A couple will today make history when they become the first to celebrate a "gay wedding" in Scotland.
John Maguire and Laurence Scott-Mackay will exchange vows and swap rings in a civil partnership ceremony in Edinburgh this morning.
After the ceremony at the registry office in India Buildings, they will enjoy a wedding breakfast at Edinburgh Castle before having their union blessed by the former Bishop of Edinburgh, Richard Holloway, in a service at St Margaret's Chapel.
The couple, who have been together since January 1992, were both born in Scotland but live in the US, where they work for IT firm Axios Systems. They have returned to Scotland to register as civil partners, but while the ceremony will give them new rights in the UK, it will not be recognised in the US.
The ceremony comes a day after the UK's first "gay wedding" was held in Northern Ireland. Shannon Sickels and Gráinne Close became the first same-sex couple to pledge their love in a civil partnership ceremony at Belfast City Hall.
Couples in England and Wales will be able to make the commitment - which is similar to a civil marriage - from tomorrow.
Shortly after Mr Maguire and Mr Scott-Mackay exchange vows, two councillors in Aberdeen will become civil partners. Neil Fletcher and John Stewart have been together for 13 years and are also to "marry" under the new civil partnership legislation.