Two lesbian brides and six gay grooms became the world's first homosexuals to wed legally, tying the knot today in a colourful communal ceremony.
They married minutes after a Dutch law allowing same-sex matrimony came into effect.
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The four couples plighted their troth in the rose petal-bedecked city hall of Europe's gay capital, Amsterdam, to the cheers and whoops of family and friends - some clad in tight black leather, others in sedate frocks and picture hats.
"You are writing history," Mayor Job Cohen, who officiated, told the couples just after midnight ushered in the new law.
This is the first civil marriage to be celebrated between two women and two men. That is unique in the world.
The Dutch parliament passed the gay marriage law - fiercely opposed by Christian parties - late last year, along with legislation allowing homosexuals to adopt children.
The Netherlands had offered gays registered partnership since 1998, which allowed same-sex couples to regulate their relationship legallyin a way largely like marriage.