Many New Jersey same sex couples were married at the stroke of midnight.  Several hundred gay couples received civil union licenses on Monday meaning they could official tie the knot at when clock hit twelve.

New Jersey is now the third state in the nation to offer civil unions.  Civil unions offer same-sex couples the legal benefits but not the title of marriage. Vermont and Connecticut also offer civil unions, and California offers domestic partnerships. Massachusetts remains the only state to allow same-sex marriages.