Love: Anthony Henderson & Jason Strong

Jason was ushering at his Germantown church, as he did Sunday after Sunday. But on this particular Sunday in summer 2005, in walked a man with a gorgeous Philadelphia-style beard and a bit of swag.

"I kept staring at him the entire time, trying to get his attention, and he would just not give me anything back," Jason said.

Two weeks later, Jason was in a telephone chat room for singles and phone-met a very interesting man named Anthony. They got along so well Jason invited him to his place near the Temple campus. Jason met Anthony at his car, and instantly recognized Mr. Beard-and-Swag.

Anthony didn't remember Jason at first, but that didn't matter. "I was so intrigued by his smile and eyes," Anthony said.

Each found the other to be a good listener and splendid conversationalist. They spoke of religion and spirituality, traveling, and relationships.

"We talked every day after that for several hours," Jason said.

Anthony, who lived in Germantown, was and remains a celebrity wardrobe stylist. He's worked with newscasters, professional athletes, and other celebrities from here and around the country, and is also the Philadelphia Daily News' fashion stylist. Jason grew up in Abington, then worked as a care coordinator at the Northern Home for Children, also known as Northern Children's Services.

Their relationship was different from any Jason had ever experienced.

"He was really, really endearing," Jason said. "This was the first time anyone was that attentive. We never had a phone conversation that was less than one or two hours."

Anthony also felt loved and cared for.

"Jason can cook his butt off, and he always wanted to feed me. Every meal is great . . . but it's not even what he cooks for me. It's that we have dinner together every night we can and we talk."

Within a half-dozen dates, the men were committed to each other. Six months in, Jason asked Anthony to move to his place. In the summer of 2007, Anthony bought Jason a ring from Tiffany & Co. to symbolize their commitment.

Anthony's career had him traveling West constantly. He began to think he could do more if his headquarters were in Los Angeles, and he suggested that to Jason.

"I'm really an East Coast boy," Jason said. But he considered it, and one day when Anthony walked in from work, Jason had an announcement: "If you want to move, that is what we will do."

In a matter of weeks, Jason had a job lined up at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, where he's now client services and prevention manager. Anthony stayed behind to pack up the house, then joined Jason. They now live in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood.

Soon after they settled in California, Jason bought Anthony a ring, also from Tiffany's.

The men had always wanted kids. In spring 2014, they decided it was time and went to an open house for their county's foster-to-adopt program. Child-care classes, interviews, and a home inspection followed.

"We thought it was going to be a long process," Anthony said.

"But within a few days after we were certified, we got a call saying they had a child they wanted us to consider," said Jason.

Anthony, now 38, and Jason, 40, met Marcelino a few days later. A few weeks after that, their son, now 5, came home.

Anthony and Jason's conversations about marriage had been abstract until Marcelino's homecoming triggered them to set a date: July 17, 2015, in Philadelphia - on their 10th dating anniversary, in their hometown.

In March 2015, they were sitting in the food court of an L.A. mall, talking about how they really needed to get a move on if they were going to pull this wedding off in July, when Anthony's phone rang.

"Are you still planning to get married?" his friend asked.

"We were just talking about that," Anthony said.

"Could you do it on March 28?" asked the friend.

"That's in a week and a half!" Anthony replied.

If he and Jason could jump that quickly, she said, the Sherman Oaks Macy's would pay for everything. Macy's had planned its first LGBT wedding expo for that March day. An actual wedding was to be the featured event, but the original couple changed their minds. Anthony's friend knew the person planning Macy's big day. The planner had seen Anthony, Jason, and Marcelino featured in the "Love Has No Labels" PSA by the Ad Council and thought they'd be perfect. So, were they interested?

"I've already been in the public eye for a minute," Anthony said. "I didn't mind showing my love for Jason at Macy's. Plus, we're both advocates for love and equal rights for humanity."

Jason had doubts at first. "While I thought it was a great opportunity to promote equal rights, I was worried about getting married surrounded by a bunch of people we didn't know, and somebody walking through and saying something nasty or vulgar, and there would be nothing we could do about it," he said.

What made him decide to brave it? "I decided just to live in the moment," he said. "Plus, several friends had recently gotten married and kept telling me how expensive it was."

He knew the savings meant more money for their house fund and for what evolved into a 10th-anniversary celebratory reception they will have this summer for Philadelphia friends and family.

The ceremony took place near the wedding registry and china sections before 50 close friends - including five who flew in from Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Vegas - and hundreds of strangers.

The public setting did not prevent the grooms from getting emotional when they exchanged the vows they wrote.

"I cried like a baby through the whole ceremony," Anthony said. "It was really beautiful."

Beautiful because there were flowers everywhere, and the purple, black, and white colors made the setting matrimonial and masculine.

Beautiful because Jason was beside him, and their son's two siblings and their adoptive parents were in the front row.

"It was a moment of bonding our whole family together, and with us getting married, it felt like we were truly all a family now," Anthony said.

Rather than walking an aisle, the couple rode an escalator down into the crowd.

"It was really overwhelming to see people who we didn't even know crying and being so happy for us," said Jason.

"People who didn't even know there was going to be a wedding stopped to be there and witness it," Anthony said. "Everybody was applauding."

Many strangers wished them well. Jason hopes anyone who previously did not support same-sex marriage, or perhaps just never gave marriage rights much thought, left the store with more understanding. "In some ways, it wasn't just about us," he said.

A bargain: Macy's picked up the tab.

The splurge: Their 10th-anniversary reception will be held at the Ritz-Carlton.

This month, the couple will move to Atlanta, much closer to family, which will allow Marcelino to know his cousins, and, because the Centers for Disease Control is there, much better for Jason's health-care executive career. The symmetry pleases Anthony: "Eight years ago, we moved for my career to L.A., and now we're moving for his career, and to better our family, to Atlanta," he said.

A delayed honeymoon trip to the Dominican Republic is in the works for later this year.

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Officiant: Pastor Curt D. Thomas of the Renewed Church of Los Angeles.

Venue: Macy's, Sherman Oaks.

Photographers: Laura Palazzolo Photography, Los Angeles; Steven Blank Photography, West Hollywood, Calif.

Flowers: SubRosa Floral Design, Los Angeles.

Music: R&B singer and recording artist Abraham McDonald; DJ Teresa Evans.

Wedding coordinator: Sabrina Francis of Macy's.

Grooms' attire: Tuxedos by Ralph Lauren.

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