While the final process was quick, many had been waiting for years for official recognition of their relationships. Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend, the first couple to apply for a license last Wednesday, told The Washington Post they met when they were on opposite sides in a debate in a constitutional law class at the District of Columbia University 12 years ago.

Mayor Adrian Fenty, who signed the same-sex marriage ordinance, toasted the married couples with champagne.

James Betz and Robert Hawthorne, who met almost four years ago, arrived at the Superior Court building at 3:30 a.m. They were married outside the courthouse by the Rev. Bonnie Berger, a chaplain at George Washington Hospital.

Hawthorne's father, also named Robert, took the train from New York to witness the ceremony.

"This is one of the happiest days of my life," the father said.

For the most part, the morning was calm. U.S. marshals escorted a woman from the building when she began warning the couples waiting in line that God would not recognize their marriages.