Altho same-sex marriage officially became fully legal in the state of California on Monday June 16 at 5:01pm PT, it wasn’t until yesterday that most same-sex couples were allowed to get their marriage licenses … and boy did they, by the hundreds. In West Hollywood, CA, a ribbon-cutting ceremony (attended by Star Trek star George Takei and his longtime partner [soon to be husband] Brad Altman, among others) signaled the start of marriage licenses to be issued there while other counties issued their licenses with much less pomp and circumstance. Here are a few pics of George Takei with Brad Altman as they received their marriage license yesterday:

Star Trek’s George Takei is one step closer to the altar. The 71-year-old actor and longtime partner Brad Altman, 54, received a marriage license from the City of West Hollywood on Tuesday morning, becoming one of the first gay Californians to obtain a license since the state Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriages last month. “We are first and foremost beyond delighted!” an ecstatic Takei told PEOPLE minutes after he obtained the license. “It’s a landmark day.” Just days after the California ruling, Takei announced his plans to marry Altman, his partner of 21 years. The couple plan to wed on September 14 in front of family and friends, including some of Takei’s Star Trek cast mates. Immediately after obtaining their marriage license, “I started singing ‘One Singular Sensation,’” Takei said. “(Brad) said ‘I love you’ and I looked at him and said, ‘I love you.’” Takei and Altman were the first couple to receive a marriage license from West Hollywood, a city that previously did not issue licenses to gay or straight couples. The wedding will take place at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.

While George and Brad are among the first celeb couples to enjoy full marriage equality here in California there were among hundreds of same-sex couples who received marriage licenses yesterday … and many of those hundreds immediately exercised their right to marry and tied the knot.

Here are a few really great pics, from the New York Times, of some of the couples who were married thruout California yesterday:

With a quiet pride and a sense of history, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples across California wed on Tuesday, giving a human face to a landmark court decision and a powerful opening salvo in what is expected to be a bruising fall campaign here over the issue of same-sex marriage. The marriages here and in many counties began just after 8 a.m. Pacific time, with the opening of the clerk’s office. But unlike 2004, when San Francisco broke state law to wed thousands of gay couples in a mad rush, many of Tuesday’s ceremonies had a sense of calm and permanence for gay newlyweds. “It was so legally ambiguous last time,” said Lorie Franks, 43, who had come to City Hall to marry her partner, AnneMary Franks, in 2004 as well. “It was really touching, but we kind of knew it was on thin ice. This time, to me, feels more real.” The Franks wedding, conducted in one of 19 locations arranged around San Francisco’s ornate City Hall building, was attended by her three daughters, who wore matching pink dresses and tiaras. “It was entirely their idea,” Lorie Franks said of their costumes. “As soon as they heard we were getting married, they said they wanted dresses.” In Bakersfield, where couples exchanged vows on a tree-lined patio outside the clerk’s office, reporters and photographers outnumbered people applying for marriage licenses on Tuesday morning. There were no protesters in sight. “We are so happy, we can’t stop smiling,” said Kathi Gose, 52, who wed Karen Briefer, 45, in Bakersfield on Tuesday morning. The couple, who have been together for 11 years, plan to change their surnames to Briefer-Gose. “We want to have the same rights as any other American citizen,” Ms. Gose said. The weddings began in a handful of locations around the state at exactly 5:01 p.m. on Monday, the earliest time allowed by the decision by the California Supreme Court. County clerks’ offices in all 58 counties in the state were authorized to begin issuing the licenses on Tuesday … In more liberal parts of the state, however, the weddings are being warmly embraced. In Contra Costa County, a steady but slower stream of couples than in San Francisco descended on the clerk-recorders office on Tuesday. By noon, officials had performed 12 of the 22 weddings scheduled by same-sex couples anxious to tie the knot. The first to marry was a hometown son, Steve Weir, 59, the county clerk recorder and his longtime companion, John Hemm, 53. More than 150 family and friends attended the couples ceremony, with vows exchanged in Alhambra Park in Martinez, the county seat. “He always said that if the state ever legalized same-sex marriage, he wanted to be the first to wed and to issue his own license,” said the assistant county clerk-recorder, Barbara Chambers, who officiated the wedding.. “It was a little daunting to perform the ceremony for my boss but I was excited to be asked and to be part of history.” Ms. Chambers said another 13 weddings have been scheduled for Wednesday, nine for Thursday and 20 for Friday; most but not all involve same-sex couples. “I did have some couples say they did not want to marry the first week,” said Ms. Chambers. “They don’t want to deal with the rush or the craziness. They want to finalize their commitment quietly and without the press.” But she added, “They have also been sure to schedule the weddings before November.”

I hadn’t planned on posting about the same-sex marriages here in California again but the NYTimes piece was so well written … and the photos of the happy couples (esp. the last pic with the men wearing “Just Married” signs) are just too amazing to not share. I just don’t understand how people can be so hateful when it comes to something as simple as love. Love should be shared and celebrated … not vilified and squelched. I am so proud of California and New York. I’m sure that this moment in time will be remembered well into the future as the start of a new age of freedom and equality for our country. Remember this moment, your children and grandchildren will be learning about it for years to come.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]