Matt Lucas wedding
(Matt as Ali Baba, Kevin as Prince Charming, and in the corner Sir Elton John as Capt. Hook and Courtney Love as the queen of Hearts)
"When it comes to comedy, Matt Lucas has been inseparable from David Walliams ever since they launched the Little Britain phenomenon more than five years ago.
But the other man in Lucas's life emerged on Sunday, when he wed his partner, Kevin McGee.
For someone who made his name with outrageous costumes and burlesque parody, there was a decidedly sober air to the afternoon's ceremony at the Home House private members' club, in London.
But the suits and ties gave way to greater flamboyance at an evening party in Whitehall for which the theme - pantomime - was greedily seized on by the 400 guests.
Resplendent in gold pantaloons and the pink plumes of Ali Baba, Lucas was joined by some of the more pantomimable faces from the world of light entertainment at the Banqueting House.
Past revellers, including Cardinal Wolsey and Henry VIII, might have raised an eyebrow at the sight of Lucas's comic collaborator, David Walliams, dressed as Christopher Biggins, Courtney Love in a blood-red gown as the Queen of Hearts, or Elton John as the most extravagant of a bevy of Captain Hooks.
"They were so sweet," one onlooker said of Lucas and McGee, who was dressed as Prince Charming. "They looked very much in love but also a bit like a couple of naughty schoolboys."
For the couple's civil partnership ceremony at Home House, Lucas, 32, was dressed in a navy blue corduroy velvet suit and rose-patterned tie, while McGee, 30, a television producer, wore a dark grey suit with black piping.
The happy couple emerged shortly after 3pm and briefly posed for pictures before retreating to rejoin their friends and family. More than 100 onlookers spilled out on to the road, blocking the oncoming traffic, and four police officers were deployed to control the crowds.
They refused to answer questions about the ceremony, but Lucas, beaming and radiant, did offer: "The ceremony went very well. It was lovely. We had lots of good wishes from the public, thank you very much."
And of course the man who brought to life the outrageously costumed and poison-tongued Vicky Pollard ("yeah but no but yeah but …"), Bubbles De Vere and Daffyd, the only gay in the village, could not remain out of fancy dress for long.
"I'm nervous but very excited at the same time," he said. "I like dressing up. I'm quite a preppy, dull dresser in my life, so it's a chance for me to be a bit more outrageous."
Official figures show that 15,672 gay and lesbian couples registered civil partnerships in only nine months under laws introduced last year. Equality groups hailed the total as a vindication of years of campaigning for a legal change to permit same-sex unions and boost benefit and pension rights for civil partners.
The honeymoon will be short lived, as Lucas and Walliams are taking a Little Britain tour to Australia next month, and the comedy duo have signed a deal to develop a US version of the program for the cable network HBO."