LOS ANGELES: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi have become lawfully wedded wives. Capitalising on the recent switcheroo in California law, the long-time lovers swapped vows on August 16 in front of family and friends at their Beverly Hills estate, according to People.

A small group of less than 30 wedding guests, all dressed in summer formal attire, started arriving at Ellen’s posh $29 million abode in the evening.

“It was all close friends and family,” said a source, adding that no celeb guests were spotted entering all day.

DeGeneres, 50, and de Rossi, 35, have been an item since December 2004. On May 15, the day after the California Supreme Court struck down a ban on gay marriage by ruling it unconstitutional, DeGeneres announced on her talk show that she and de Rossi were planning to tie the knot. The audience, which included her smiling Australian-born partner that day, responded with a standing ovation.

De Rossi has been sporting a Neil Lane-designed, marquise-cut pink diamond ring on her wedding finger since June.

“Planning a wedding is very stressful,” DeGeneres said on the red carpet at the 2008 Daytime Emmy Awards. She added, “I can’t wait to be married.”