Iowa's first legal same-sex wedding took place Friday morning after a district court judge ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on Thursday. About 20 same-sex couples received marriage licenses, the Associated Press reported, before the judge placed a stay on his original ruling late Friday morning.

While most marriage licenses require a three-day waiting period, one couple paid a fee and obtained a waiver from another judge, allowing them to marry before the stay was enacted.

Sean Fritz and Timothy McQuillan, two Iowa State University students, started dating more than a year ago and decided to jump at the chance to get married, Fritz said.

"It was so rushed," Fritz, 24, said. "We're happily committed, and now we're happily married."

District Court Judge Robert Hanson made the ruling striking down Iowa's ban on gay marriage while hearing a 2005 case in which six gay couples claimed the state's Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional.

The state act, modeled after the federal Defense of Marriage Act, was passed in 1998 and had allowed only heterosexual couples to marry.

For some, the celebration was tempered by the question of whether the licenses given this morning would remain valid since Hanson put a stay on his ruling.

Katy Farlow and Larissa Boeck, also students at Iowa State, said they woke up at 4 a.m. to be the first in line at the Polk County recorder's office to apply for a marriage license.

"Right now I'm really excited. The only damper on the whole thing is that they're still trying to invalidate the ruling," said Farlow, 23. "I hope that because we got (the license) before the stay . they won't invalidate it."

Others have voiced opposition to the ruling, including a number of religiously affiliated groups.

Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Christian Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to incorporating Christian principles in government, said he disagrees with the ruling.

"It's certainly going to make us redouble our efforts to make sure Iowa does not becomes another Massachusetts," Scheffler said.

Currently, Massachusetts is the only state that allows same-sex marriage, a move that was spurred by that state's highest court in 2003. California, Connecticut, New Jersey and Vermont all allow civil unions.

Scheffler said the citizens of Iowa should be allowed to vote on the issue.

Last November, Wisconsin voters passed a referendum to amend the state's constitution to bar same-sex marriage and civil unions.

Mark Johnson, an associate professor of theology at Marquette, said he agrees the issue should be put to a vote.

"Giving people a chance to vote directly on the issue is more fair than concentrating power in judges' hands," Johnson said. "It will be interesting to see what will happen in Iowa."