Gay couples tie knot in 'Summer of Love'

Serenaded by a gay men’s chorus, showered with rose petals and toasted with champagne, hundreds of tearful same-sex couples were married across California in what some are calling the state’s new Summer of Love.

Wearing everything from T-shirts to tuxedos and lavish gowns, they rushed down to county clerks’ offices to obtain marriage licences and exchange vows on the first full day that gay marriage became legal in California by order of the state’s highest court.

They were joined by jubilant crowds that came to witness the event.

George Takei, who played Sulu on the original 'Star Trek' TV series, beamed as he and his partner of 21 years, Brad Altman, obtained one of the new gender-neutral marriage licences – with the words Party A and Party B instead of bride and groom – at the West Hollywood City Hall. They are planning a September wedding.

“I see before me people who personify love and commitment,” a grinning Takei told the crowd.

He flashed the Vulcan hand salute from 'Star Trek' and, in a twist on the Vulcan greeting from the TV series, said: “May equality live long and prosper.”

The burst of gay weddings actually began the evening before, when a few counties extended their office hours past 5pm, the moment the May 15 California Supreme Court ruling legalising same-sex marriage took effect.

However, today all 58 counties began issuing licences, and the rush was on.

There were scattered demonstrations outside some offices and courthouses. About a dozen protesters stood across the street from the Sacramento County recorder’s office, carrying signs that read “Marriage 1 man + 1 woman” and “Resist Judicial Tyranny”.

“It’s something to just pray about. It’s not a time to be joyful,” 16-year-old demonstrator Juliya Lyubezhanina said as she watched dozens of balloon- and rainbow flag-carrying couples.