I’m so disappointed. In highly uncharacteristic style, it turns out that Sir Elton John has opted to celebrate his civil partnership in a private ceremony with only his own parents and those of David Furnish, his betrothed, as witnesses.

Those of us not invited to the “post partnership” party will therefore not be able to see the wild wigs, ravishing outfits, jewels, crowns, exotic rings and the rather startling make-up that so often accompanies the Johns (or will it be the Furnishes?) unless they appear on the pages of a glossy mag.

Still, the decision by John to take the ceremony seriously signals something rather delightful. Even if you have violent moral objections to the idea of gay people getting hitched, the fact that so many have seized the opportunity cannot be entirely bad if it brings with it a new emphasis on stability and faithfulness.

Already 1,200 couples have registered to hold ceremonies across Britain, with a further 22,000 expected to join them in the next five years. It is not just bright young things — many cementing their long-term relationships are in their sixties.

Surely this is a better and more inspiring human-interest story than drunken heterosexual teenagers shagging in car parks? It is also a nice touch that Scotland pips England to the civil partnership post by 24 hours. Last time Scotland got something first, it was Thatcher’s poll tax.

With barely a thought for pre-wedding jitters, hundreds of Scots plan to make the most of that extra day. When Liz Allan, the Edinburgh registrar, opened her office to take bookings, all available slots were snaffled within two hours. On December 21, 79 ceremonies will be enacted, much to the frustration of Robin Scott, 58, and his boyfriend, Jean-Philippe Hertzog, 38, who jointly own Edinburgh’s Claremont bar.

When this newspaper last spoke to them, their arrangements were going swimmingly. But now there is a hitch. “We’ve been looking at ‘hand-fasting’, the pagan ceremony,” Scott explains, “and the High Priestess thought that she could do everything — the official stuff as well as the religious — but that’s not allowed, so now we’re stuck because the registrar is completely booked up.”

Scott and Hertzog are now contemplating a complicated round of four ceremonies: the Church of Scotland blessing they had last year, a pagan ceremony before Christmas, the registrar’s formalities in January and then another ceremony at the French consulate to make sure things are squared with the French authorities, since France is where they hope to live eventually. You can’t get much more committed than that.

For 33-year-old Aberdeen councillor John Stewart and his boyfriend, Neil Fletcher, 41, also a councillor, planning is going more smoothly, with King’s College chapel for the blessing and neighbouring Elphinstone Hall booked for the legal stuff.

Both men will wear frock coats, “but our accessories will be different”, Stewart tells me. “I will wear blue and Neil gold.”

When I exclaim how stylish it sounds, Stewart laughs. “It’s to do with football,” he says, neatly subverting all my preconceptions.

With a reception afterwards and a new-year honeymoon in Australia, Stewart and Fletcher have found the whole affair a “bank-busting experience to be undertaken only once”. When I ask why ape all the heterosexual wedding palaver, Stewart has a very simple answer: “Gay people are really very traditional.”

However, even as we all enjoy the traditional flummery, with the couples worrying away about table-plans and forms of words — Stewart and Fletcher have had the usual disagreement about hymns — we should not be in any doubt that the Civil Partnership Act marks a fundamental shift in British sensibilities, and in double-quick time.

Times Recommends

• Mourinho wants to go ‘home’ to England
• Worship of children has gone too far
• 100 best winter wines