Therese Stewart, the chief deputy city attorney who successfully argued San Francisco's historic same-sex marriage case, legally wed her partner, attorney Carole Scagnetti, in a City Hall ceremony Friday, August 29.

Wearing color-coordinated pantsuits and matching floral boutonnieres, the couple gathered with more than 100 family members, friends, and colleagues in the landmark building's South Light Court. Presided over by retired Judge William Cahill, it took place nearly 13 years after they first exchanged wedding vows in the backyard of their Novato home September 3, 1995.

"This is it. It is very exciting," said Stewart of her second marriage to Scagnetti. "There is no question we would be together forever no matter what, but it is really nice to have it legal and recognized by the government, especially since I work for the government."

The ceremony took place in front of an old marble bank vault and the wedding cake featured a replica of City Hall's gold-leaf dome.

"The first one was all a blur. I remember walking down the aisle then, all of a sudden, going to bed wondering what just happened," said Scagnetti. "It does feel different today, but I can't tell you how."

The renewal of their vows also served as a "celebration of the independence of our judiciary that allowed these two, who have loved each other for 16 years, to be together legally," said Cahill.

The couple's "daughter" Natasha Payes, 20, walked the two women down the aisle. The three met when Payes was 7 years old and consider each other family.

"I call them my dads because I have a mom," said Payes, adding that seeing them marry is "a huge deal for me."

"I'm glad people recognize gay people, lesbians, can have families because that is what it is all about," said Payes, a student at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

Friends and co-workers beamed at being able to witness the ceremony.

"In the history of marriage, I don't know anyone who has worked so hard for a wedding," said Matt Dorsey, spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

"It was Terry's words that brought us justice," said marriage equality activist Molly McKay, who married her partner, Davina Katulski, at a private ceremony Monday, September 1. "It is such a sweet, poetic moment."

Kathleen Morris, a deputy city attorney who assisted Stewart on the marriage case, has known the bride since 2000. The two previously worked together at the law firm of Howard & Rice, and Morris said when Stewart opted to leave the corporate world for the public realm, her colleagues were initially stunned.

At the time, no one could have imagined Stewart would be a key figure in the struggle to secure marriage rights for same-sex couples.

"She was a major player and force within the firm, making a lot of money. She was a huge star," recalled Morris. "Then she makes this move and Mayor Gavin Newsom does gay marriages. It is an interesting circle."

Morris, who is bisexual, is in a same-sex marriage with her partner Shawn Fong. The Oakland couple married on September 9, 2001, and exchanged vows again in 2004 during the city's Winter of Love. Together 12 years, the women have no plans to marry prior to the November election, when voters will decide the fate of a measure to ban same-sex marriages.

"I think they will stand with us. I have total confidence in the voters," said Morris.