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.

Thai society has long been seen as accepting of gender-fluid identities and relationships, but matching legal structures were absent

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.

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.

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,