AUSTIN, Texas — In honor of Pride Month, the Travis County Clerk’s Office and some Travis County judges are offering free wedding ceremonies this week. It’s an expansion from last year’s one-day celebration.
They’re also commemorating Wednesday’s anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage across the U.S.
On East 16th Street in Austin, inside The Cathedral, a four-year engagement became a lifelong commitment for Sarah and Lilliana Hernandez on Saturday.
“We planned this in six days,” Sarah Hernandez said with a laugh, moments after the couple’s wedding. “We can breathe now!”
They tied the knot in front of their three kids, including one soon to be stationed in the military far away.
“We wanted to be able to have all the kids here with us to celebrate, and what better way to do it than in June?” Sarah Hernandez said.
Tristan Quintanilla and Jay Vaghela, who had been engaged since May after dating for just over a year, also got married at The Cathedral ATX on Saturday.
“When you know, you know, and love conquers all,” Quintanilla said. “Love is love, and no matter gender, doesn’t matter.”
Those were two of several free weddings that Travis County Judge Denise Hernández is hosting during Pride Month for the second year in a row.
“In 2019, I was getting ready to marry my wife and we actually experienced a lot of discrimination,” Judge Hernández, the presiding judge at County Court at Law No. 6, said. “We were actually denied from a venue for being an LGBTQ couple here in Texas.”
After taking office in January 2023, Hernández wanted to create a safe wedding space for all couples. She asked Monica Ceniceros, founder and owner of The Cathedral, to provide the space.
“It was an automatic 'yes' for me,” Ceniceros said. “It’s an easy representation of what we stand for as a business.”
Several vendors – including So Gay Rosé, The Cupcake Bar and Las Ofrendas – donated food, drinks and gifts. TK Tunchez, CEO and creative director at Las Ofrendas, created keepsake keychains engraved with the phrase “Love is Love” and Saturday’s date.
“I’m also a queer woman, and I know the importance of these days,” Tunchez said.
They are days made possible by Obergefell v. Hodges, the 5-4 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2015, which legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states.
It’s a moment Judge Hernández and many others at The Cathedral on Saturday never thought they’d see in Texas.
“I can remember that day like it was yesterday,” the judge recalled, saying she celebrated that night on Fourth Street in Austin with her wife, who was then her girlfriend of six years. “It was a moving experience. We cried a lot, we laughed a lot and we just allowed our love to exist in all forms.”
Nine years later, Judge Hernández is part of this collaboration, celebrating love and inclusivity and reflecting that message to the community.
“Don’t be afraid,” Sarah Hernandez said. “You have a community behind you that will support you.”
“As long as you love that person, you deserve to be with them, no matter who they are,” Quintanilla said.
Monday is the deadline to obtain a marriage license from the Travis County Clerk’s Office for the free weddings it's offering on Friday. On Tuesday, county commissioners also plan to commemorate Pride Month during the county's fourth-annual Pride flag-raising ceremony.