Scott Edwards and Mark Gratman’s romance started with a pair of rollerblades.
Edwards, 49, and Gratman, 50, met at 12th Air Command Feb. 18, 2000, although Gratman had been a longtime admirer of Edwards. “I had been aware of Scott for some time,” Gratman said. “I moved into Center City in 1989 and Scott used to rollerblade and he used to rollerblade into this bar and I was always like, ‘Who is that handsome guy on rollerblades?’ Eventually we met at 12th Air Command. I was there and we wound up talking to each other. I always thought he looked interesting and attractive.” Edwards, who works as a systems analyst, joked that, while there was a mutual attraction, there was one area where Gratman needed help. “I thought he was cute but he needed somebody to help him with his fashion. He needed a stylist desperately,” Edwards said. “He’s gotten much better. Now he can’t stop shopping.” Gratman, who works as a server at White Dog Café, said the pair moved in together after two years of dating and currently live in Center City. The couple was married Nov. 12 in Wilmington, Del., after a two-year engagement, which was prompted by the recent pace of the marriage-equality movement. “We’ve been following the whole legal marriage movement throughout the country and we didn’t think it would be coming to the Northeast so quickly,” Edwards said. “We got engaged and hoped Pennsylvania would have same-sex marriage but were surprised when Delaware, New Jersey and New York had it. We originally planned to go to New York.” Gratman was the one who popped the question. “It just makes this official. I got down on one knee and asked,” Gratman said. “At one point in my life, I didn’t think it would be possible. We can now achieve our dream of being legally wed.” In addition to the symbolic nature of marriage, having the practical legal protection was also important to the pair. “I’ve seen parents who, when somebody passes away and they are not married, take away everything, and my parents are fundamentalist Christians and we wanted to protect our assets,” Edwards said. Although Edwards is not in contact with his parents, he said he was delighted to have the support of other family members, who were ecstatic about the couple’s wedding. “My family was thrilled. I had relatives in Ocean City, N.J., who told me they would have hunted me down if they were not invited,” he said. Gratman said he has received the same positive support from his family. “My mother was thrilled. She adores Scott as does the rest of my family, who were completely loving and excited and thrilled for us,” he said. Gratman said in their years together, the pair has learned that common interests and a healthy dose of patience have helped their relationship grow. “We are around the same age and that has allowed us to have the same cultural reference points,” Gratman said. “We grew up in the same time period, watched all the same shows. It helps on the surface level.” Staying committed to continuously working on their relationship, Edwards said, has also fueled its success. “You just have to want to make it work,” he said. “I see many people looking for an out, but if you want a relationship to work you make it work.”