For this was Britain's first gay "wedding", held in one of the Church of England's oldest and most attractive churches.
St Bartholomew the Great at West Smithfield, in the City of London, dates from the 12th century but it can have seen few more historic events than this.
Greeted with a fanfare of trumpets, the Rev Peter Cowell and the Rev Dr David Lord celebrated their civil union with the kind of pomp and pageantry reserved for royal weddings. The couple walked up the aisle to Mendelssohn's march from A Midsummer Night's Dream dressed in morning suits, with their bridesmaids and best men following behind.
A robed choir sang in Latin as incense was burned on the high altar.
The service was rooted in the most traditional style, from the music to the liturgy, which was based on the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The Rev Martin Dudley addressed the congregation: "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together these men in a holy covenant of love and fidelity."
To conservative Anglicans the use of those words in such circumstances might be blasphemous, but the packed pews indicated the level of support for the couple.
Family and friends from as far away as New Zealand, where Dr Lord grew up, joined in the hymns, which included Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven and All My Hope on God is Founded. Marie Cowell read from the Book of 1 Corinthians before her son, who is a hospital chaplain at Barts and priest at Westminster Abbey – one of the Queen's churches – exchanged vows with his partner.
"I, Peter, take thee, David, as my partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better and for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part; and thereto I pledge thee my troth."
Placing the ring on the fourth finger of his partner's hand, he continued: "With this ring I thee bind, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
They then recited poems from Shakespeare and Philip Sidney to one another, before taking part in communion, which was received by more than half the congregation.
Among those celebrating with the couple were some of the Church's most senior clergy, including Canon Robert Wright from Westminster Abbey and chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons.
"It was incredibly grand – the most spectacular wedding I've ever been to," said one guest. "They had a 10-tier wedding cake. I've never seen a cake that big."
A champagne reception was held in the Great Hall of St Bartholomew's Hospital, where Dr Lord, an ordained priest, works as a doctor. It is there they met five years ago.
They left in an open landau and headed for the Ivy restaurant with close friends and family.
God help us.