Antarctica just had its first gay wedding

Antarctica saw its first same-sex wedding on Sunday when a gay couple working on a research vessel were married on British Antarctic territory. 

Stephen Carpenter and Eric Bourne celebrated their wedding at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) Rothera Research Station on April 24. Carpenter described the experience as “beautiful,” although he says the ceremony was brief because it was “a little bit cold outside.” 

“I think it was, like, minus six?” he tells Xtra from aboard the polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, headed north from Rothera along the Antarctic peninsula. “And I’ve got a kilt on, so the photos were all a little bit rushed.”

While the couple have been together for two decades, Carpenter says they didn’t think too much about marriage until now. When they first met, same-sex marriage wasn’t even legal in the U.K. Bourne and Carpenter have spent their years together travelling the world aboard various vessels. The two met in 2002 when they were both working on a Ministry of Defence ship.

Carpenter says they essentially forgot about their lack of nuptials until they both came to work at the BAS, where they are both employed as stewards. But when some of their fellow crew members found out they weren’t married, someone floated the idea.

“The crew thought it would be fabulous if we got married, and that it would be a great party,” Carpenter says. The ship’s crew, who Carpenter says have been incredibly supportive, organized the ceremony, and it was officiated by their captain, Will Whatley. “The ship’s really happy about it,” Carpenter adds. “We’re all still buzzing, really.”

Carpenter says that the couple has been surprised by the media attention the ceremony has received. “We didn’t intend to be promoted as the first same-sex marriage in Antarctica,” he asserts. “For me, it’s just a wedding, no?”

Although the couple didn’t intend their marriage to be a statement, the wedding is yet another LGBTQ+ milestone for Antarctica. The continent has had its own Pride celebration since 2018, despite its small population. (The number of inhabitants number a few thousand people at any given time, but fluctuate with the cold season.) The continent’s LGBTQ+ researchers celebrate Pride in December, when it’s warm enough to be outside for short periods of time. 

Carpenter says he feels lucky to be able to be himself at his job, particularly when it involves living on a ship in close quarters with one’s colleagues for months on end. “As an organization, you know, if you come here, you’re going to be accepted, and treated as a colleague without any prejudice,” he says. “It’s really nice that you can come to work, and your colleagues are so supportive.”

Bourne and Carpenter plan to have another small celebration with family and friends when they get back to the U.K. and are hoping to go on their honeymoon when the ship’s voyage is complete in a couple months. But a piece of Sunday’s events will stay with them: the couple has the coordinates of their wedding location engraved on their rings.

“We’re both very proud to be the first same-sex marriage to happen in British Antarctic Territory,” Bourne said in a statement prior to the ceremony. “We feel very lucky to be able to live and work in such an incredible community and place together.”