Two by two, couples stepped forward to be married after midnight at Minneapolis City Hall. "Finally," read the signs volunteers handed out to the wedding guests.
"Finally," said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, keeping a close eye on the clock as it ticked down to midnight and the moment same-sex couples could legally marry in his town.
At the stroke of midnight, he turned to Cathy ten Broeke and Margaret Miles, who stood smiling through their tears, holding hands and wearing the same dresses they wore for their commitment ceremony 12 years ago.
"Margaret and Cathy, by the power now finally vested in me, by the laws of the people of Minnesota, we hereby declare Margaret and Cathy legally married. You may now kiss the bride."
Afterward, a beaming ten Broeke said she felt "ecstatic….We hoped this day would come, and now it has."
The couple's 5-year-old son Louie served as their ringbearer and the newlyweds were particularly delighted that the little boy – who has dealt with classmates who told him that two mommies can't be married – now has concrete proof that that's no longer so.
"This makes it easier for him to talk to other kids about his two moms without other kids having questions," Miles said. Now, she hopes, people will see them like any other family. "We mow the lawn and we walk the dog and have really average lives and there's nothing mysterious about it and nothing scary about it."
Stepping into city hall, which was decked with donated flowers for the occasion and crowded to the rafters with wedding guests and 40 other pairs of brides and grooms, she said, "felt like this huge, loving embrace. Not just from the people in this room, but you could just literally almost feel it coming from across the state."
