Tis the year for royal weddings. On Saturday, Sept. 22, Queen Elizabeth’s cousin, Lord Ivar Mountbatten, made history when he wed his love, James Coyle, in the royal family’s first-ever same-sex wedding.
Mountbatten excitedly posted about the pair’s big day in a series of photos to his Instagram, including one particularly sweet one of him holding a giant umbrella up to protect Coyle from what he called the “miserable British weather.”
“Well we finally did it!” he captioned the collection of images. “Fabulous service conducted by Trish Harrogate, chief Registrar for Devon, who set the perfect but lighthearted tone for what is a serious occasion.”
He also thanked the gospel choir and the Bristol’s Teachers Rock Choir” for their “superb singing,” as well as his three daughters from a previous marriage for “being so understanding and supportive.” The biggest thank you, of course, went to his husband, for “being just perfect.”
Mountbatten and Coyle’s big day was made even more special because of their friends and loved ones. One guest in particular held special significance for Mountbatten: his ex-wife, Penny, who walked him down the aisle and gave him away, an idea that their three daughters—Ella, Alix, and Luli—came up with.
“It was the girls’ idea,” she told the Daily Mail in an interview earlier this year. “It makes me feel quite emotional. I’m really very touched.”
The festivities took place at a private chapel on Mountbatten’s private estate in Devon in front of an intimate group of 120 family and friends, and was, according to a fun photo he posted to Instagram of his dog Rosie, quite the party.
“Rosie is exhausted from participating in the marriage ceremony, not to mention hoovering up all the scraps falling from the party tables!” he captioned the cute shot, in which Rosie appears to be asleep behind rainbow-framed sunglasses.
Secure your ideal wedding vision by starting with The Knot’s Style Quiz, here.