CNN.com - Elton John and partner 'tie the knot'

The couple waved to the crowd before going inside the Guildhall for a "private" ceremony.

• Civil partnership facts

• History of gay partnerships

• Celebrities toast couple

• Elton: 'Wedding' low-key affair

Profile: I'm still singing

Gallery: Outside the Guildhall

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LONDON, England (CNN) -- Pop star Elton John and his partner David Furnish tied the knot on Wednesday in a ceremony that capped the first week of civil partnership ceremonies in the United Kingdom.

The couple exchanged vows during a ceremony at Windsor's town hall -- the Guildhall -- where Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles wed in April.

The couple emerged after the ceremony smiling, waving and mouthing "thank you" to onlookers, as an attendant threw rice at them.

They had said the ceremony inside would be low-key, with only John's mother and stepfather and Furnish's parents attending.

Hundreds of fans -- and crowds of photographers -- were gathered in the narrow streets of Windsor, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of London, as the couple arrived in a black Rolls Royce on Wednesday morning.

The couple arrived at the Guildhall seven minutes early for their ceremony at 1100 GMT. Wearing dark suits, the pair posed on the terrace of the Guildhall and waved to fans between the columns away from the main glare of the media spotlight.

Elton John, 58, blew kisses to the crowd as his Canadian-born partner joined him briefly before going inside. The pair emerged smiling 45 minutes later.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking to reporters at a news conference, wished the couple well and congratulated them for exercising their newfound legal right.

Later in the day, the couple were to throw a lavish star-studded party, costing an estimated $1.75 million, according to The Associated Press.

Two giant white tents were erected in the grounds of the pop star's Windsor mansion for the party, which British tabloids say were heated adequately to warm the hundreds of guests in scanty evening gowns.

In an interview in Attitude magazine in November, John said the Guildhall ceremony would be a small, private affair involving only himself and Furnish, 43, and their parents acting as witnesses.

"Out of respect for their (our parents') support, we want to just keep it small -- not to make a ballyhoo of the ceremony," he told the gay lifestyle magazine.

"There will be a party somewhere, but the day will be very low key and we'll take our parents to lunch afterwards."

Guests at the couple's bachelor night on Monday included heavy metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon, model and actress Liz Hurley and musicians Bryan Adams, Gary Barlow and Kid Rock. (Full story)

Nearly 700 gay couples in England and Wales were expected to go through the ceremony on Wednesday. Ceremonies were held earlier this week in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Civil union ceremonies are seen as a watershed in the struggle for gay rights in the UK.

The partnerships are not a "marriage" in the religious sense, but give gay and lesbian couples the same legal benefits and responsibilities as heterosexuals who wed in a register office. (Partnership facts)

John and Furnish, who have been together for 12 years, acknowledged that their ceremony might have broader ramifications.

"As far as I'm concerned I've always considered myself committed to Elton and he's the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. So in that sense I don't feel like the dynamic of our relationship is going to change," Furnish told Attitude magazine.

"But from a social standpoint, I think it's hugely significant. It is a major, major change. It is one of the defining issues of our times."

Elton John and partner 'tie the knot'

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