In this photo provided by the Houston mayor's office, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, right and her long-time partner, First Lady Kathy Hubbard, celebrate at their wedding Thursday, Jan 16, 1014 in Palm... (Associated Press) 
 
 A small group of family and friends, including Parker's mother and Hubbard's sister, attended the service Thursday. 
 
 The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Paul Fromberg, rector of St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. The couple chose Thursday for their wedding because it was the 23rd anniversary of the beginning of their relationship. 
 
 "This is a very happy day for us," Parker said in her statement. "We have had to wait a very long time to formalize our commitment to each other. Kathy has been by my side for more than two decades, helping to raise a family, nurture my political career and all of the other ups and downs and life events that come with a committed relationship. She is the love of my life, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life married to her." 
 
 Fromberg is a gay priest who had been rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Houston before leaving for San Francisco. 
 
 Parker's election in 2009 made Houston the largest U.S. city with an openly gay mayor. While California allows gay people to marry, Texas does not recognize same-sex marriages. 
 
 According to the mayor's statement, Hubbard will avail herself of other insurance options "and will, therefore, not participate in the new policy granting city health insurance benefits to spouses of legally married city employees." 

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 Houston Mayor Annise Parker's partner, Kathy Hubbard, center, looks on during the opening ceremonies of the newly opened seven-story, 75,000-square-foot Planned Parenthood headquarters off Gulf Freeway Thursday, May 20, 2010, in Houston. The Planned Parenthood at 4600 Gulf Freeway is to serve as the mothership for 10 health centers in southeast Texas and two more in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The new Houston facility in what is called Prevention Park expands access to health care in the region with a family planning health center, a surgical center and administrative headquarters. 
 
 Junction Jack gets his picture taken with Mayor Annise Parker and her partner, Kathy Hubbard, as Parker prepares to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the start of Saturday's game. 
 
 Houston Mayor Annise Parker, left, waves to the audience with her partner Kathy Hubbard after she was sworn in for her second term during the 2012 City of Houston Inaugural Ceremony in the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, in Houston. 
 
 (For the Chronicle/Gary Fountain, November 9, 2011) Kathy Hubbard, left, and Mayor Annise Parker at the Cinema Arts red carpet at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. 
 
 Houston mayor, Annise Parker, speaks to a gathered crowd of supporters, while her domestic partner, Kathy Hubbard, right, watches, Saturday, May 11, 2013 during a rally to officially announce her run for a third mayoral term, at Stude park in Houston, Texas. 
 
 In 2010, Annise Parker was the new mayor in town. She was photographed with her partner, Kathy Hubbard. 
 
 Houston mayor Annise Parker, center, celebrates her election victory with her partner Kathy Hubbard, right, during a campaign party at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, in Houston. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle ) 
 
 Houston mayor Annise Parker, center, celebrates her election victory with her partner Kathy Hubbard, right, during a campaign party at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, in Houston. ( Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle ) 
 
 Houston Mayor Annise Parker kisses her partner Kathy Hubbard after Parker was sworn in for her third term as mayor during the City of Houston Inauguration Ceremony for Mayor Parker, City Controller Ronald Green and the 16-member Houston City Council at Wortham Theater Center Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014, in Houston. During her inauguration speech, Parker called for a non-discrimination ordinance, improvements to infrastructure and continued economic growth. 
 
 Mayor Annise Parker takes the oath of office for a third and final term Thursday with her partner, Kathy Hubbard, at her side. 
 
 Mayor Annise Parker married her life partner of 23 years, Kathy Hubbard, on Thursday in Palm Springs, Calif. 
 
 The ceremony, held at sunset at a private home, was attended by a small group of family and friends of the couple, including Parker's mother and Hubbard's sister, according to a statement from Parker's office. 
 
 "This is a very happy day for us," said Parker, the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city. "We have had to wait a very long time to formalize our commitment to each other. Kathy has been by my side for more than two decades, helping to raise a family, nurture my political career and all of the other ups and down and life events that come with a committed relationship." 
 
 Late Thursday she tweeted: "I am privileged to now be the wife of the woman I have loved for more than 2 decades. I couldn't be happier. We said our vows today.-A" 
 
 The Rev. Paul Fromberg administered the vows. He is a friend of the couple and partner of Parker's longtime political consultant Grant Martin, formerly of Houston. Fromberg and Martin now live in San Francisco. 
 
 Former state District Judge Steve Kirkland and Mark Parthie, who are longtime friends and business partners of Parker and Hubbard, served as witnesses. 
 
 Thursday was the couple's 23rd anniversary. 
 
 "It's wonderful," said City Councilwoman Ellen Cohen. "They've demonstrated a commitment to each other over all these years. How marvelous it is that they can look forward to a long life together as a married couple. I'm very happy for them." 
 
 Parker had previously said that she would not get married until the union was legal in Texas, including as recently as June, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Speaking in November, however, it was clear the mayor had reflected on the impact of the verdict. 
 
 "At some point I fully intend to marry her," Parker said. "I will say that when the Supreme Court ruling came down, the first person to call me was my youngest daughter, who said, 'Does this mean you're going to go out and marry mommy now?' And I said, 'Well it doesn't exactly mean that because it doesn't change everything.' But, you know, I also am conscious of the messages I send to my own kids." 
 
 When Parker first took office in 2009, she pledged to put the city before social advocacy. Conservatives have accused her of reneging on that pledge, particularly in 2012 when she joined 78 mayors in 2012 in calling for equal marriage rights for gay couples. 
 
 And in late November, Parker, relying on a legal opinion from City Attorney David Feldman and recent court rulings, announced the city would begin offering health and life insurance benefits to the spouses of all legally married city employees, gay or straight, in alleged violation of a 2001 city charter amendment. 
 
 At the time, Parker said the decision would not affect her because she and Hubbard were not legally wed, adding that Hubbard pays about $700 a month for health insurance. In Thursday's statement about her marriage, however, Parker clarified that Hubbard has other insurance options available and will not claim city benefits. 
 
 The city has been sued over the benefits decision by two plaintiffs represented by Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill. He was less congratulatory about the union. 
 
 "Why does she wait to get married in another state after the election? Why does she give same-sex benefits to couples married in other states after the election?" Woodfill said. "This is a mayor who is bringing California and New York values to Texas, and these are values Texans don't subscribe to. Texans have defined their position on marriage in the form of a constitutional amendment." 
 
 Nationally, Parker often is seen as the gay mayor of Houston. She has worked to ensure she is seen as the mayor who happens to be gay, repeatedly saying, "The best thing I can do for my community is to be a great mayor of Houston." 
 
 Parker and Hubbard met in 1990 when Hubbard, a tax consultant, stopped by Parker's Montrose bookstore, Inklings, looking for clients. They have two daughters and a son, and their goddaughter lives with them.
– Houston not only has an openly gay mayor. It now has an openly gay married mayor. Annise Parker wed partner Kathy Hubbard yesterday on their 23rd anniversary in Palm Springs, Calif., reports the Houston Chronicle. "This is a very happy day for us," said Parker, whose home state does not recognize same-sex marriage, notes AP. "We have had to wait a very long time to formalize our commitment to each other." The couple have two daughters and a son. "Kathy has been by my side for more than two decades, helping to raise a family, nurture my political career and all of the other ups and down and life events that come with a committed relationship," said the mayor's statement. Even though Texas doesn't sanction gay marriage, Parker declared in November that Houston would start offering health and insurance benefits to gay couples who were legally married elsewhere. The GOP chief of Harris County is suing over that, and he wasn't exactly wishing the couple wedded bliss, notes the Chronicle. "Why does she wait to get married in another state after the election?" asked Jared Woodfill. "Why does she give same-sex benefits to couples married in other states after the election? This is a mayor who is bringing California and New York values to Texas."