Jeff Rainford, Slay’s chief of staff, said talk of holding marriages at City Hall began in April, but it took a few months to set up. The fact that it happened near PrideFest was just a coincidence, “but a good coincidence,” he said.

Rainford said the city decided to jump into the fray of more than 70 legal same-sex marriage challenges across the U.S. to show that St. Louis is a city welcoming to everyone. And, he said, it is possible that a ruling on the city case could come before others, so it makes no sense to delay the opportunity of marriage for same-sex couples here.

The decision by city leaders was not welcomed by everyone. Rainford said the mayor’s office got 12 calls on the issue on Thursday — six for and six against.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis issued a statement expressing disappointment over the marriages. “It is disheartening to see our wonderful city, named after the great Catholic civil leader St. King Louis IX, so eagerly cast aside the laws of our state and disregard the laws of nature,” the statement said. “The fact is, the union of two men or the union of two women is not the same as the union of a woman and a man.”