A gay Polish couple has had their own self-styled wedding in Krakow in the company of family and friends.

Marek Idziak-Sepkowski and Jedrzej Idziak-Sepkowski at the Grand Hotel in Krakow. Photo: Facebook

The couple had waited for seven years for a law on civil partnerships, and in the end the two men decided to take the matter into their own hands.

The partners have signed legal documents to the effect that they have a double-barrelled surname, combining their former surnames.

Architects Marek Idziak-Sepkowski and Jedrzej Idziak-Sepkowski are partners in the same firm, and they have also signed legal deeds confirming that each is set to inherit the other's entire assets.

Both men's parents signed documents waiving their own inheritance rights.

“The signing of the contract by our parents is in itself an act of blessing and a recognition of our relationship,” the pair wrote on their Facebook profile.

The culmination of the union was a wedding reception on 9 August at one of Krakow's most historic hotels, the Grand Hotel, a former haunt of Nobel Prize-winning author Henryk Sienkiewicz and Joseph Conrad (Jozef Korzeniowski).

“This shows how much a law [on civil partnerships] is needed, because this is not the the first couple to have had a 'wedding,'” said Yga Kostrzewa from the Warsaw-based Lambda Association, which provides support to members of the LGBT community.

“Similar ceremonies have been held,” she added.

However, Catholic weekly Fronda has argued that the fact that the two men were legally able to change their names and sign inheritance documents showed that it is not necessary to introduce a law on civil partnerships.

Draft legislation on civil partnerships was voted down in parliament in January 2013.

Despite support from Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the issue proved divisive in his centre-right Civic Platform party, and support from Your Movement and the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) was outweighed by conservative opposition party Law and Justice. (nh)

Source: TVP, Gazeta Wyborcza

Guests at the reception in Krakow. Photo: Facebook



