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Elton John, 58, marries his Canadian partner David Furnish, 43.

Photo: Canada's David Furnish will wed his longtime partner Elton John on Wednesday.

Not since Prince Charles and Diana Spencer walked down the aisle in 1981 has there been so much buzz about a British wedding. On Wednesday music legend Elton John, 58, will marry his Canadian partner David Furnish, 43. The couple was among the first to register on Dec. 5th, when Britain’s Civil Partnership Act became law. Couples are required to wait at least 15 days to wed.  It is the second marriage for John, whose four-year marriage to Renata Blauel ended in 1988, and the first for Furnish, a modestly-successful film producer. “We’re really looking forward to it,” says David’s mother Gladys, of this week’s private ceremony and lavish star-studded reception. Gladys says she is very fond of her new son-in-law “He’s a lovely man and a good person,” she says. “He has been very good to our family and we get along well. We have vacationed together.” Elton’s “bachelor” party – set for Monday night at a London nightclub – will be a cabaret-style affair with famous friends like George Michael, Lenny Kravitz and Sting. The star’s close friend, Canadian designer Patrick Cox, organized the party. Guests will indulge in champagne and hors d’oeuvres served by waiters dressed as cowboys. Entertainment will be provided by the Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Adams, Royal Ballet star Ivan Putrov and Sir Ian McKellen in his drag persona, Widow Twankee. Canadian actor Eric McCormack, who attended high school with Furnish, will deliver a speech. John and Furnish will exchange vows in front of Clair Williams at the Guildhall Windsor Register Office – where Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles – with their parents looking on. The newlyweds and their families will then join 700 friends – including Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger and George Michael – on the grounds of their estate in Windsor for a spectacular celebration. John and Furnish hired party planner Peregrine Armstrong Jones, who has organized several banquets for Queen Elizabeth, the 40th birthday party for Princess Anne, and the 1999 wedding of Victoria and David Beckham. One question remains: What title will Furnish, who is marrying a knight, be allowed to hold? Since women who are wed to knighted men are given the title of “Lady,” some in England have joked that Furnish should become a “Laddy.” So who is the quiet Canadian tying the knot with rock royalty? David James Furnish was raised in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough with his brothers John and Peter by Jack, an accountant, and Gladys, a homemaker. David’s parents still live in the detached home on a quiet street where the boys grew up. Furnish attended J.B. Tyrrell Senior Public School, where he is remembered as a good student who was a member of the A/V and weather clubs and worked on the yearbook. During school dances in the Tyrrell cafeteria, Furnish and his classmates enjoyed slow-dancing to Elton John’s ballad Daniel. Furnish spent his high school years at Sir John A. Macdonald Collegiate Institute, where he was a popular student who excelled academically. Those who knew Furnish then have nothing but fond memories. "He was a brother type to me,” recalls former friend Lynn Ludford. “He was just a nice guy who wasn't overly masculine. He would always be the first person to help if you need it. "Dave would stop and talk to everybody." Elaine Karroum – whose surname was Burns when she knew Furnish through elementary and high school – agrees. “Everybody liked him. He was friendly, always smiling and full of energy,” she says. “He was very close to his older brother, John, and really looked up to him. They were always hanging out.” Both remember their friend as someone who was very modest and extremely funny. Says Ludford: “He didn’t have to act at being funny. He was just one of the guys and then he’s say something… and he has those big eyes… so you’d just laugh even harder.” Ludford claims Furnish didn’t start dating guys until he was in university. "In high school he was dating girls,” she recalls. “There was nothing effeminate about him. “I know he had a couple of girlfriends but it was just a casual dating thing. I don't think he ever had a long term girlfriend.” But Karroum says all those girls around Furnish were nothing more than friends. “I don’t remember him ever having girlfriends. He hung around with guys who were also gay,” she says, adding that she knew all along that her friend was gay. “I did, but I’ve always been very sensitive to that. “People didn’t talk about it in the 70s like they do now.” Furnish’s high school drama teacher has no trouble remembering her former student. “He always did stand out,” says Dr. Lois Kivesto. “There was a core group of students who were keen and inspired by drama and he was certainly in that group. "He certainly came across as very capable and very bright. David was also academically bright and he had great success in all of his subject areas. "He was a very disciplined worker and very dedicated to his work. I could foresee great things for David." In 1981, Kivesto directed Furnish in a production of The Fantasticks – also starring Eric McCormack, now on Will & Grace – and a staging of You're Gonna Be Alright Jamie Boy by Canadian playwright David Freeman. She said he was particularly skilled at improvisation. “He always brought enthusiasm and wit to class and I thoroughly enjoyed him." Kivesto said although it was clear that her student had a passion for theatre and the arts, he was wise enough to enroll in business school at the University of Western Ontario after completing high school. "It was something solid and stable to fall back on. But I think the performing arts were very near and dear to him.” After high school, Furnish moved to London, Ontario, where he studied business at the University of Western Ontario. He went on to work in the advertising industry in Toronto then moved to England to take a job at Ogilvy and Mather.

He met Elton John in 1993, when a mutual friend invited him to a Halloween party at the star’s home in Windsor. He and John hit it off immediately and spent hours talking about their lives and their passions for art, music and photography. John called Furnish the following day and the two had their first date – Chinese food at John’s London home – that night. They have been together ever since. Furnish and John have homes in England, Nice, Venice and Atlanta filled with designer clothes as well as art and photography collections worth millions. Among the cars in the couple’s collection are matching red Bentley Continental GTs. Furnish has a wealth of famous friends and is godfather to the children of David and Victoria Beckham. He also stands to inherit the bulk of John’s $400 million estate. John, who has struggled with weight, drug and alcohol problems, has publicly credited Furnish with saving his life. The singer told The Observer newspaper that this week’s civil ceremony will be "the happiest day of my life." But he said he will be thinking about gays and lesbians in countries where same-sex unions are not allowed. “It has been a long struggle for equal rights to gay people in Britain, but now, in the 21st century, we have real civil rights, tolerance and final acceptance in our lives,” he said. “Throughout history, gay people such as myself and David have often been made scapegoats by those who fear that we are a threat to the status quo.”- By J. Kennedy.