British singer Elton John and David
Furnish are set to marry in a “small and intimate” ceremony next
weekend.
According to various sources, the
couple, together 21 years, will exchange vows at their home in
Windsor, Berkshire, South East England on Sunday, December 21.
The men are raising two sons: Zachary,
3, and Elijah, who turns 2 next month. The boys will serve as
ringbearers during the ceremony.
A source told the Daily Mirror
that the couple is expecting 50 guests.
John and Furnish, a filmmaker, entered
a civil partnership in 2005. While gay couples started marrying in
Britain in the spring, those in a civil partnership had to wait until
this week, when it became legal to convert civil partnerships to
marriage.
John has previously said that it was
important for gay celebrities to set an example.
“David and I are a very high-profile
gay couple, probably the most high-profile gay couple in the world,”
he told CNN last year when asked about wedding plans. “You have to
set an example. If you say, 'Listen guys this is our rights.' Can
you imagine 20 years ago, we'd have never thought this possible.
Celebrate.”