AP One bride wore a knee-length lace dress and pearls. The other bride wore a yellow shirt and white suit. And when a pastor pronounced them “partners in life this day and for always” Tuesday they hugged and smiled as wedding guests and nearly a dozen TV cameras and reporters looked on.
Tuesday was the first day same-sex couples could marry in Washington.
Brides Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend were the first of three couples taking the plunge in morning ceremonies at the offices of the Human Rights Campaign, which does advocacy work on gay, lesbian and transgender issues. Other ceremonies were planned throughout the day.
Fifteen licenses were picked up in the first hour the marriage bureau was open and two couples quickly got married and returned to pick up their certificates, courthouse spokeswoman Leah Gurowitz said. More couples were also coming Tuesday to apply for licenses.
Young and Townsend married in a room with about 100 guests sitting on white chairs and standing next to bouquets of white snapdragons and yellow chrysanthemums, roses and carnations. A cellist played before the ceremony, and cream and gray programs announced the names of the three pairs marrying and said, “Congratulations to the couples on this historic day.”
D.C. bakery Cakelove supplied a three-tiered butter-cream frosted cake with a fresh strawberry filling for each couple.
About 150 couples were eligible to pick up marriage licenses Tuesday after applying on the first day the licenses were made available. Many of them stood in line for four or more hours last Wednesday. Townsend and Young were the first in line that day.
‘We have rights’
About 100 guests stayed for the three ceremonies. A cellist played, arrangements of yellow chrysanthemums, roses and carnations flanked the stage, and cream and gray programs announced the couples’ names along with: “Congratulations to the couples on this historic day.”
About 150 couples were eligible to pick up marriage licenses after applying last week. Many of them stood in line March 3 at the marriage bureau of the district’s Moultrie Courthouse for four or more hours. Like all couples, they had to wait three business days for their licenses to be processed.
By the time the marriage bureau closed Tuesday, 42 couples had returned to pick up their licenses. At least a dozen couples married and returned the licenses the same day. Couples do have 10 days to return their licenses after they have been married, so more couples may have actually tied the knot.
Some couples, like district residents Eva Townsend and Shana McDavis-Conway, planned to marry immediately. They planned a ceremony by their plot in a community garden, where they’ve grown carrots and potatoes. Others said they would be joined over the next several weeks and months. A large number – many of whom had held previous ceremonies – planned to marry at the city’s courthouse. Normally, the courthouse hosts four to six weddings a day, but over the next several weeks, officials are expecting 10 to 12 per day because of the demand for same-sex ceremonies.
Rebecca and Delia Taylor picked up their license Tuesday morning and a minister friend immediately married them outside the courthouse. The couple said they long ago exchanged rings and considered themselves married. Still, they were grinning after picking up their certificate inside the courthouse.
“We’ve referred to each other as wives,” Rebecca Taylor said. “It’s just a legal document, so if anything happens to one of us, we have rights.”