History was made in Bromley at the weekend as the borough saw its first ever male same-sex marriage.

Vinny Mann, 50, wed Graham Walder, 49, at the Civic Centre on Saturday July 12 after legislation legalising the act came in effect last month.

The couple described a “magical” day and said although it was special enough, the fact they were the first to make use of the new-found equality was “a great thing to be a part of”.

Now Mr Walder-Mann, singing tutor Vinny told News Shopper: “It was an incredible day – so emotional.

“We knew the registrar and she made it even more personal for us.

“The party afterwards was great too – we had so many people come and make it memorable.”

Husband Graham added: “It was a really fantastic time and everything went brilliantly. It was the best day of my life.

“It exceeded all our expectations.”

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Mr and Mr Wilder-Mann live in Kings Hall Road, Beckenham, and hosted a party at nearby Azelia Hall after the ceremony.

Vinny said “the champagne flowed all night” as around 100 guests tucked into burgers, chocolate gateau, and listened to a live band.

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The wedding marked a pivotal moment in Bromley, which Vinny mentioned is a particularly Conservative borough.

But despite that he said the pair has seen nothing from support and believes although society still has a way to go, it’s great to see things moving forward.

He said: “I remember meeting Graham and really hitting it off. We clicked immediately and have so much in common.

“Graham said, ‘I’m going to marry you one day’, but I didn’t really consider it a possibility.

“But when the law changed we talked about it and thought, ‘why not?’ “Obviously there are still issues that need addressing (in equality) but this shows times are changing.”

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Remarkably, Vinny joked about how he’s also thought to be the first child actor to die on screen in the UK, having been a star of hit show Grange Hill in his youth.

Graham meanwhile is a gardener by trade and has a busy summer coming up, which means the couple are waiting until later in the year before having a rather adventurous honeymoon.

He told News Shopper: “We’re going off to America for a month in October. We flying to Los Angeles and plan to buy a car – we’re just going to drive and see how far we can get.”

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