Latin America has seen its first legal same-sex marriage after the governor of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province permitted two men to wed.

Claudio Morgano, president of Argentina's national anti-discrimination institute and a witness to the marriage of Alex Freyre, 39, and Jose Maria Di Bello, 41, called the civil marriage a "historic occasion".

The Argentine civil code does not recognise same sex marriages but a court approved the wedding of Alex Freyre, 39, and Jose Maria Di Bello, 41, before it was challenged pending the outcome of a Supreme Court appeal.

Tierra del Fuego's governor, Fabiana Rios, then stepped in to authorise the wedding after a civil registrar had refused to officiate earlier this month.