First Santa Cruz Same-Sex Weddings Took Place Monday

"I now pronounce you....spouses for life."

So began one of the first federally-sanctioned weddings at the Santa Cruz County Administration building Monday, three days after the Supreme Court threw out a law that said that somehow same sex marriages threatened heterosexual marriage in a landmark decision.

County Supervisor Zach Friend helped Chela Zabin and Blue Forman tie the knot at 9:30 a.m. Monday by officiating. They read their vows simultaneously, when their mouths could stop smiling long enough to form words. The Santa Cruz couple with 21 years of togetherness were the junior of the county's first three marriages.

Gayle Hendricks and Dianne Bedared have been together 30 years and were married in San Francisco in 1994 by then-Mayor Gavin Newsome. The Hollister couple tied the knot quickly because they were on their way to Daytona Beach, Fla, to retire.

Shirley Patton and Sharon Nixon, however, outdid them. They have been together 40 years, finally able to make it legal. 

The weddings looked like all the weddings conducted on special days such as Valentine's Day in the building adjoining the courthouse, even down to the photographers snapping away and the families sharing their joy. 

As one bystander said, "These aren't gay weddings anymore. They are just weddings."