Gay marriages in Rhode Island and Minnesota – in pictures

In Minnesota, which legalized same-sex marriage earlier this year, weddings began for gay couples at midnight, with an estimated 1,000 people crowding City Hall in Minneapolis, including Phil Oxman and Harvey Zuckman, above Photograph: Renee Jones Schneider/AP

Lisa Kesser and her partner of 20 years Dorcey Baker, at City Hall, in Rhode Island, which became the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriages and automatically recognizes those performed in other states Photograph: Steven Senne/AP

Mayor RT Rybak, officiated 46 marriages ceremony at Minneapolis City Hall Thursday morning, including that of Al Giraud and his partner Jeff Isaacson, while county judges oversaw another 21 around in the city council chambers Photograph: Stacy Bengs/AP

Margaret Miles and Cathy ten Broeke were the first couple married in Minnesota's capital last night, with ten Broeke saying "I didn't expect to cry quite that hard". Their son joined their promise to be a family, saying with them: "We do" Photograph: Brian Mark Peterson/AP

About 30% of Americans now live in states where gay marriage is legal, according to the group Freedom to Marry, including Gary McDowell, and Zachary Marcus, above, who were wed in Providence, Rhode Island this morning Photograph: Steven Senne/AP

Minnesota became the 13th state and first of the midwest to recognize same-sex marriage after voters rejected an amendment to ban it last fall, and state legislators legalized it in May Photograph: Renee Jones Schneider/AP

Midnight weddings were held all over Minnesota, including in the Sunken Gardens of the Como Zoo Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul, where Reid Bordson and Paul Nolle wed, with their daughter on hand Photograph: Richard Tsong-Taatarii/AP

A makeshift altar was set up on the marble staircase in Minneapolis' city hall, with crowds of several hundreds gathering to celebrate in and around the capitol Photograph: Stacy Bengs/AP

Rhode Island city clerk called Thursday "a day of smooching", while St Cloud court administrator Tim Roberts, who officiated midnight weddings in Minnesota, said, "It feels historic. It's an honor to be a part of it" Photograph: Stacy Bengs/AP