city. nbc's michelle franzen is live for us downtown there. so with another good morning to you, michelle, boy, that line doesn't seem to be getting any smaller behind you, does it? >> reporter: well, it is getting smaller, and that's because it was wrapped around the building and a lot of people showed up very early this morning. the first few couples at 4:30 this morning. right now we're told that the people who started lining up at about 8:30 this morning are just getting ready to move inside to go through the process. so that gives you an idea that they certainly are moving along but not certainly at a very quick pace. but the city assures me that everybody here in manhattan and all the other boroughs of new york city will marry. in all, 823 couples today in new york city. they had entered a lottery and the city made sure that all who had entered would get a chance to become a part of history today and also making it official for them. we've got an exit door on the other side, and...