Alois Carnier, 57, and Peter Leu, 67, said “yes from the heart” to each other on Friday, after same-sex marriage was legalized in Switzerland.

For the first time, the two men left the registry office in their hometown of Schaffhausen as husband and wife.

Swiss voters approved the “Marriage for All” initiative in September last year with a nearly two-thirds majority, making Switzerland one of the last countries in Western Europe to legalize same-sex marriage.

“The ceremony was really important to me because we’ve been waiting for this for 20 years,” said Carnier, who joined a civil union with Leu in 2014 and has campaigned for recognition of gay rights for decades.

Across the country, Aline, 46, and Laure, 45, signed the papers after 21 years of marriage in Geneva. They have a 4-year-old son and, like Leu and Carnier, were already in a civil union.

“Either way, it’s a new phase (for us),” said Laure, a human resources professional who, like her partner, declined to give her last name.

“This was a very touching and long-awaited moment that sends a powerful message to society to be free in love,” said Marie Barbey-Chappuis, Mayor of Geneva, who attended the ceremony.