Former President George H.W. Bush served as an official witness at a same-sex wedding in Maine this past weekend.
His spokesman Jim McGrath confirmed that Bush and his wife, Barbara, attended the ceremony on Saturday to celebrate the wedding of their friends Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen, who own HB Provisions, a general store in Kennebunk, Maine.
“It was a wonderful wedding with all of our family and friends including President and Mrs. Bush in that mix,” Clement wrote in an emailed statement to MSNBC.com.
Thorgalsen posted a photo of Bush signing state wedding documents to her Facebook page on Sunday. She added a photo caption that read, “Getting our marriage license witnessed!”
McGrath said the former president and his wife attended as private citizens and longtime friends of the couple. Bush spent most of his childhood in Kennebunkport, Maine, and owns a compound in the town.
Marriage equality was legalized in Maine last December after a ballot initiative was approved by voters during the November 2012 general election.
Clare Kim