DALLAS – They were surrounded by cheering supporters, but Kathy Tucker and Becky Roberts didn't focus on the fanfare.
"I just concentrated on Becky and the judge," Tucker said.
After 28 years, two finally said "I do" in Roberts' hometown.
"I'm a native Texan, and I was just so proud to be in there, to be able to be married," Roberts said.
"We didn't think it would happen in our lifetime," Tucker added.
The two made history as the first same-sex couple to get married in the George Allen Courthouse in downtown Dallas.
It was also an exciting moment for Judge Tonya Parker, who officiated the marriage.
It was her first in three years. She had declined to perform the ceremony until everyone could get married.
"The decision today represents an opportunity where I can now marry couples that come to the courtroom, like any other judge," Parker said.
The judge has quietly waited for this day to come. She has declined to speak out on the subject, other than in written statements, because she did not want to use her position to make a political statement.
It simply didn't feel right to exclude some couples from the institution of marriage, she said.
"I thought was inappropriate, because I did not want to exercise it for some and not for all," Parker said.
She spoke exclusively with News 8 Friday.
In a rare moment, all 12 of her fellow district court judges sat inside Parker's courtroom, watching as Parker officiated her first marriage ceremony in years.
Parker is openly gay, and says the Supreme Court's decision to allow same sex marriage is about much more than the right to marry. It's about removing the badge of second-class citizenship, she said.
And for a couple who has been waiting for 28 years, there is still some disbelief that their commitment to each other is finally legal.
"Wow, we're really married!" Tucker said. "We really did it. We tied the knot!"
Dozens of other couples married inside the George Allen Courthouse Friday.
There is normally a 72-hour waiting period to marry after a marriage license is issued, but judges granted waivers Friday because the same-sex couples had waited for so long.
