First gay weddings in Germany

Angelika, sitting, and Gudrun sign their marriage papers

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Germany has ushered in a new law allowing same sex marriages with a flurry of gay and lesbian ceremonies.

Angelika and Gudrun Pannier, dressed in black tuxedos and white bow ties, exchanged rings and sealed Germany's first legal homosexual union with a kiss on Wednesday.

"It is a great honour to be Germany's first lesbian couple to have a legal partnership," Angelika, 36, told CNN after the ceremony.

"It is very exciting. It is also very important to have my family beside us on this great step for civil and human rights."

QUICKVOTE Should gay couples have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples? Yes No View Results

Their service, at the register office in the Schoeneberg district of Berlin, was one of many gay and lesbian partnership ceremonies planned throughout the country on Wednesday.

The new partnership law gives couples less legal recognition than a heterosexual marriage, but does extend the rights of gay partners.

While it allows inheritance and health insurance rights, the new law does not give gay partnerships the same tax privileges as heterosexual marriages.

EXTRA INFORMATION A cake with two brides

The law was passed last year by the German lower house of parliament, but restrictions were placed on same-sex couples' rights when the bill went before the upper chamber.

RESOURCES Message Board: Gay rights

Angelika said: "There is still a lot more to do, but it is the first step.

"Before, everything was separate, like our bank accounts and insurance, but now it can be one. That makes day to day life more easier."

Angelika and Gudrun, both 36, have been together for five years and had already exchanged rings in a private ceremony in April 1996.

Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit, who sent a message of congratulations to one gay couple on Tuesday, told The Associated Press that the law "doesn't fulfil everyone's wishes and dreams, but it's a great step forward."

Germany is the latest European country to give legal status to same-sex couples, following Denmark, France, Sweden, Iceland and Norway.

The Netherlands legalised same-sex marriages in April this year, while Belgium and Finland are considering following suit.

Thirty-five states in the United States have adopted so-called "defence of marriage" laws, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.