Same-sex couple Sandy Stier (C) and Kriss Perry (R) are married at San Francisco City Hall by California Attorney General Kamala Harris on June 28, 2013 in San Francisco. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifted California's ban on same-sex marriages just three days after the Supreme Court ruled that supporters of the ban, Proposition 8, could not defend it before the high court. California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered all counties in the state to begin issuing licenses immediately. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Same-sex couple Sandy Stier (C) and Kriss Perry (R) are married at San Francisco City Hall by California Attorney General Kamala Harris on June 28, 2013 in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, filed an order late Friday afternoon allowing same-sex marriages to resume in California immediately.

PHOTO GALLERY: Same-Sex Marriage Resumes In California

At San Francisco City Hall, officials quickly conducted California’s first same-sex marriage ceremony at 4:45 p.m. between Berkeley residents Kris Perry, 48, and Sandy Stier, 50. They were one of two couples whom successfully challenged the state’s Proposition 8 ban in court.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court had cleared the way for gay marriage in California again when it dismissed an appeal to a lower court ruling overturning Prop. 8. as an unconstitutional violation of civil rights. About 18,000 couples had tied the knot before the ban was approved by voters in 2008.

Supreme Court orders usually take 25 days to go into effect, but the 9th Circuit’s filing on Friday vacated a stay and allowed the state to resume issuing same-sex marriage licenses right away. Court spokesman David Madden said the three-judge panel’s unanimous decision to act sooner was “unusual, but not unprecedented.”

RELATED CONTENT: Download The 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals Order (.pdf)

Gov. Jerry Brown said he had notified clerks and registrars in all 58 counties that “same-sex marriage is again legal in California” and marriage licenses could be issued immediately.

“On my way to SF City Hall. Let the wedding bells ring,” state Attorney General Kamala Harris tweeted moments after the 9th Circuit issued its order, which she had requested. Harris officiated the wedding of Perry and Stier, with over a hundred people gathering on crowded City Hall balconies in the rotunda to watch.