Provincetown, Mass. ? A thick blanket of snow carpeted the main avenue of this resort at the tip of Cape Cod on Saturday, lending a false sense of winter serenity. So quiet was Commercial Street that one of dozens of shut-tight establishments posted a sign lamenting: “Closed. Too Cold To Shop.”

But behind the closed doors, the inns and restaurants and town offices of this famously Bohemian community are buzzing as Provincetown prepares to reinvent itself as the gay Niagara Falls. Thanks to a court decision that will make Massachusetts the only state in the country to permit gay and lesbian marriages, Provincetown expects a tidal wave of same-sex wedding ceremonies.

Barring intervention from the state legislature, and the wording of the decision last week from the state’s highest court makes that unlikely, town clerk Douglas Johnstone could begin issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples as early as May 17. Massachusetts requires a three-day waiting period, so the “I do’s” could start here on May 20, just as the crocuses are bursting behind white picket fences.

“We’re getting ready for it as best as we can,” Johnstone said before pausing to field the latest in an average of 20 or more phone inquiries from around the country. E-mails also are pouring in, diverting Johnstone from his normal workload of handing out hunting permits, dog licenses and voter registration forms.

Marriage mecca planned

With an office staff of “one and a half people,” the clerk in this town of 4,000 plans to enlist volunteer “ushers” to help with the anticipated crush May 17.

“I think many people in the community, both gay and straight, are going to want to help out, because this is such a historic event,” Johnstone said.

The welcoming qualities of Provincetown helped turn it into the country’s best-known gay and lesbian beach-season destination. Half of the town’s year-round residents are gay and lesbian, according to Tourism Director Patricia Fitzpatrick. In the summer, she said, the figure swells to 70 percent.

In a parlor where Out magazine sits alongside copies of Martha Stewart Living, Lynette Molnar, co-owner of Provincetown’s Fairbanks Inn, said scores of same-sex couples have had commitment ceremonies in the converted home of an 18th-century sea captain. “But we have never used the ‘w’ word before.”

Now Molnar actively markets gay weddings, offering everything from a pre-wedding “pop-the-question” package to conventional “Here Comes the Bride”-type ceremonies.

Up the road at the Crowne Pointe Inn, co-owner Tom Walter said the calls about same-sex weddings had been “out of control.”

“Usually we average seven to 10 (heterosexual) weddings per year,” Walter said. “Now we are averaging seven to 10 (gay and lesbian) wedding requests per week.”

Not a typical wedding

Regardless of the gender-inclination of the partners, Provincetown weddings tend toward the inventive, Walter said.

“They’re not like the typical weddings of Sally and Joe in the Midwest. You’re not going to see too many sit-down dinners and 16-tier cakes,” he said. “It’s more like a ceremony on the beach, followed by a fabulous cocktail party.”