Barney Frank Weds Jim Ready IT was perhaps fitting that Representative Barney Frank met his future husband, Jim Ready, at a political fund-raiser in 2005. "I told him I had a crush on him for 20 years," said Mr. Ready, recalling that meeting. And what did Mr. Frank make of that? "That I'm being rewarded for coming to this fund-raiser," he said with a laugh. Mr. Frank, 72, and Mr. Ready, 42, were married in Newton, Mass., on Saturday in a low-key ceremony on the banks of the Charles River. Gov. Deval L. Patrick of Massachusetts officiated. The guests included Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House minority leader, as well as Senator John Kerry and Representatives Dennis J. Kuchinich and Steny H. Hoyer. Both bridegrooms said they recognized the historical significance of the ceremony, which lasted less than five minutes; Gov. Patrick told the guests that as per Mr. Frank's request, "this service will be short and to the point." Mr. Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, 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 was 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 Mr. Frank, a product of a blue-collar family in Bayonne, N.J., whose debating skills and 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, Mr. Ready - a carpenter and welder who specializes in awnings and runs a small shop, Jim of Most Trades, in Ogunquit, Me. - had been dragged to a local fund-raiser by his longtime partner, Robert Palmer, who knew Mr. Frank from his days as an adviser to former Gov. Michael Dukakis. At the time, Mr. Ready was acting as a full-time caretaker: Mr. Palmer had been struggling with serious illness, and both men knew that he was dying. The meeting that night was not entirely coincidental. Mr. Palmer "wanted someone to be there for me," Mr. Ready said. He was looking for somebody to look out for me when he was gone. After meeting Mr. Frank, he recalled his partner saying: "He could take care of you." The congressman, for his part, was deeply affected by Mr. Ready's devotion. "I had never really seen that up close between two guys before," Mr. Frank said. I was envious in some ways of what Bob and he had. He remembered thinking, "I could have the same wonderful relationship with this great man." The two struck up a friendship, but Mr. Ready felt guilty spending more than a few hours away from his partner. Mr. Palmer died in January 2007. "I called, and he was distraught," Mr. Frank said. He flew to Maine to console Mr. Ready. Their dinners turned into dates. "I was really just drawn to him," Mr. Ready said. It was platonic, but I didn't want it to be. Still, it soon became clear that dating a congressman was not like dating other men. Mr. Frank had just been appointed chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Weekends in Maine turned into Washington sleepovers, with Mr. Ready eating takeout outside a conference room as Mr. Frank hammered out a bank bailout with figures like Henry Paulson Jr., then the Treasury secretary. "Hank Paulson would call on a Friday afternoon and say, "Well, such-and-such a bank is failing," " said Mr. Frank, recalling a string of broken dates. At one point, Mr. Ready confronted his boyfriend: "I was like, "You know what? You spend more time with flight attendants than you do with me." " But for Mr. Frank, who described his husband as a "natural caregiver," Mr. Ready was a supportive and calming presence in a trying time. In past relationships, Mr. Frank had enjoyed carving out time for himself; with Mr. Ready, the reverse was true. "It immediately made me feel very unhappy" to contemplate spending time without him, Mr. Frank said. 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 Mr. Ready in a Capitol hallway. Barney was nice to me today. Mr. Ready, who enjoys surfing and skiing, can be blunt with his partner, nagging Mr. Frank about taking better care of himself. On days they are apart, they watch sitcoms together while talking on the phone. They had long discussions about marriage; Mr. Frank wanted to be married while still serving in Washington. Mr. Ready was worried about the public scrutiny. But he remembered how he felt in high school in Tewksbury, Mass., when Mr. Frank came out publicy. 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. The two share an easy affection. At a recent talk in Manhattan, Mr. Frank fiddled with a small microphone that had fallen from his lapel. Mr. Ready stood up from the first row and stepped to the podium to help. "In many ways," Mr. Frank told the audience, "I am marrying up." Their wedding bands were made of black diamonds set in tungsten, a metal used in welding. Mr. Ready picked the material, a reminder of his trade. "It helps keep me grounded, after going to lunch with the president," he said. The wedding took place at a no-frills Marriott hotel in Newton, with the scenic backdrop of two major highways. Mr. Frank said he chose the location for ease of access. The bridegrooms planned to wear tuxedos by Joseph Abboud, which Mr. Frank noted is a union shop. There was one other complications: Mr. Frank had to get a waiver from the House Ethics Committee. "The no-gifts rule," he said. An earlier version of this article, and an accompanying photo caption, misidentified the town where the wedding took place. It is Newton, Mass., not Newtown.