Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico - Last Saturday, December 14, 2013, legal history was made when a lesbian couple became the first gay couple to wed in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

After being denied a marriage license in March, the couple gained the right to marry by filing suit in federal court, which forced Jalisco to allow a civil marriage by means of a federal injunction.

Last month, Jalisco lawmakers approved domestic partnerships for gay couples - Ley de Libre Convivencia - a contractual arrangement with all the legal benefits and attributes of heterosexual marriage without being called such, as gay marriage remains technically illegal in the state.

Zaira de la O and Martha Sandoval were joined together at 8 am by the Guadalajara Civil Registry - Mexico's equivalent to the marriage license bureau in thousands of US counties. The wedding was supposed to be held at noon but was secretly moved up when it was learned that conservative groups threatened to disrupt the service.

"We are happy, relishing the moment with the same nerves as any couple marrying for the first time," Zaira said after the ceremony. "It's a victory for us, and for the entire lesbian community. We had a long battle."

The women, who are raising Zaira's 1-year-old daughter, were represented in their legal fight by CLADEM - the "Committee of Latin America and the Caribbean for the Defense of Women's Rights."

CLADEM's Guadalupe Ramos said that she knew of at least five additional gay couples who want to marry in the state.

"Our hope is that there won't have to be litigation in every case just to obtain the same rights as heterosexual couples," said Ramos.

The couple plans to test another provision of the new Jalisco law which prohibits child adoption by same sex couples - a provision likely to be struck down by the Supreme Court.