Same-sex couple together for 20 years gets married in historic Antarctica wedding

Tying the knot in Antarctica?

A British couple who have been together for 20 years became the first same-sex couple to get married in the British Antarctic Territory this week.

Eric Bourne and Stephen Carpenter, stewards on a polar ship named the RRS Sir David Attenborough, were married on Sunday at the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Research Station, according to a news release from the survey. They were joined by 30 crew members and married by Captain Will Whatley on the ship’s helideck.

The marriage will be valid in the United Kingdom.

Two other crew members served as the couple’s best men, and the ship’s doctor performed live music after the ceremony. The couple’s wedding cake featured figurines of penguins.

“Antarctica is such an incredible place. We have been together for 20 years but now we’ve both been to Antarctica together, it felt like the perfect place for us to finally tie the knot! We’ve even had the coordinates of the wedding location engraved into our rings,” Carpenter said in the news release.

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The couple will have a larger reception with staff at the Rothera Research Station next month and a celebration with family and friends in Spain later this year.

The couple first met working aboard another ship, the RFA Sir Percivale.

Whatley in the news release called it “an honor to be officiating Eric and Steve’s wedding.”

“The RRS Sir David Attenborough is not only our place of work but also our home, and it is a privilege to help two integral members of our crew celebrate their special day,” he said.