A gay male couple who tied the knot on Saturday was the first to take advantage of a recently approved gay marriage law in the Mexican state of Coahuila.

Jesus Fernando Covarrubias Monsivais and Luis Alberto Reyes Soto married in front of friends, family and the media at a Civil Registry office in Saltillo, the capital and largest city of Coahuila.

The men, who met at a party 12 years ago and started dating three years later, said they plan on adopting a child, various Mexican media reported.

Coahuila Governor Ruben Moreira Valdez congratulated the couple on their nuptials.

Lawmakers on September 1 approved changes to the state's civil code, giving gay and straight couples equal marital rights, including the right to adopt children.

Gay couples can also marry in the federal district of Mexico City, where lawmakers approved a marriage law in 2009. Such unions have also taken place in Quintana Roo, where the state's civil code is gender neutral.