Wait is Over as Gay Couples Marry in Kirkland on First Legal Day

Twenty-nine years of waiting ended Sunday afternoon for Randi Winter and Lindsey Pattin of Port Townsend, married Sunday afternoon at Kirkland's Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church on the first day that gay couples could legally wed in Washington state.

"I never expected in my life to marry her," Pattin said after she and Winter became one of seven same-gender couples to to be married at the church. "I'm 71. This is huge, and it's more than just for us."

In all, seven gay couples were married on Sunday at Northlake Unitarian, a congregation that worked long and hard for . The law took effect on Dec. 6, the first day marriage licenses could be issued to same-gender couples, and Sunday was the first day they could legally wed, due to the state's required three-day waiting period.

"I am so excited," the Rev. Marian Stewart, pastor of the congregation, said before the first ceremony. "To be able to marry couples who have waited decades--you can feel the energy. I've cried so much this week!"

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And yet, Pattin and Winter said their fears remain, since the United States Supreme Court announced Friday it would review two cases, from California and New York, regarding same-sex marriage.

"I'm just hoping they don't take it away," said Pattin. "I'm hoping they won't say it's a religious issue; it's a civil rights issue."

That possibility seemed distant as the Rev. Stewart began the ceremonies. "I hope from this day forward it will just be marriage, without the adjectives," she said. "The people have voted, and love has won."

Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church is also among churches providing weddings for same sex couples, minister Lois Van Leer said last week. Van Leer told Patch she is happy to officiate at such ceremonies. She and her partner of 12 years were legally married in Victoria, British Columbia in February 2012.

They were also planning to get their marriage license late last week in order to marry again in Washington. 

For more information about weddings at Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church, contact Lori Varosh at 425-788-6044 or Rev. Van Leer at minister@wuuc.org.

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