Amanda Milnes proposed to her partner Christina Conlon in January when same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland was illegal. It was an act of love and hope.

On Tuesday, 10 months after Milnes went on bended knee and offered a ring, the Belfast couple celebrated a historic change to the law.

“What a day to be gay in Northern Ireland,” said Milnes, 29. “What a day to see history happen. It’s just a phenomenal feeling knowing that I will marry Christina, the love of my life, and celebrate until our feet can’t hold us up any longer.”

Same-sex couples across Northern Ireland erupted in jubilation at the stroke of midnight on Monday when a law extending marriage equality took effect.

It was the culmination of a rollercoaster campaign to align Northern Ireland with the rest of the UK in the face of opposition from the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) and other social conservatives.

She proposed to Conlon, 30, during a ski holiday, unsure if same-sex marriage would become legal. “Now we can start planning the wedding. We have our guest list sorted. We can go shopping for wedding dresses knowing we’re not doing anything wrong in the eyes of the law.”

England and Wales enshrined marriage equality in 2013, followed by the Republic of Ireland in 2015. Opinion polls showed a big majority favoured same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, but the DUP blocked change at the Stormont assembly.

Then in 2017, a dispute between the DUP and Sinn Féin collapsed the assembly, creating a vacuum. MPs at Westminster stepped in by passing an amendment in July by a backbench Labour MP, Conor McGinn, extending marriage equality to Northern Ireland. Read more via Guardian