Legendary rock star and AIDS activist Sir Elton John and longtime partner, film producer David Furnish got married in Windsor, Berkshire, England on Sunday, Dec. 21—the nine year anniversary of their civil partnership.. The couple, who have been together for 21 years, have two children—Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John, 3, and Elijah Joseph Daniel Furnish-John, 23-months—both of whom were at their dads’ ceremony.
Brilliantly, unlike Kanye West & Kim Karshashian, whose wedding photos had to be perfect, Elton and David “invited the world” to immediately shared their joy through a very svelte-looking Elton John’s new Instagram feed, which was far from perfect and thus, much more real.
Some of Elton’s famous friends posted photos to Twitter and Instagram, too – but more seemingly as shared momentos, including Victoria Beckham with son Brooklyn (Sir Elton is godfather to David and Victoria Beckham‘s sons Brooklyn and Romeo).
The Instagram postings and live updates connected through the hashtag #ShareTheLove were sheer genius, spoiling the moment for conniving paparazzi who would probably have climbed over each other to get this shot of Sir Elton screaming after singer Ed Sheeran snagged his glasses.
The moment was magical for a political reason, as well. It illustrated the dawning of consciousness about marriage equality within our own community, as well. In Nov. 2008, Elton poked at supporters of same sex marriage rights in California, saying Prop 8 passed because gays were essentially too greedy for a word. USA Today reported:
“We’re not married. Let’s get that right. We have a civil partnership. What is wrong with Proposition 8 is that they went for marriage. Marriage is going to put a lot of people off, the word marriage.”
John and Furnish, and their two cocker spaniels, Marilyn and Arthur, were in town for Tuesday’s annual benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
“I don’t want to be married. I’m very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership,” John says. “The word ‘marriage,’ I think, puts a lot of people off.
“You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships.”
By 2012, his position changed in favor of same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom:
“There is a world of difference between calling someone your ‘partner’ and calling them your ‘husband’. ‘Partner’ is a word that should be preserved for people you play tennis with, or work alongside in business. It doesn’t come close to describing the love that I have for David, and he for me. In contrast, ‘husband’ does.”
Two years later, in June 2014, he said Jesus would support same sex marriage:
If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was [sic] and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen.
One of the tweets of congratulations came from Neil Patrick Harris, who married his own longtime companion David Burtka in September.
In March 2012, Sir Elton gave a very candid interview to Burtka when he was a correspondent with E! News, with the then-65 year old rock star talking about the importance of being clean and sober since 1990.
“I could have so easily ended up like Whitney Houston,” Elton said, after the official cause of Houston’s Feb. 11 death was revealed to be a combination of accidental drowning, cocaine use and heart disease.
“It’s a miracle I didn’t,” he said. “Because I’m sure I did as much cocaine as she ever did.” Without his sobriety, he continued, “I would not be the person I am today I wouldn’t have Zachary, David. I wouldn’t have anything. I’d probably be dead.”
That kind of gratitude was apparent in the Instagram photos he and his guests shared with the world. And it was a wedding that literally had the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.
Here are some other photos and reaction:
