TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — The Travis County Clerk's Office celebrated marriage equality in a special way this month.
Monday, June 26, marked eight years since the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Constitution recognizes a national right to same-sex marriage. The clerk's office said that in February 2015, it issued the first marriage to a same-sex couple in Texas. Four months later, on June 26, 2015, the office issued 312 formal marriage licenses and 113 informal marriage licenses to couples.
Now, to celebrate the anniversary of marriage equality, the clerk's office offered free wedding ceremonies on June 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the 5501 Airport Blvd. office. The ceremonies were conducted by Judge Nicholas Chu.
The clerk's office said couples were treated to a backdrop for the ceremonies and for photos, as well as light refreshments.
Couples that wanted to get married during the office's "Marriage Equality Anniversary Celebration" needed to schedule an appointment.
First, the couples need to have an appointment to purchase their marriage license, which had to be obtained by June 22 to meet the 72-hour waiting period deadline. Once the couples had scheduled an appointment to purchase their marriage licenses, or if a marriage license had already been obtained, they could schedule an appointment for a June 26 ceremony.
All wedding parties were told to arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment, and there was a limit of 10 people to a wedding party.