WASHINGTON — The road to same-sex marriages in Maryland made its way through lawmakers in Annapolis, past a divisive statewide referendum in November, and, early on New Year’s Day, to a small inn down a windy spit of land in the Chesapeake Bay, where Ruth Siegel wept as she wed Nina Nethery.

Siegel, a retired graphic artist, and Nethery, a systems analyst, wore matching white suits with sheer white blouses. In the hours before the ceremony, which began at 12:02 a.m. Tuesday, they wore custom baseball caps.