First Full Day of Same-Sex Ceremonies

Outside City Hall, a man stood with a rainbow flag, a woman with a sign proclaiming "rejoice." There's no better word to describe the temperament inside and outside City Hall today, as civil ceremonies culminated in couple after couple descending the regal staircase of the Rotunda -- met with flowers, with bubbly, with cake. And bearing the paper proof of their historic nuptials.

It was impossible not to share in the jubilant mood -- and in the poignant occasion of California's first full day of legal same-sex unions. The first ceremony we witnessed ended with the words "I now pronounce you spouses for life" -- and with a chorus of cheers erupting from the crowd. The ecstatic couple mugged for every camera angle.

Cameras and mic flags were the uniform of the day, with a friend of mine commenting that the media seemed to outnumber the spectators. Probably not. But to say it was a press melee would be no exaggeration. Almost every couple was shadowed by photographers and interviewers.

A violinist played above the fray . . . chairs were set in stations along the bannister, marked "Ceremony Location A" (or B or C) . . . Mayor Newsom fielded questions . . . families and friends embraced . . . and the festivities seemed free (at least for those moments) of anyone or anything detracting from the elation of the moment.

The scene will undoubtedly repeat itself tomorrow, as the county clerk starts it all again at 8:00am.

Photos: California's Same-Sex Marriage Ceremonies

• Same-Sex Marriage Wedding Album - San Francisco Chronicle
• Photos of California Gay Marriage - Kathy Belge (About.com: Lesbian Life)

^{Ceremonies in the Rotunda
Photos © Ingrid Taylar}