Melissa and Sarah Flippin remember when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to protect same-sex marriage in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision on June 26, 2015.
“I remember getting to celebrate at the courthouse with everybody,” Melissa said.
“Yes, I remember that too, standing on the steps,” Sarah added.
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Ten years and one day after that ruling, the Flippins, born and raised Denverites, got married at the Denver Elections Division after being together for 14 years.
“We’ve considered each other wives for quite a long time, so it seemed like an appropriate time to actually sign that certificate,” Melissa said.
The Denver Clerk and Recorder’s office held its first ever Pride Marriage Marathon Friday, allowing couples to get a marriage license and have a ceremony officiated on the same day to kick off Denver Pride weekend. Couples picked up their marriage licenses at Wellington E. Webb Municipal Building and walked over to the elections division office for their ceremonies.
The clerk’s office has consistently held a Marriage Marathon on Valentine’s Day, and Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López said his office was overdue to host a Pride rendition.
“It’s a celebration, and for me, I take it seriously as much as it’s a celebration, because I know what’s at stake,” López said. “I know what’s at stake in the environment that we’re facing right now, and in a little bit of uncertainty, it’s that much more of a powerful thing to do.”
López said his office initially planned a Pride Marriage Marathon in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic stopped it from starting that summer. He said the day was filled with tears, joy, excitement and giddiness.
“I feel joyful. It’s an honor to do this, especially for folks in our community,” López said. “We want to honor folks, especially today, honor love, and remind mind folks that love is love. I think there’s probably no other words more powerful than that.”
Since President Donald Trump took office in January, he and Republican leaders in Congress have rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across the federal government and have targeted access to gender-affirming care for transgender people. The Supreme Court currently has a 6-3 conservative majority, and concern that the court could reverse the Obergefell decision has grown since it overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that guaranteed the right to an abortion.
Colorado voters in November approved an amendment to remove language — though it was inoperable because of the Obergefell decision — from the Colorado Constitution that banned same-sex marriage. The Colorado Legislature passed a law this year that would remove similar language from state statute.
López got to officiate the wedding for a relative of a friend he went to school with. That was for Sade Kiel and Emily Panyachitch, who had their ceremony under a rainbow balloon arch in the center of the Elections Division. The room went silent as over a dozen of their family members gathered to watch them share wedding vows.
“We are very fortunate, because a lot of people don’t have this amount of support,” Kiel said about their family. “So I can’t explain in words how I feel. It’s just a beautiful thing. I’m just so happy. I’m ecstatic. I’m just blessed, to be honest.”
Kiel said she was overwhelmed with “all the good emotions that you should have at the end of a wedding ceremony.” The couple, who have been together 12 years, took four days to plan a small reception to celebrate their marriage.
“We’ve been talking about having a wedding for so very long, but of course, the important thing for us was buying a home,” Kiel said. “So we purchased our first home versus having a wedding, and so seeing this opportunity arise … I was like, would you like to do this? And she was like let’s do it.”
Panyachitch said she looks forward to celebrating Pride in Denver with Kiel as newlyweds this year.
“Say it out loud. Don’t be afraid to come out. Don’t be afraid to be yourself,” Panyachitch said. “There will always be an entourage out there for you who is cheering for you.”
James Murphy and Alex Albarenga got engaged in August 2024 and were planning a larger wedding, but they managed to plan a reception for about 50 people to celebrate their marriage after deciding to go to the Pride Marriage Marathon two weeks ago.
“We are ready to get married today. We’ve been together for three and a half years, and we just felt like this is a really good time, especially with things going on today in the world,” Murphy said. “We just want to make sure we can seal our deal and make sure we have our special moment, before it could be ripped away from us.”
The couple was surrounded by friends during their ceremony, one of whom video called another friend to watch Murphy and Albarenga exchange vows. They planned to celebrate at a rooftop terrace and bar with live music, and will close out their wedding day with a party bus.
Murphy said it “means the world” that he got to marry his best friend the day after the 10-year anniversary of the Obergefell decision and on the first day of Denver Pride weekend.
Cat Pace and Wynona Redman moved to Colorado from Texas a month ago and decided to kick off their time in their new home with a wedding.
“That kind of sealed the whole deal,” Redman said. Pace added, “House, car, puppies, our daughters are here, our grandbabies are here, it’s exciting.”
Pace said a friend sent her the link about the Pride Marriage Marathon, and the couple thought “why the heck not?” In 2020, Redman’s daughters threw a surprise commitment ceremony for the couple in Denver, so signing their marriage licence in the city felt “full circle.”
While Pace joked that Colorado is colder than Texas, Redman said “it just feels more like home here.”
“This is my first pride, to be honest. I’ve always had to kind of keep it quiet,” Pace said. “So this is pretty cool, just to be able to soak it all in, to see all the friendliness, the cultural support. It’s fantastic.”
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