According to Bloomberg, the city has 764 slots available for couples hoping to wed on Sunday. Already, 2,661 couples have applied for marriage licenses on the city;s website. Those that have done so will need to re-enter the lottery this afternoon.

The city is expecting to marry more couples on Sunday than it has on any day in its history. Couples hoping to wed on Sunday have to decide which borough they hope to do it in, and the number of slots have been apportioned across the city based on demand, with 400 slots available in Manhattan, 120 in Brooklyn and Queens, and fewer in the Bronx and Staten Island.

"The number of couples who want to marry on Sunday is more than the City Clerk’s offices could possibly handle," the mayor said in a statement. "And the last thing we want is for couples to wait on line for hours and hours, only to walk away upset on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. The fairest way to determine who gets the chance to wed on Sunday and ensure everyone can properly plan for their own big day is through an even-handed lottery system."

The lottery is not restricted to couples who live in New York City, or even to gay couples, but city officials said that they anticipate that are the ones that apply for the lottery.

Couples that win the lottery will be able to fulfill all of the wedding paperwork in one-stop: getting a marriage license, seeing a judge that to receive a 24-hour waiver, and then going ahead with the ceremony.

The only reason a judge would deny a waiver, according to Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who was on-hand for the announcement, would be if one of the grooms or brides was intoxicated.

Quinn said that he and her partner were not planning to wed on Sunday, and she saluted those city officials--the judges and the clerks--who were working overtime to insure that the day went smoothly.

"Something amazing has happened. Thousands of people have stepped out and said my family matters," she said. "And people who don't even know how these couples have worked long into the evening to accommodate them."

Bloomberg said that they were doing all that they could to insure that people who win the lottery do not sell or give away their spots.

And despite the crush of people who will get married that day, Mayor Bloomberg said that he did not expect people to camp out overnight.

"It's not buying an IPad 2," he said.

"It's better," Quinn quipped.