CHRIS Rumble sighed loudly as Warren McGaw slipped a heavily jewelled ring onto his wedding finger. ''Blingy, like our personalities,'' Mr Rumble said.

The men participated in Australia's first legally recognised civil ceremony in Canberra yesterday, paving the way for other gay and lesbian couples to have their partnerships validated outside the functionality of a registry office.

Warren McGawand Chris Rumble during their civil partnership ceremony in Canberra. Credit:Stefan Postles

''Finally we're equal and we're not treated as second-class citizens,'' Mr Rumble, a 38-year-old real estate agent, said.

The pair met at a pub, just as New Year's Eve, 1989, ticked over into the '90s. Fresh from studying in Paris, Mr Rumble decided barely an hour into the new year that Mr McGaw, a gym instructor from a wool station in Goulburn, was the man for him.