George H.W. Bush

Former president George H.W. Bush signed as a witness for a same-sex couple's marriage in Maine over the weekend. (Tom Pennington / Getty Images / December 26, 2012)

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September 25, 2013, 5:05 p.m.

That's one way to make a presidential endorsement: George H.W. Bush was a witness to a same-sex marriage in Maine over the weekend.

A photo posted on Facebook by one of the brides, Helen Thorgalsen, showed the 41st president -- in his wheelchair and a typically eye-grabbing pair of blue and red socks -- signing Thorgalsen and Bonnie Clement's marriage license in Kennebunkport.

Voters in Maine passed a referendum to legalize gay marriage in November.

The Bush family has a compound in Kennebunkport. A spokesman told the Washington Post that Bush and his wife, Barbara, were "private citizens attending a private ceremony for two friends."

BuzzFeed managed to reach Thorgalsen and Clement by email on their honeymoon in London on Wednesday. The women were quoted as saying that they have known the Bushes for most of the 12 years they have been together.

"They have always been not only supportive of us but including us in many of their social events when they are here in Kennebunkport," Clement told BuzzFeed. "So it was very natural and normal for them to be invited and to attend."

Clement added that they wanted Bush to sign the license for their marriage because "it would just acknowledge it being real."