( CNN ) -- Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier fought long for the day they could exchange wedding vows with no judicial cloud on the horizon . That day came Friday , when they stood before California Attorney General Kamala Harris on an interior balcony in the San Francisco City Hall rotunda . `` They have waited , hoped and fought for this moment . Today , their wait is finally over , '' Harris told observers . Harris began marrying same-sex couples two days after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the marriages . Perry and Stier were plaintiffs in the lawsuit before the nation 's highest court . The lesbian couple has been together since 1997 . Stier held a bouquet of white roses during the ceremony . Perry wore a pants suit ; Stier a dress with heels . One spectator , a man , wore a rainbow-colored vest with a hat resembling a wedding cake . The ring bearer was Elliot Perry , 18 , one of the couple 's twin sons who just graduated from high school and will be attending college . Harris presided over the exchange of vows , with the couple , spectators and media gathered on the balcony . Harris : `` Do you , Kris , take Sandy to be your lawfully wedded wife ... . '' Stier : `` I do . '' Harris : `` Do you , Sandy , take Kris to be your lawfully wedded wife ... . '' Perry : `` I do . '' Harris : `` You may now present the ring . '' Perry and Stier exchanged rings and vows . The attorney general then stated that by the power and authority invested in her by the state of California , `` I now declare you spouses for life . '' The spouses kissed . Cheers echoed in the rotunda . Perry began to cry . Their son , in a suit , stood between them , posing for the cameras on the balcony . Each newlywed kissed him on a cheek . Process begins to allow federal benefits for same-sex spouses . `` Thank you so much for coming to our wedding , '' Stier said afterward . `` We waited a long time for this day . We fell in love 14 years ago . '' Added Perry : `` It 's a great day in San Francisco , it 's a great day in California and it 's a great day in the country because Sandy and I are married . `` Other famlies out there in similar circumstances should fight to be married , too , '' Perry said , referring to other states that do n't have same-sex marriage laws . `` Sandy and I being married represents the conclusion of a difficult period in California . '' The 9th U.S . Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that same-sex marriages could resume in California , a move that the Supreme Court paved the way for on Wednesday . Supreme Court cases rest on citizens who sued -- and made history . California 's Supreme Court struck down the state 's ban on same-sex marriage in May 2008 , ruling that the state 's constitution gives `` this basic civil right to ( marry to ) all Californians , whether gay or heterosexual , and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples . '' But months later , 52 % of voters backed Proposition 8 to once again restrict marriages so that they could only be between a man and a woman . A federal appeals court ruled that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional , though it still issued a stay on same-sex marriages until the U.S. Supreme Court could weigh in . San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee said , `` Now , and from this day forward , same-sex couples can share in the same joy that is available to all Americans . '' City Hall will be open Saturday and Sunday for similar ceremonies . Stier told reporters before the ceremony that she believes young Californians can now grow up feeling `` they can be who they want to be '' -- with government protection for all . `` I have never felt equal and I will after I marry , '' said Perry . `` I will belong to a family that I chose . '' The couple said their marriage was arranged so quickly Friday and their other three children could n't attend the ceremony . So ended California 's nine years of legal struggle for same-sex marriage -- in a mere few minutes devoted to roses , kisses and `` I do 's . '' Same-sex marriages resume in California after court gives go-ahead . CNN 's Phil Gast contributed to this report .
Weddings will continue over the weekend . The first couple to marry are Kristin Perry and Sandra Stier . They were plaintiffs in the lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court . Ring bearer is Elliot Perry , 18 , one of the couple 's twin sons .