E-Mail This Article to a Friend WORCESTER Wedding business as usual BY DAVID S. BERNSTEIN

Gay-wedding day turned out to be cordial, upbeat, and uneventful in Worcester, one of the few places — not counting Northampton — west of Route 128 where officials anticipated a party atmosphere on the first day of legal same-sex marriage. The city’s progressive clerk, David Rushford, had publicly announced that he would allow non-state residents to wed, defying Governor Romney’s orders — an unusual move for most central Massachusetts politicians. Worcester would also be hosting the wedding of one of the seven plaintiff couples in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the lawsuit that brought same-sex marriage to the state. There would be cake and doughnuts and sparkling cider. Rushford predicted that as many as 250 couples would get their licenses Monday.

It turned out to be a much smaller, more casual affair. Only about 30 couples were in line when City Hall’s doors opened just before 8:30 a.m., and by 9:30 the six clerks were taking smoking breaks. By 10:30, even the one sign-holding anti-gay-marriage protester had left. In all, 72 couples applied in Worcester for same-sex marriage licenses on the first day they were issued. Civilization, it seemed, had not come to an end.

The relative quiet and normalcy of the day left the couples free to focus on what they were there to do. Eighty or so supporters congregated outside to cheer them on their way in and out of City Hall, including Lena Entin, a bubbly young gay-rights supporter, who handed out cake and sparkling cider and offered to take pictures as couples exited the building. "Some of them are shaking when they come out," she said. "We wanted to make sure there’s a very supportive, festive atmosphere here today."

Some threw rice and blew soap bubbles at the newly betrothed as they left City Hall; many were also on hand to promote their wedding-planning services, including a violinist, an invitation printer, and more than one justice of the peace. Motorists passing by on Main Street frequently honked and waved.

"This is a completely upbeat day," Rushford said a half-hour before opening City Hall’s doors. He clutched a large stack of numbered papers to hand out to couples, but the deli-counter approach turned out to be unnecessary.

Rushford saved sheet number one for Richard Linnell and Gary Chalmers, a Northbridge couple who were among the Goodridge plaintiffs. They arrived after 8 a.m., in casual pants and ties, and were hustled to the front of the line. With lawyers and media tagging along, they walked to the Worcester Probate and Family Court for a waiver of the three-day waiting period, and returned just before 10. Rushford printed out their license, and the stalwart duo finally teared up. "Tears of joy, definitely tears of joy," Chalmers said. "This makes it real." The two planned to wed later in the evening at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Worcester, and to hold a bigger celebration in September.

Other couples who showed up for marriage licenses in Worcester were mostly middle-aged, long-time partners, many with children. Most weren’t interested in joining a media circus, but simply wanted to make their relationships official on the first day it was possible. Diana Estrada, 34, and Maria Colon, 29, have been together for more than a decade and have four children. "We’re hoping to get married the end of May," Estrada said. "We want to get the marriage license before anything else changes."

"The day the Supreme Court made its decision, I proposed to him by e-mail and he e-mailed back ‘yes,’ " said Peter Rossner, 49, of his partner of 14 years, Jose Rivera, 54. They plan a June 19 wedding in Plymouth, where Rossner’s parents live; Rivera’s family plans to fly in from Puerto Rico and Texas for the event.

At least one couple came from New York — two Brooklyn women who said they believe their home state will honor their Massachusetts marriage. And one couple broke from the largely casual vibe of the day: Tracey Parkin and Julia Emond, of Worcester, who wore matching white pantsuits and corsages. Their daughters, nine-year-old Brittany and six-year-old Brianna, wore matching pink-and-white dresses. After obtaining a waiver of the waiting period, they had a quick wedding ceremony at City Hall before noon, then a celebratory lunch with friends. "There was a lot of uncertainty" with legal challenges brought as late as last weekend to try to stop same-sex marriages, Parkin said. "That’s why we didn’t plan a big wedding."

Worcester residents were able to witness their first actual same-sex marriage at 10:25 a.m. Katlyn Shusas, 27, and Donna Lockington, 31, after getting their license, waiting-period waiver, and wedding certificate, enjoyed the services of Justice of the Peace Steve Pratt on the sidewalk in front of City Hall. Pratt read brief but eloquent vows as Shusas and Lockington grasped each other’s hands; he then pronounced them life partners, with 50 jubilant strangers witnessing. Both brides wore jeans; Pratt wore khakis. The Worcester couple plans a more formal ceremony in Provincetown this summer, but for now they have the official paperwork making them legally married. "It feels really good," Lockington said, holding her wife’s hand. "Who doesn’t love a good wedding?"