â┚¬ËœLove-In' lesbian couple marries in New York

A lesbian couple who has made it a point to applyâ┚¬â€and be turned downâ┚¬â€for a marriage license every year at the Orange County courthouse has finally heard a clerk say â┚¬Å”yes.â┚¬Â

Nicki Drumb and Rachel Gardiner have been together for five years. Three years ago, they began applying for a marriage license in Orlando to make a statement for marriage equality. They balanced their protest with a positive event. For the past several years, the couple has hosted the Human Heart Love-in, also held on Valentine's Day, where community members gather and form a giant human heart â┚¬Å”to remind everyone that at the heart of the issue of gay and lesbian equalityâ┚¬â€Including military service, marriage and adoption rightsâ┚¬â€is love,â┚¬Â according to the event's web site.

The couple applied for their legal marriage license on Aug. 5.

â┚¬Å”It was amazing how much impact that had, when I got to the courthouse and realized, wait, she said â┚¬ËœYes'?â┚¬Â said Drumb.

Before heading into the courthouse, they visited with Gardiner's niece in Manhattan and discovered they had a surprise wedding guestâ┚¬â€Gardiner's sister.

â┚¬Å”That was so magical and special for both of us to have family represented there,â┚¬Â Drumb said.

Gardiner and Drumb had a commitment ceremony about four-and-a-half years ago at their church, which Gardiner's sister had also attended.
â┚¬Å”That was the most heart-expanding moment I've ever had, to know she took that initiative and flew up there to celebrate that day with us,â┚¬Â Gardiner said. â┚¬Å”She was at our first ceremony, so it wasn't a surprise she was supportive.â┚¬Â

Once inside the courthouse, they were surprised to find that the lines were short and the process quick, and had the fortune to meet a kind clerk named â┚¬Å”Jenny.â┚¬Â

â┚¬Å”[After getting the license, Jenny] asked if we had any other questions and I said, â┚¬ËœWould you give me a hug?' Drumb said. â┚¬Å”She came around and gave us a big hug. It was so joyous and it really struck me as I sat back down, I've been here over and over again and heard no, and how powerful the simplicity and easiness of it was.â┚¬Â

When the license was placed in her hand, Drumb cried.

â┚¬Å”It was sweet,â┚¬Â Gardiner said. â┚¬Å”We'd been told â┚¬Ëœno' so many times.â┚¬Â

The wedding was on the west side of Central Park on Saturday, Aug. 6, under a pavilion with a humanist officiant. In addition to Gardiner's sister and niece, two friends served as witnesses for the brief, meaningful ceremony. Also meaningful to the couple was the joyful, supportive spirit of New Yorkers they encountered. They received congratulations and glasses of champagne the rest of the afternoon.

â┚¬Å”It was a wonderful day,â┚¬Â Gardiner said. â┚¬Å”I couldn't have painted it any better.â┚¬Â

The supportive spirit followed them home. When Drumb returned to her advertising agency designer position at Bonnier Corporation in Winter Park, â┚¬Å”It looked like Martha Stewart threw up in my cubicle when I came back,â┚¬Â and her coworkers surprised her with a wedding shower.

â┚¬Å”It was just something that everyone was really happy about and it's interesting because I sent out the email to the whole gang and there a couple people I was wondering how they would take it, but everybody turned up, said Susanne Oberholtzer, Drumb's supervisor.

â┚¬Å”I don't feel like it's that progressive,â┚¬Â Oberholtzer said. â┚¬Å”I feel like it's just the way we are.â┚¬Â

Although Drumb and Gardiner are finally legally wed, they said they'll continue to apply for a marriage license at the Orange County
Courthouse every year until same-sex marriage is legalized in Florida.

â┚¬Å”It will happen. Florida will do the right thing,â┚¬Â Gardiner said. â┚¬Å”Eventually everybody will have this opportunity to be married.â┚¬Â