In downtown Delray Beach Monday night, same-sex couples who gathered to get hitched in a group wedding were greeted by balloons, flowers and dancing in the streets. The doors of the South County Courthouse opened at 10:30 p.m. so marriage licenses could be processed before the ceremony. By then, dozens of couples were lined up outside, and a few started slow-dancing on the sidewalk after someone docked an iPod to a speaker. Shortly after midnight, about 80 couples exchanged vows in a civil ceremony presided over by County Clerk Sharon Bock. Newlywed Cristina Jimenez married her partner of nine years and says she was struck by the fact that their wedding day was Jan. 6 – the festival of the Epiphany. “I grew up Catholic. So we always celebrated the Three Kings and the coming of the Magi and bringing gifts. And this is like a gift,” said J imenez . Seventy-five-year-old Sheldon Goldstein and his 66-year-old husband, John came to the ceremony wearing matching multi-colored lamé vests.
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