Rep. Barney Frank weds in small, historic ceremony MASSACHUSETTS

This undated image provided by Fotique shows U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., left, and Jim Ready posing at their wedding reception Saturday July 7, 2012. Frank married his longtime partner in a ceremony officiated by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick in Newton, Mass. Saturday. (AP Photo/Fotique, Jaime E. Connolly) less This undated image provided by Fotique shows U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., left, and Jim Ready posing at their wedding reception Saturday July 7, 2012. Frank married his longtime partner in a ceremony ... more Photo: Jaime E. Connolly, Associated Press Photo: Jaime E. Connolly, Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Rep. Barney Frank weds in small, historic ceremony 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

It was perhaps fitting that Rep. Barney Frank met his future husband, Jim Ready, at a political fundraiser in 2005.

"I told him I had a crush on him for 20 years," said Ready, recalling that meeting.

And what did Frank make of that? "That I'm being rewarded for coming to this fundraiser," he said with a laugh.

Frank, 72, and Ready, 42, were married in Newton, Mass., on Saturday in a low-key ceremony on the banks of the Charles River. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick officiated. The guests included Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House minority leader from San Francisco, as well as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Both bridegrooms said they recognized the historical significance of the ceremony, which lasted fewer than five minutes; Patrick told the guests that as per Frank's request, "this service will be short and to the point."

Another first

Frank, who played a central role in creating legislation intended to bring greater transparency to financial markets, became, in 1987, the first member of Congress to announce publicly that he is gay. Now, months before he retires, he is the first member to be married to a partner of the same sex.

It was yet another signal moment for Frank, a product of a blue-collar family in Bayonne, N.J., whose legislative prowess made him into one of the most powerful lawmakers in Washington, despite a scandal involving a troubled ex-boyfriend that threatened to derail his career.

In October 2005, Ready - a carpenter and welder who specializes in awnings and runs a small shop, Jim of Most Trades, in Ogunquit, Maine - had been dragged to a local fundraiser by his longtime partner, Robert Palmer, who knew Frank from his days as an adviser to former Gov. Michael Dukakis.

At the time, Ready was acting as a full-time caretaker: Palmer had been struggling with serious illness, and both men knew that he was dying.

The meeting that night was not entirely coincidental. Palmer "wanted someone to be there for me," Ready said.

The two struck up a friendship, but Ready felt guilty spending more than a few hours away from his partner. Palmer died in January 2007.

"I called, and he was distraught," Frank said. He flew to Maine to console Ready.

Their dinners turned into dates.

Still, it soon became clear that dating a congressman was not like dating other men. Frank had just been appointed chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Weekends in Maine turned into Washington sleepovers, with Ready eating takeout outside a conference room as Frank hammered out a bank bailout with figures like Henry Paulson, then the Treasury secretary.

Attitude shift

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill said they began to see changes in their usually cantankerous colleague. "I should've known you were here," said one leading House Republican after bumping into Ready in a Capitol hallway. "Barney was nice to me today."

Ready and Frank had long discussions about marriage; Frank wanted to be married while still serving in Washington. Ready was worried about the public scrutiny. But he remembered how he felt in high school when Frank came out publicly.

"The kids that are going to see us, and feel strong enough to be able to come out and be who they are. That gives me more encouragement that I'm doing the right thing," he said.