When we met again and had a longer conversation, it was obvious we had a lot more in common, and there was definitely something more there,” Susan says.
Blair Jackson, who is a systems administrator, and Susan Jackson, who is a network clinical director at Florida Hospital, met through mutual friends. They used to get together and play Texas Hold ‘Em poker. Blair was in and out of another relationship when the women first met, but they eventually hit it off and there were sparks when she was finally single.
“We had mutual interests – our love of sports, our love of family – it was just a lot of things in common, and we just knew we didn’t want to waste time being apart,” Blair, 48, says.
The two women eventually started hanging out more and grew to love each other, and it was only just after the two years since they started dating that Susan, 60, popped the big question.
Susan asked Blair to marry her while they were at their beach house in New Smyrna. She had a very nice bottle of champagne and eventually got down on her knee and asked Blair to marry her.The two still joke about how Blair’s initial response was, “Are you serious?” At the time, same-sex marriage wasn’t legal in Florida. But of course, she said yes.
“This is something that used to be secret, and then it was sort of something you could whisper about,” Susan recalls. “Now it’s accepted, and we’re getting married.”
When they were engaged, it was still not legal in many places for same-sex couples to get married. They decided while planning the wedding to wait a bit when they heard that it was possibly going to become legal in Florida. They waited until 2015 so they could get married in Orlando, where they are both from.
Blair says they didn’t really start planning the wedding until same-sex marriage became legal in January 2015 in Florida.
Both women say that their wedding day was beautiful and unforgettable, and Susan jokes when asked about her favorite part by saying when the wedding was over.
“It wasn’t so much that I was nervous,” Susan says. “It’s just that you want things to go so smoothly, and you don’t want to worry about it. I guess I was a little nervous and a little more worried that something wouldn’t go right.”
All in all, Susan says her wedding day was a joyous occasion, and the best part of it was everyone dancing around and having a great time with their friends and family.
The couple got married on the day of Orlando Pride 2015, which both said was beautiful. Blair says that when her best man was giving the toast, the fireworks started to go off at Lake Eola, which made it even more magical.
“My favorite part was standing up there, it was a beautiful setting, and looking out and seeing all our friends and family and how excited everyone was for us,” Blair says.
They went to New York for their honeymoon, and they saw Hamilton, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and Something Rotten! on Broadway.
“If she’s your friend, she’s your friend forever,” Blair says of Susan.“If she loves you, she loves you for life.”
YEARS TOGETHER: 6 years
ENGAGEMENT DATE: September 3, 2012
WEDDING DATE: October 10, 2015
WEDDING VENUE: I.W. Phillips House
WEDDING PLANNER: The couple planned their wedding.
WEDDING CATERER:Puff ‘n Stuff Catering
WEDDING COLORS:They both wore ivory. All parties in the wedding wore black. If you were on Blair’s side, you wore an orange tie. Susan’s side wore red. Those are their favorite colors.
FIRST SONG: “I Choose You” by Sara Bareilles
INTERESTING FACT: Susan went to Edgewater High School, and Blair went to Boone High School; the two schools are arch rivals.
You must be logged in to post a comment.