STORY: Maksims Ringo and Janis Locs became the first same-sex couple in Latvia to register their partnership on Monday (July 1).
This landmark moment followed a new law which came into force at midnight.
After the event at a legal office in the capital Riga, the couple exchanged silver rings at a party.
They said they hoped to get gold rings if and when Latvia legalizes same-sex marriage.
Locs told Reuters he was happy that the government are recognizing that their partnership exists:
"I feel excited, kind of emotional about it as well because it is a really big step and not only for us, for the country itself. And being first, it's all the publicity that comes with it as well. It kind of is a bit, I would say, a bit stressful, but at the same time I feel happy that we can finally do it."
Homosexuality remains a divisive topic in Latvia.
In 2005, legislators changed the constitution to define marriage as only allowed between a man and a woman.
But the Latvian parliament voted last November to formally legislate same-sex civil unions.
This allowed partners in such a partnership to have hospital visiting rights, as well as giving some tax and social security benefits.
But gay rights activist Kaspars Zalitis says same-sex couples still face some hurdles:
"The key things that are still missing are, first, an inheritance issue. That is a difficult issue to solve as it requires large legislative changes. Also, nothing is done regarding the recognition of the same-sex couples that have been registered abroad, and obviously there are no issues (that) tackles regarding the children that live in the same-sex families."
He said notary offices are now facing queues of same-sex couples who want to register their relationship as quickly as possible.
The change in Latvia means there are now only five EU countries where people in same-sex relationships cannot register civil unions: Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
