Plaintiffs in marriage equality suit finally get license to wed

Mark Phariss, left, and Vic Holmes celebrate getting their marriage license at the Bexar County Marriage License Office in the Paul Elizondo Tower in San Antonio on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. Mark Phariss, left, and Vic Holmes celebrate getting their marriage license at the Bexar County Marriage License Office in the Paul Elizondo Tower in San Antonio on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. Photo: Lisa Krantz, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Lisa Krantz, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 26 Caption Close Plaintiffs in marriage equality suit finally get license to wed 1 / 26 Back to Gallery

Before they were catapulted onto the national stage as plaintiffs in a marriage equality suit against the state of Texas, and before they were denied a marriage license in Bexar County two years ago, the love story of Mark Phariss and Vic Holmes began right here in San Antonio 18 years ago.

On Friday, the couple, who for the last several years has called Frisco home, was back in the Alamo City where they applied for and finally received the long-awaited marriage license.

In two months, they plan to marry at a large ceremony in front of family and friends in Frisco, something they said they weren’t sure would ever happen when they were denied a marriage license in Bexar County in October 2013.

“We wanted to come back to the same clerk’s office that turned us down to get the license,” Phariss said. “We knew (County Clerk) Gerry (Rickhoff) was supportive previously but we still wanted to give him the chance to actually give us the license.”

And three months after the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land, they did just that.

In the foyer of the Paul Elizondo Tower, Rickhoff greeted them with hugs.

“I definitely wanted to be here in support of them today,” said Rickhoff, who originally was named as a defendant in the couple’s suit. “I’m thrilled to be here.”

The couple was so eager to make it to the courthouse before closing time that they upgraded their seats on the flight from Dallas to first class, so as not to be held up deplaning.

And they left their luggage on the carousel, jumping into a taxi immediately rather than waiting in line to rent a car.

As Phariss, 55, and Holmes, 45, sat down at the desk of Sylvia Lopez to fill out their marriage license application Friday afternoon, it seemed neither could stop smiling. Both leaned forward in their seats, eagerly answering Lopez’s questions.

Holmes reached for Phariss’ hand as Lopez placed an official seal on the license.

“I like this part of the wedding because it was the cheapest part by far,” Phariss said of the $81 licensing fee.

A longtime friend of the couple, former U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez also was present for the event.

“This is the culmination of a very long relationship — they’ve had a very long road,” he said. “And finally have a committed relationship recognized by society.”

Holmes, a retired Air Force major, and Phariss, an attorney, met in 1997 at the birthday party of a mutual friend.

“The first time I saw him I was immediately smitten,” Phariss said.

Marriage license in hand, they took the elevator to the eighth floor of the Elizondo Tower to visit with state Sen. José Menéndez, where more hugs and congratulations were exchanged.

Holmes and Phariss are the godfathers of the senator’s three children.

“My parents were married 46 years before they passed away, and that is something we may not ever be able to achieve,” Phariss said as he described what the day meant to him. “But the opportunity to now finally be able to experience what my parents experienced, and what his parents experienced, is really just so moving.”

mcasady@express-news.net

@MichelleCasady