SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 20 (UPI) — A much-ballyhooed nude wedding on the steps of San Francisco City Hall made it through the ceremony, but ended with the bride and groom cited.
Nudity activist Gypsy Taub, 44, and boyfriend Jaymz Smith, 20, began the ceremony Thursday in thrift store formal wear and Taub spent some time speaking on causes including wars, stolen elections, reincarnation and the city’s nudity ban, which the wedding was protesting, while waiting for the event’s late band, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.
“This is a protest against the nudity ban as much as it is a wedding. I know that the people of San Francisco are behind me,” Taub said.
The bride and groom disrobed at the start of the ceremony, led by nudity activist George Davis, while sheriff’s deputies looked on.
After exchanging vows, the nude couple walked down the steps, into the jurisdiction of San Francisco police, for their first dance.
A police officer gave the wedding party a five-minute warning, and officers moved in when the nude group remained au naturel. The bride and groom were each led to different police vans to receive citations.
Taub was initially told she would be taken to the police station, but was released on the condition that she put her gown back on. She agreed, and the wedding party continued.