TWO women are celebrating after they became the first same-sex couple to get married in a Lake District church.

Claire Thomas, 32, and Codie Thomas, 26, are officially the first lesbian couple to get married in the Carver Uniting Church in Windermere.

'We are so proud and over the moon it was us,' said the couple.

The ceremony, which took place on October 17, had around 50 guests including friends and family.

Cafe assistant Claire said: "It was the most magical and best day of my life. The highlight was saying I do.

"The thing that stood out most, which made everyone laugh, was our two-year-old nephew head-butting the back of a car and walking away laughing.

"Codie did a speech thanking everyone, and we gave out gifts."

The couple, who met online in 2017, had their first dance to Callum Scott's You Are the Reason.

The 26-year-old kitchen assistant proposed to Claire on December 30 2020, on Morecambe Promenade.

Claire added: "We would like to thank all our bridesmaids, maid of honour, page boys, flower girls, ring bearers and also a big thank you to Adam, our photographer, who captured the special moments of our day."

"We would also like to thank our mums who helped make our day special."

The couple said they had a 'mini-moon' across the United Kingdom, visiting places such as Newcastle, Liverpool, Dumfries and Glasgow.

"We were supposed to go to Amsterdam on a mini cruise, but due to Storm Babet it got cancelled the day before we were meant to go," said Claire.

"We are also planning on going abroad next year."