Same-sex marriages have resumed in California following last week’s Supreme Court decision allowing them to go forward. Ceremonies had been expected to resume in a few weeks, but on Friday a federal appeals court lifted the ban earlier than expected. That prompted a wave of couples to exchange vows across the state for the first gay marriages there in five years. They included Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, who were among the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case challenging California’s ban on gay marriage, Proposition 8. After their marriage at Los Angeles City Hall, Zarrillo hailed what he called a victory on the path to equality.

Jeff Zarrillo: “People ask us all the time, 'Did you have any second thoughts? Did you always want to do this when you had the opportunity?' And we’ve always said, 'How could you not?' The opportunity to right a wrong was there, and, you know, when we leave this earth, people will say that Paul and Jeff and Kris (Perry) and Sandy (Stier) and so many others like us did not stand for being treated as second-class citizens. And I hope we did a little bit to change the path towards equality.”

Opponents of gay marriage asked the Supreme Court to halt California’s resumption of gay weddings over the weekend, but their request was denied. The resumption of gay marriage in California came just in time for Gay Pride celebrations this weekend across the country.