Gay wedding views still divided in Shropshire a year on

Just another wedding? But with one historic difference. In August last year, Lois Wagstaff and Sharon Rhead became one of the first same-sex couples to tie the knot in Shropshire.

It is a year since the law was changed to give homosexual couples in England and Wales the same marriage rights as heterosexuals.

There has been no shortage of people in Shropshire wanting to take advantage of the new legislation. In the past 12 months, 35 same-sex couples got married, with more than 1,400 same-sex weddings taking place across the UK.

Of the 35 Shropshire couples, 10 were in Telford & Wrekin, with 25 in the rest of the county.

Prior to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill being introduced, gay and lesbian couples were, and are still able to, show their commitment to one another through a civil partnership.

Civil partnerships, first introduced in 2005, are a legal binding relationship specifically for same-sex couples.

While legally treated the same as marriage on matters such as inheritance, pensions provision, life assurance, child maintenance, next of kin and immigration rights, the partnerships are exclusively a civil procedure.

A marriage is different as same-sex couples can opt for a civil or religious ceremony.

The new legislation, allowing same-sex couples to register for marriage, came into force on March 13 last year, with the first weddings taking place just after midnight on March 29.

Now, as then, the Act continues to attract controversy. Recently, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, said he was still opposed to gay marriage.

Speaking at a school in London, Mr Welby told pupils his opposition to gay marriage had not changed, but said he was "listening very, very closely to try to discern what the Spirit of God is telling us".

The Archbishop also said it would be wrong to "demonise and dismiss and hate each other", and added that he had a lot of gay friends.

Kate Glennane, secretary of the pressure group Marriage for All, spoke of her delight when the law was introduced.

"This is a moment in history to celebrate love, relationships and equality," she said.

The new legislation was also backed by Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski and Telford MP David Wright.

However, other MPs in the area took a different view. North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson, The Wrekin's Mark Pritchard and Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies all voted against the Bill, while Ludlow MP Philip Dunne did not vote but was opposed to the plan.

There was also fierce opposition from the Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury, the Rt Rev Mark Davies, who said politicians did not have the right to change the definition of marriage.

He told more than 300 worshippers at a mass in Cheshire that the church had always "defended the essence of marriage against all who have sought over the centuries to change or distort its reality" and that Catholics "must do so again today".

Sharon and Lois, from The Humbers, Donnington, were among the first in the county to take advantage of the new laws when they married at The Valley Hotel in Ironbridge.

The couple actually agreed to marry before the legislation had come into force.

Sharon popped the question in 2013 while staying in a shepherd's hut in Ironbridge to celebrate Lois's 40th birthday.

"When I initially proposed to Lois we knew the law would be changing and we were both of the opinion that if we were going to legalise our commitment to one another we wanted to do it properly and get married rather than a civil partnership," she says.

"For us it was important for our marriage to be seen as equal and have the same recognition in society as heterosexual couples."

Sharon, who works in the breeding department at David Austin Roses in Albrighton, describes the event as the best day of her life.

"We wish we could do it all over again which is why we will be going back to The Valley in August to celebrate our anniversary," she says.

"It was absolutely amazing, such a chilled and relaxed day. All the staff were wonderful and all our guests said it was the best wedding they had been to."

She added: "I think in 2015 there will be a lot more same-sex marriages taking place."

Shropshire Council has already received a number of bookings for this year.

Lisa Snape, of the Valley Hotel, also says there has been an increase in the number of inquiries following Sharon and Lois's wedding.

"Since August we have had a number of inquiries from same sex couples looking for their perfect wedding venue for 2015 so I think there will be even more this year than last," she says.