Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage, according to Frank Sinatra. But the government shutdown made a liar of Ol’ Blue Eyes in the District … until now.

D.C. courts are funded through the federal government, and the District’s marriage bureau was among the services considered “non essential” during the partial government shutdown. That means, for the past 17 days, the marriage bureau has been closed, foiling the plans of couples trying to get hitched in the District. Without a marriage license, their unions couldn’t get legal recognition, which confers tax and immigration benefits.

During the first legislative meeting of its new term, the D.C. Council unanimously voted for a short term fix to that issue: the Let Our Vows Endure Emergency Act of 2019, which Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd introduced at the behest of Mayor Muriel Bowser. The LOVE Act grants the mayor the power to authorize marriage licenses while the federal government is shut down. Todd said that the executive office is still working through the logistics of how this process will work.

As an emergency bill, the LOVE Act takes effect immediately once Bowser signs it and lasts for up to 90 days, at which point it expires.

Other functions funded through the court, like record expungement, day care for D.C. Superior Court attendees, and the D.C. Bar’s Committee on Admission, have similarly been deemed “non essential,” though divorces have been able to proceed during the shutdown, as have trials.