Colorado Governor Jared Polis married his longtime partner Marlon Reis in a small traditional Jewish ceremony which served as the first same-sex marriage for a sitting governor.
Gov. Polis became the first openly gay man elected governor and the state's first Jewish governor when he was sworn into office in January 2019.
'Over the course of Jared's career in Congress, you know, we didn't set out to be the first of anything. Things sort of happened that way,' First Gentleman Reis told CPR News.
Polis, 46, and Reis, 40, have been together for 18 years and have two children, ages 7 and 9.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis (left) married his longtime partner Marlon Reis (right) on Wednesday, September 15
The small Jewish ceremony was the first time a sitting governor has had a same-sex wedding (Pictured: Polis (left) and Reis (right) on their wedding day)
Polis (right) became the first openly gay man elected governor and the state's first Jewish governor when he was sworn in as Colorado's governor on January 2019
The Governor (right) and First Gentleman (left) were married on the 18th anniversary of their first date
The couple was engaged in December and married in Boulder on Wednesday celebrated by a small circle of friends and family. All guests were required to get a negative COVID test before the ceremony.
Polis proposed to Reis while both of them were suffering from COVID, with Reis' symptoms worsening.
'I've been thinking about it for a while,' the governor told CPR. 'I'd ordered the rings, with an inscription from Isaiah, and had them hidden and ready to go. And he was going off to the hospital with COVID. I mean, I knew he'd probably get better, but obviously, you never know. I thought now's a good time to give (their children) something to remember here as we leave the house to take him to the hospital.'
They were married on the 18th anniversary of their first date when they went to the Boulder Bookstore before going to dinner. The nuptials were held at Colorado University- Boulder, the school Reis was attending when the couple began dating.
In a joint statement following the celebration, Polis and Reis said, 'The greatest lesson we have learned over the past 18 months is that life as we know it can change in an instant.
'We
