Parts of the iconic Corinthians verse was recited, group photos were taken, and a string quartet and men’s chorus serenaded the crowd at Millennium Park early Thursday, when 32 same-sex couples unionized.

The civil union licenses were available starting June 1st, the first day of the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act. So by law, today was the first day ceremonies could be performed for couples to formally enter a civil union. Applications for the licenses in Cook County mirrored that of a marriage license, which is about 10 basic personal questions for each person, according to the clerk’s office who also said 203 licenses were issued yesterday to the betrothed ranging from ages 20 to 79.

The 32 Chicago-area couples for the high-profile ceremony were handpicked by members of Lambda Legal, a national gay rights advocacy group and organizers of the event dubbed it “Unions in the Park.” Couples were chosen in advance through Lambda Legal’s civil union tracker for Illinois, which as of Tuesday had about 500 couples looking to enter a civil union who had signed up, the group’s senior staff attorney Christopher Clark said.

Clark said the tracker, which has also been launched in Hawaii, is meant to be a resource for couples to share their experiences with each other and with the advocacy group. Citing a discrimination case in New Jersey, Clark said the group wants to serve as a watchdog to ensure all couples’ new civil union rights are honored. A social media aspect for the tracker is also in the works. Sign up for the tracker here.

Each couple was allowed 10 guests, although over a hundred passersby stood along the gates on Michigan Avenue to watch the politically star-studded event that also included Chicago aldermen Tom Tunney and James Cappleman and state representatives Greg Harris, Deborah Mell and Kelly Cassidy (who are all openly gay politicans), Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The 10-minute ceremonies were performed by a handful of circuit court judges, who at the end pronounced the couples “civil union spouses.” Then at a private reception at the Chicago Cultural Center that followed, the state representatives offered the first toast.

On Tuesday, Gov. Quinn also signed into law HB 3184, a bill that lets county boards determine fees for civil union or marriage licenses that are not to exceed $75, while directing $5 from each of the fees to the Illinois Domestic Violence Fund.

And...the burning question of who recited the Corinthians verse? That was again our Gov. Pat Quinn, who closed his opening remarks with “Love is patient, love is kind. Love never fails.” Watch the rest of his comments here: