Aya Bentley, right, 14, of Bellevue, Wash., uses a small bubble-maker as she joins other well-wishers congratulating gay and lesbian newlyweds at Seattle City Hall Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012, in Seattle. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a voter-approved law legalizing gay marriage Wednesday, Dec. 5 and weddings for gay and lesbian couples began in Washington state on Sunday, following the three-day waiting period after marriage licenses were issued earlier in the week. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
While numerous weddings were taking place across the state, both private and public, the city hall weddings were the largest public event, with about 140 couples taking part. The city set up five separate chapels to accommodate the revelers. Starting at 10 a.m., cheers and applause regularly broke out as another couple's marriage became official. Weddings at city hall were to continue through 5 p.m.
After couples married, they exited city hall, greeted by a steady rain and by dozens of supporters who cheered them with shouts of "congratulations" and flowers as they descended a large staircase down to the street.
"I don't even have words for this," said Caren Goldenberg of Seattle, who married her partner of seven years, Casey Evans. "It just makes me really proud of my city."
Mayor Mike McGinn, who greeted couples at they arrived, called it a "great day, a joyous day."
"It's really wonderful," he said. "A new civil right is going to be recognized in this great civil institution."
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