Gay couple seal love with a civil union

Sixteen years ago, Daniel Brandl and Alex Beck first locked eyes at a party in Berne, Switzerland.
On Saturday, they became one of the Bay's first couples to have a civil union ceremony.
The couple, who added each other's surname to their own, said it was "the happiest day of our lives".
"We will forever treasure the memories of an unforgettable day spent together with our best friends, some of the most wonderful people we know," they said in an email to the Bay of Plenty Times.
The controversial civil union law came into force last Tuesday, giving same-sex and de facto couples the ability to legalise their relationships from Friday onwards.
New Zealand is the first southern hemisphere country to pass such a law. The couple's relationship is the stuff of fairytales: instant attraction and a love that matured and ripened with age.
"It was like meeting someone you already knew," Daniel said, of their first encounter in Switzerland.
Within hours of the new law coming into force they raced into Tauranga District Court at 9am on Tuesday to register their civil union.
"We would have got married years ago if we could have," said 37-year-old Daniel.
The couple, who are also business partners, held their ceremony at Ridge Country Retreat in Welcome Bay.
They even had a cake with two grooms and their tortoiseshell cat named Sybil.
"We didn't really want it to be a copybook wedding but we had to have a cake," Daniel said.
They wore suits that were simple but suave with like-patterned but different coloured ties.
Guests numbered just 25 because the couple wanted to keep their long-awaited special day for their nearest and dearest friends.
"It is a private function that's important to us," said Alex.
The men wrote their union vows together, in which they promised to respect, support and stand by each other for "the rest of their lives and after that".
Daniel and Alex are in business together, operating Dolphin Travel, which means they spend a lot of time together.
"It is extremely intense, especially for the past seven years. Most days we literally spend 24 hours together," Alex said.
Now that the vows have been said, champagne poured and union sealed, the pair have a honeymoon in Queenstown and the Doubtful Sounds to look forward to.
They have always been happy in their love but now it is more official. By sharing their story they hope to demonstrate just how normal their family - of Daniel, Alex and nine-year-old Sybil - really is.
"We don't go to a church but we believe in God and we think God blessed us by bringing us together.
"God was probably sitting up on a cloud watching us on Saturday," Daniel said.