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A composite image of Marcela Gracia Ibeas and Elisa Sánchez Loriga in 1901, and Robyn Peoples and Sharni Edwards in February 2020.

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José Sellier; Phil Noble/Reuters

LGBTQ couples around the world have fought to have their love recognized with the same marriage rights as straight people.

Thirty countries worldwide allow same-sex marriage, . But most of these gains did not come without a fight from campaigners and couples in love.

The latest country to legalize it was Northern Ireland, when Sharni Edwards and Robyn Peoples married in February 2020.

Scroll down to see some photos from the very first same-sex marriages in 15 countries. Every picture records not just a couple’s big day, but also a historical milestone.

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Every wedding is an important day.

But some marriages make history – such as the unions that signal a country’s acceptance of LGBT rights for the first time.

In February, 27-year-old Sharni Edwards and Robyn Peoples, 26, became the first gay couple to legally marry in Northern Ireland. The country is the world’s latest to legalize same-sex marriage.