In deciding to uphold a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday, the California Supreme Court also decided that the estimated 18,000 gay couples who tied the knot before the law took effect will stay wed. Here is a look at three high-profile gay unions in California. AP, REDEYE
George Takei and Brad Altman
Married September 2008
The “Star Trek” star, 71, and his longtime partner, Altman, 54, were married in a multicultural ceremony at the Japanese American National Museum that featured a Buddhist priest, Native American wedding bands, a Japanese Koto harp and a bagpipe procession, The Associated Press reported.
The couple wore white dinner jackets with black pants, made a grand entrance to the tune of “One Singular Sensation” from the Broadway musical “A Chorus Line” and stepped into a circle of yellow roses and lilies, where they shared a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and were wed by a Buddhist priest.
Wanda Sykes and wife Alex
October 2008
The “The New Adventures of Old Christine” star spoke out in November at a gay rights rally in Las Vegas, according to reports and a YouTube video posted at the time. Sykes revealed she had married a woman in October. This month, The Associated Press reported that Sykes and her wife, mentioned by only her first name, Alex, are the parents of twins. Sykes’ publicist, Danica Smith, told the AP the babies, daughter Olivia Lou and son Lucas Claude, were born in late April.
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi Married August 2008
The talk show host and former “Arrested Development” star wed in an intimate ceremony at their home in L.A., their rep told People magazine at the time. DeGeneres, 50, and de Rossi, 35, exchanged rings and handwritten vows. Nineteen guests including the couple’s mothers attended the event, according to the magazine’s report.
