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.

It is a 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.

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

The Marriage Equality Act received endorsement from His Majesty the King and was published in the Royal Gazette on September 24, positioning Thailand as the third Asian country or territory, following Taiwan and Nepal, to recognise same-sex marriage, reported Bangkok Post.

American businessman Jacob Holder met his Thai husband Surapong Koonpaew in 2021, got married in the United States two years later and then returned to Thailand, where they live and work. This week, their union will be recognised under Thai law,

Come this Thursday, their wedded status will be recognized by the nation as well, when a law that allows members of the LGBTQ+ community in Thailand to get married and have the same legal rights as heterosexual couples takes effect.

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.