Hundreds of same-sex couples are expected to tie the knot across Thailand on Thursday as the country becomes the first in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality.

Thursday, January 23 marks a major milestone for LGBTQ+ people in Thailand – as same sex marriage will finally become legal. It’s a historic moment, not just for Thailand, as it becomes the first country south east Asia to recognise marriage equality.

Thailand’s landmark marriage equality bill was officially written into law on Sept. 24, after it was endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

It is a big day many in Thailand’s LGBTQ+ community have long been waiting for, as couples celebrate a law giving them the same legal rights as married heterosexuals

Same-sex couples in Thailand are poised to celebrate a landmark achievement many decades in the making: the legal right to marry. On Thursday a marriage equality bill will become law, allowing members of the LGBTQ+ community in Thailand to get married and have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples.

Thailand is now the first nation in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, granting LGBTQ couples the same human rights as their heterosexual counterparts. The new law, effective this Thursday,