California Attorney General Kamala Harris officiates the wedding ceremony of Kristin Perry and Sandy Stiler, plaintiffs in the Prop 8 case, at San Francisco City Hall.
The two couples who challenged the law that had barred same-sex marriage in California were married Friday afternoon after a federal appeals court dissolved its stay blocking same-sex marriage in the state.
On the eve of San Francisco’s Pride Weekend, State Attorney General Kamala declared Sandra Stier, 50, and Kris Perry, 48, “spouse and spouse” shortly before 5 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) at San Francisco City Hall. In their vows, the couple took each other as “lawfully wedded wife.”
“Right now, we feel really victorious and thrilled and relieved to be at the end of this long journey and just move forward like a regular married couple,” Stier said in a conference call with reporters — but not before she introduced Perry as “my beautiful wife.”
Stier said she and Perry hadn’t had time to schedule a honeymoon. But Perry said that after a celebration with “all of the people we love … Sandy and I will go somewhere alone.”
About 90 minutes later in Los Angeles, Mayor Antonion Billaraigosa married the other couple, Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, on his last day in office
Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, one of the couples who successfully challenged California’s Proposition 8, marry in Los Angeles.
The ceremony, Katami said, was “about celebrating our private commitment and our public connection.”
As the ceremony began, Villaraigosa said: “I’ve done a few of these over the last couple years, but never have I been prouder. Never have I been more joyful than I am today. This is a special moment.”
Many state officials, including Harris and Gov. Jerry Brown, celebrated the decision Friday on Twitter