Plaintiff couple Mercedes Santos and Theresa Volpe were among the first to marry Friday in Chicago after a federal judge ruled there was no need to wait for a marriage law approved last year by lawmakers to take effect on June 1.

(Related: Cook County, Illinois begins issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.)

The ruling, which only applies to Cook County, was welcomed by County Clerk David Orr, who immediately implemented it and began tweeting pictures of happy couples receiving their marriage licenses.

The first couple was two men, followed by a lesbian couple.

Santos and Volpe, plaintiffs in the lawsuit, were third in line. They arrived with their two children, a daughter and a son. Soon, Orr pronounced them married.

“Theresa and Mercedes, who I just married, show off their rings,” he tweeted along with a photo of the women displaying their rings to a media scrum.

“Justice is no longer denied,” Orr messaged. “It is an honor to be part of this historic day.”

(Related: Chicago's Rahm Emanuel applauds Cook County gay marriage ruling.)

It was uncertain how many couples would attempt to marry on the ruling's first day – licenses are good for 60 days – but Orr promised to keep the downtown office open two hours later than usual. The ACLU of Illinois has called on other clerks to “abide by the ruling.”