A Belfast couple have tied the knot in the first same-sex marriage to take place in Northern Ireland.

Robyn Peoples, 26, and Sharni Edwards, 27, made history at a ceremony in a hotel in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, on Tuesday afternoon. Their marriage came after a law change in the region.

The day marks their sixth anniversary as a couple and they had booked a civil partnership ceremony at the Loughshore hotel months before the legislation was passed last summer.

When it became clear the first marriages could take place in Northern Ireland this week, they changed their ceremony to a wedding.

After a long and high-profile campaign for change, same-sex marriage was legalised at Westminster by MPs who stepped in and acted on the issue during the power-sharing impasse at Stormont.

Edwards said “it means the absolute world” to be married, before thanking the activists who have campaigned for same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.

“If it wasn’t for them guys we wouldn’t be sat here right now. We just want to say thank you to everyone … everyone who has marched and signed petitions, everyone who has helped us get to this stage, we just want to say thank you.

“We didn’t expect to be the first couple, it’s coincidental. Today is our six-year anniversary so we wanted to go ahead with a civil partnership but when the bill was passed it was perfect timing and it was a complete coincidence, a happy coincidence. We couldn’t be more grateful.”

Peoples said: “For Northern Ireland, we need to be the face of the people to show everyone it’s OK. We fought so long and hard for this opportunity to be seen as equal and now we are here and it’s just amazing.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Peoples and Edwards show their wedding rings after making history in Northern Ireland. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA

Edwards, a waitress from Brighton who did not know the law was different in Northern Ireland until she moved from England to Belfast, said: “We feel humbled that our wedding is a landmark moment for equal rights in Northern Ireland. We didn’t set out to make history – we just fell in love.

“We are so grateful to the thousands of people who marched for our freedoms, to the Love Equality campaign who led the way, and the politicians who voted to change the law. Without you, our wedding wouldn’t have been possible. We will be forever thankful.”

While the wedding took place in County Antrim, at Westminster campaigners were preparing for a celebratory reception to thank those MPs who acted on the issue.

Sara Canning, the partner of murdered author Lyra McKee, who was shot dead by dissident republicans in Londonderry last April, is attending the event organised by Amnesty International and the Love Equality campaign.

“What a wonderful moment in our history,” she said. “This really means so much and has brought me some much-needed light in what has been a dark year.

“I know Lyra would have been so overjoyed to see this day … Of course, this historic moment is a little bittersweet. It had been our dream too. Lyra and I should have been an engaged couple now, planning our own wedding day.

“But I am so happy for Robyn and Sharni … and for all the other couples who will follow.”