George H.W. Bush serves as witness at Maine same-sex wedding

Newlyweds Helen Thorgalsen and Bonnie Clement had a high-profile witness to their Maine wedding last weekend -- former President H.W. Bush -- who signed the marriage license "after an impromptu request from the couple," his rep confirmed.

Thorgalsen, who posted a photo of the moment to her Facebook page, wrote: "Getting our marriage license witnessed!"

Bush's rep confirmed said nothing of the Bush family's political views, but confirmed their presence in a statement to the Washington Post: “They were private citizens attending a private ceremony for two friends.”

Bush and his wife own property in Kennebunkport, Maine, near where Clement and her wife own a grocery store.

“This is such a wonderful time for change in our legal system,” Clement told the Post in an email. “Who would be best to help us acknowledge the importance of our wedding as our friends and as the former leader of the free world. When they agreed to do so we just felt that it was the next acknowledgment of being ‘real and normal.’”

Bush's son, America's 43rd president, opposed same-sex marriage during his time in office. Though he has refused to comment on the issue in recent years, his wife Laura and daughter Barbara have openly expressed their support for gay marriage.