple from north Belfast are set to make history as Northern Ireland’s first married LGBT+ couple.
Sharni Edwards and Robyn Peoples will tie the knot on 11 February at a hotel in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim.
The couple had been planning a civil partnership on the same date but following the recent legalisation of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, they opted to get married instead.
“We’re both nervous but very excited,” said Ms Peoples of her impending nuptials.
“We just can’t believe it’s happening next week,” she told the BBC.
“I just want to say thank you to everyone in Northern Ireland who has made this possible for us. Behind the scenes, everyone who’s marched, everyone who’s emailed, petitions, everything.”
Speaking to Pink News, Ms Edwards said it was “surreal” that she and Ms Peoples would soon be a married couple.
“I still have to pinch myself. I just feel humbled and grateful. The younger generation need people to look up to, to see it’s OK for a woman to love a woman.”
The couple met in 2014 at the Kremlin nightclub in Belfast city centre.
“We haven’t been separated since,” Ms Edwards said. “We just clicked.”
Northern Ireland's new legislation brings it in line with the rest of the UK. Same-sex marriages have been legal in England, Scotland and Wales since 2014.
The discrepancy was able to continue for six years because same-sex marriage was an issue devolved to Stormont, the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Those who already have civil partnerships are not able to convert to a marriage at this stage in the process, but the Northern Ireland Office is set to begin a consultation later this year.
