Love Wins! Gay Weddings Began Today In Washington State

Washington State (and Seattle, especially) was bursting at the seams with joyful gay weddings today.

Voters legalized state recognition of same-sex marriage on Election Day, couples were able to get marriage licences on Thursday, and (after the mandatory three-day waiting period) today was the first day same-sex couples could legally get married within Washington State.

Normally, state and county offices wouldn’t be available to marry couples on a Sunday, but droves of judges have volunteered their time to marry couples for free. The Stranger, a local newspaper, even donated volunteer hours and money to create wedding boutiques around Seattle’s City Hall.

For all of you who love weddings — and maybe even have a tendency to cry at every one you attend — here is a stream of happy couples who now have their wedding licenses. For more pictures, you can check out the coverage from The Seattle Times, The Tacoma Tribune, The Stranger, Komo News, and this community Flickr pool. Update: More pictures from The Stranger and BuzzFeed.