'I do's heard around the state & SF Same-Sex Wedding Album

Paul Hill and Brad Akin (right) are married with their daughter Alexandra Akin, age 17, by their side in San Francisco City Hall in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, June 17, 2008. Tuesday was the day all state counties begin marrying same-sex couples.

Marital bliss, same-sex style, has broken out at county clerk offices all over the Bay Area, with gay and lesbian couples beginning marriages the moment the offices opened this morning.

In San Francisco, Hank Donat, 41, and Jeffrey Halpern, 43, were the first couple to tie the knot. They rushed into City Hall, giddily running though the ropes set up to control the crowd of about 400 couples, friends, relatives and protesters. Wearing suits and red-rose boutonnieres, they were also the first to pick up a marriage license.

Reporters and onlookers clogged the area, the Gay Men's Chorus serenaded waiting couples, and a general air of celebration filled the air.

"This is legal and we're equal but the most important thing is that I get to spend the rest of my life with the man I love," Halpern said.

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin married the San Francisco pair in the supervisors' ornate chambers, where they exchanged gold rings and gave each other a big kiss at the end of the ceremony.

"It feels great. Lawful marriage to the perfect partner is paradise on earth," Donat said.

As the morning wore in, volunteers set up an orderly production line of sorts in the North Light Court to handle the crush. Some checked in couples, helping them fill out their marriage licenses, while others then whisked couples away for the ceremonies. More than 100 ceremonies are expected to be performed today at City Hall.

After saying their "I do's," the brides and grooms filed their licenses and ate free chocolate cupcakes.

One couple filing their license wore signs on their backs, one reading "Just" and the other reading, "Married!"

Crowds of children and parents joined the couples, even those just picking up their licenses and planning weddings at a later date.

AT SF Chronicle:

• See SF Same-Sex Wedding Album
• See more photos of gay newlyweds.
  
• Submit pics
  
• Couple profiles
  
• Full coverage
  
• More of 'I do's heard around the state