Gay couples wed across New York after change in law

Phyllis Siegel (R) embraced her wife Connie Kopelov in Manhattan New York

Hundreds of gay couples have wed in New York after it became the sixth and most populous state in the US to recognise same-sex unions as legal.

Newly-weds brandished their marriage certificates as ceremonies were held from Manhattan to Niagara Falls.

Civil rights activists argue the US Congress should now repeal a federal law defining marriage as only existing between a man and a woman.

But thousands of people condemned the weddings at rallies in the state.

Just after midnight, Kitty Lambert, 54, and Cheryle Rudd, 53, from Buffalo, New York, were married at Luna Island, making it the state's first same-sex union.

Luna Island, at the foot of Niagara Falls, is a traditional wedding destination.