Pics: Taiwan holds first legal same-sex marriages in Asia

A week after lawmakers took the historic step of legalizing gay marriage, the first same-sex couples have tied the knot in Taiwan.

The first legal gay weddings in Asia took place in Taiwan on Friday.

The island made history last week as the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex unions.

Hundreds of couples are expected to register their marriage on the day the new law came into effect.

The founders of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights were the first to do so.

"Never had I thought of the possibility to get married when I first realized that I'm a lesbian at age 15," said Victoria Hsu, the alliance's president.

Her new wife Chih-Chieh Chien, the alliance's secretary-general, said that the couple's parents had "put their signatures on our marriage certificate."

Social worker Huang Mei-yu and her partner You Ya-ting also tied the knot early Friday morning. "It's belated, but I'm still happy we can offically get married in this lifetime," Huang told AFP news agency after signing her marriage certificate.