There was to be a symbolic wedding ceremony and reception at Kirkwood Adams and then a trip to the District of Columbia to officially tie the knot.

The ruling that Friday by Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. in Asheville saved them a trip to D.C., and on the following Tuesday they became the first same-sex couple in Halifax County to wed.

Franks, 30, and Martin, 26, actually met when Franks, a lifeguard in Roanoke Rapids, was giving Martin's family swimming lessons.

It wouldn't be until some 10 years later the couple, Martin, of Jackson, and Franks, would begin dating after renewing their acquaintance through their jobs at the Lowe's Distribution Center.

Martin, who is studying law at North Carolina Central University, came back to the area after earning a history degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to figure out what to do next.

The marriage license.

“It's very difficult to meet people,” Martin said of the gay dating scene in the Roanoke Valley. “It's a very small area. The pickings are slim.”

Martin and Franks began talking at work and then decided to go on a date, dinner and a movie in Rocky Mount — 21 Jump Street, Martin recalled.

Martin, a United States Navy veteran whose desire was to enter flight school until a medical issue grounded him, served in the era of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, although it wasn't being enforced. “I was very selective of who I would come out to. I came out to my mother on the phone. My parents were supportive.”

Franks, who moved a lot as a child and finally ended up in Roanoke Rapids, says coming out is overhyped by the media. “It's more accepted than it was 20 or 30 years ago. When I was in high school there was maybe one or two openly gay students. Now it's more accepted.”

As the relationship between Franks and Martin grew, the NCCU Barrister's Ball was the occasion where Franks proposed. “We got engaged in February. He proposed to me at the ball. We went through all the planning, had a date set and actually planned to go to D.C.”

The Sunday ceremony at Kirkwood, which was a catered affair, became the symbolic ceremony. The ceremony outside the Halifax County Sheriff's Office before a magistrate two days later became the one that made it legal in the wake of the judge's ruling.

“Everyone in Halifax was very supportive,” Martin said.

The ceremony in Halifax was attended by both the couple's parents and Martin's sister and boyfriend.

What the federal judge did that Friday before their symbolic ceremony was open the way for same-sex couples to receive the same benefits as other couples on the federal and state level, Martin said.

Growing up Methodist, Martin said his philosophy on Leviticus is, “It's hard to understand the context of Old Testament law. Hebrew law didn't have the concept in the law of modern day, it just doesn't work. When people start cherry-picking scripture, that's fine. We don't live in a theocracy. Religion doesn't make the laws in this country.”

Franks sees their future together as Martin finishing law school, them adopting a son and then “happily ever after. We're leaning toward adopting out of country, when he finishes law school and we're more financially stable.”

Franks had figured it would only be a matter of time before same-sex marriage became legal in North Carolina.

“Every class you take in law school has some element of the constitution,” Martin said. “It's a matter of time. Because of the supreme court ruling I knew it would be a matter of time.”

Martin said he was surprised when he got a text message that Friday. “I was not expecting the ruling that Friday. My concern was a lot of the rulings had emergency stays. The case (before the North Carolina judge) was not appealable.”

For Franks, the ruling was a matter of equality. “I guess we're paving the way for the next generation to acquire these rights. Now we can work on getting them for everybody.”