Burke Tyer and Wesley Radtke.
First in line
Renee Currie and Shari Roll were stunned to be the first in line at the Dane County clerk's office on Friday afternoon.
The Madison couple, both in their 40s, have been together for about a decade and have long craved the security that heterosexual couples enjoy through marriage. So when word broke that Wisconsin's amendment banning same-sex marriage had been overturned, they rushed to the clerk's office.
"It's surreal," Currie said a little after 5 p.m. on Friday. "I feel like we shouldn't be first in line because so many people did so much before us."
But they wouldn't be alone for long. By 6 p.m., several more couples had lined up, and by 9 p.m. 61 couples were given marriage licenses. Most of the couples chose to get married on the steps of the City-County Building.
Currie and Roll's ceremony lasted less than two minutes. Mike Quieto performed the ceremony in front of numerous media and cheering spectators.
Both cried as Quieto announced: "In the eyes of your community and, finally, in the eyes of the law, you are a married couple."
-- Joe Tarr
'Making history'
Ravi Manghnani wore a traditional Indian hat and silk pants when he married his partner, Todd Kinsman, in front of the City-County building.
Manghnani said he and Kinsman had a ceremony two weeks ago and pulled their wedding garb "out of retirement" on Saturday to be married legally. This will be the fourth anniversary they celebrate. The others include the day they met, when they became domestic partners and their first ceremony. But Kinsman said Saturday felt different.
"It just feels special," he said. "Like we're making history."
-- Judith Davidoff
'All so surreal'
Burke Tyer and Wesley Radtke weren't planning to wait on Wisconsin to give them the right to marry.
The Sun Prairie couple, who have been together for four and a half years, already had a wedding scheduled in Iowa, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2009, on June 27. They'd even sent in their $35 fee for a marriage license.
But when they heard Dane County was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Friday, they hurried to the Dane County clerk's office. They only wanted to officially tie the knot, but were pleasantly surprised to find themselves making history with dozens of other couples, in front of numerous reporters and supporters.
"We weren't even thinking about the press being here, and now it's all so surreal," Radtke said.
The two were the second same-sex couple to be legally married in Dane County, in a ceremony performed by Dane County District Judge Rhonda Lanford.
Both teared up during the ceremony and were greeted with loud cheers when they kissed.
"It feels great," Radtke said moments later. "I'm still so excited. Now we're going to go be witness to some friends of ours."
-- Joe Tarr
'Real validation'
Beth and Jamie Kernan decided to celebrate their union last September with a large reception even though they were not able to get legally married in Wisconsin at the time. Beth's mom, Linda Kruchten, was among the 200 or so friends and family there, but she didn't shed any tears. Saturday was a different story.
Kruchten cried softly when Beth, a nurse, and Jamie, an accountant, were married legally in a ceremony on the steps of the City-County Building.
"It's a real validation for them," said Kruchten. "It's what they wanted."
"I'm just happy for them that they can finally do this and be exactly like any other couple," Kruchten added.
Beth and Jamie, both 27, met at the University of Wisconsin-Madison six years ago and live in Madison. They were on their way to Oshkosh Friday when they heard that U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb had overturned Wisconsin's same-sex marriage ban.
They stayed for dinner and then returned home late to gather the paperwork they needed to get their marriage license at the Dane County clerk's office. They rose early, stopped at the Dane County Farmers' Market for some scones, and were the third couple in line at the clerk's office by 7 a.m.
Jamie said the ability to legally marry "finalized" their relationship. "There was always an asterisk when people asked about it."
-- Judith Davidoff
'Contented'
Phyllis Andersen was in front of her house when her neighbors Renee Currie and Shari Roll drove by last Friday on their way to get married.
"I never saw two faces so joyful and exuberant," said Andersen. "It really meant a lot to them."
Andersen went back inside and started talking to her partner, Donna Biddle, whom she met 51 years ago. The couple never planned on getting married because they never thought they could. But the fervor of their neighbors, who became the first same-sex couple in Dane County to legally wed, rubbed off: "We got kind of enthused about the matter," said Andersen.
They scrambled for much of Saturday tracking down Biddle's birth certificate, arriving at the clerk's office shortly before its 5 p.m. close. They were the final couple to wed that day.
Andersen and Biddle, who are both in their 70s, say they might have matched their neighbors' exuberance if they had been able to wed during the first 10 or 20 years of their relationship. But they do feel a change with their new legal status.
"I think there is a bond that gets reinforced," said Andersen.
Biddle added, "I feel a lot more contented."
-- Judith Davidoff
'Big financial significance'
Richard Rehm and Ken Highfill were the first in line at the Dane County clerk's office Saturday morning to get a marriage license. They both wore crisp Oxford dress shirts and boutonnieres.
Rehm said there are a few reasons why he and Highfill, who are both retired, decided to tie the knot.
"We love each other and we want to have other people know we're in a relationship," he said.
But they're also looking forward to the benefits and tax advantages of legal marriage.
"It has big financial significance for us," said Rehm.
-- Judith Davidoff
