BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special edition for the Birmingham Times
BRITTANY AND JOSEPH HOLLIS
Live: Birmingham/Norwood
Married: 6 January 2019
Fulfilled: Fall 2010, at a Kappa party near the campus of Alabama A&M University in Huntsville. Brittany was a sophomore and Joseph a senior. They didn’t officially meet that night, but Brittany found Joseph attractive and “went looking” to inquire about him through his brother in the line, who then passed her number to Joseph. When Joseph called, “we talked for hours,” Brittany said.
“What really impressed me was that he was the first man to introduce himself to me by his full name… He called me and said, ‘I’m Joseph Matthew Hollis,’ and explained how he got my number, and that caught my attention,” Brittany said. “We talked like we knew each other, we talked about all sorts of things and realized we had a lot in common, and within a week we decided to meet up.”
They briefly agreed to meet up at the Normal Hills dorms on campus. “It was really funny… I didn’t want to go because (my friend and I) were leaving the rec center and had just finished working out and I thought I looked totally wasted, but my friend talked me into it,” Brittany said.
“I look for the real me in a person, so I thought (her looks) were cool. We just sat there and got a feel for each other. It was a cool meeting and we saw each other again within a few days,” Joseph said.
First Date: Early September 2010, at the Parkway Mall in Huntsville.
“Brittany said she’d never had a smoothie from Planet Smoothie before, and I was like, ‘Well, let’s go then.’ It was the perfect, inexpensive first date. We walked around the mall and talked,” Joseph said.
“He took me to a place I’d never been before, and I thought that was pretty cool because he listened to me (while talking). I also liked that he picked me up from my dorm because he lived off campus…” Brittany said.
The Turn: Spring 2012. “Joseph had already graduated (the year before) and I was in my third year and about to graduate and we were still talking and in a long distance relationship because he had moved back to Birmingham…” Brittany recalled. “I had moved off campus and he was visiting and he asked me to be his girlfriend at my apartment and then we went to the Bridge Street Mall (in Huntsville) and he bought me a Fossil watch,” she laughed.
“I don’t really remember buying the watch that day, but I was planning on making her my wife because we had been talking about it for a while and it made sense. Everything was going like clockwork and to be honest, she was my wife long before that,” Joseph said. “I had committed to her probably three months before I told her… This was just my way of updating her on what I was planning to do.”
The suggestion: July 21, 2018, at their shared Norwood residence. Brittany had since graduated from A&M, completed her master’s degree at Auburn University, and moved back to Atlanta for a year before moving to Birmingham to settle in with Joseph in the new house he had purchased for her.
“I was getting ready for work, I had an evening shift at Apple (at the Summit), and he came upstairs and was acting weird. He was like, ‘You know I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,’ right? And I said, ‘Are you OK,’ because I thought someone died,” Brittany said. “And then he slid off the bed, got on his knees, opened the box, showed me the ring and said, will you marry me? There was absolutely no hesitation, I said ‘yes’ and told him I was glad no one died,” she laughed. “Then I went to work and was happy all day. I remember telling everyone I was engaged.”
“Ultimately, it was just about taking the next step. We had been together for a long time and had achieved many milestones. We had a little dog at the time, I had bought the house and it was time for us to become an official unit,” Joseph said.
The wedding: At the Canary Gallery in Birmingham on 2nd Ave., run by Joseph’s best friend, Evan Fancher, and their colors were red and white.
The most memorable part for the bride was arriving at her wedding and approaching her groom. “When I first walked in, I walked up the stairs to him and I remember seeing his face when he saw me. We got married at the top of the stairs and everyone else was down on the floor, and when I looked down and saw all the beautiful faces and saw all of our friends and family in that intimate space, the moment felt so right,” Brittany said. “And the house party (after the reception) was one of the most memorable things too…”
The most memorable part for the groom was “seeing the culmination of our lives come together,” Joseph said. “Friends from all over came together to witness our union, and after the reception we basically threw a house party, and it felt good to see everyone come together for it.”
They spent their honeymoon in Atlanta, Georgia. “We went on a ‘funny moon’ (that’s what they called their getaway because they didn’t want to think of the short trip as their honeymoon). We just drove to a familiar place, had dinner at Two Urban Licks and visited the High Museum in Atlanta,” Brittany said.
Words of wisdom: “Never lose yourself when you get married. Always remember who you are because to be a happy couple you have to be happy with yourself,” Brittany said. “Don’t be afraid to compromise because that’s a big part of what makes a marriage. And when things get tough, remember why you came together and stay who you are as a unit…”
“Don’t get into arguments unnecessarily and don’t argue just for the sake of arguing,” Joseph said. “You can’t make anyone happy if you’re unhappy with yourself and also realize you can’t make your spouse happy, but it’s your job to create an environment where they can be happy,” Joseph said. “The environment is super important and that’s the only thing you can control. Do your role (whatever that role is) so you’re doing your part for the family and do it to the best of your ability.”
And they lived happily ever after: The Hollis have two children, a daughter, Umi, 21 months old, and a son, Yuseph, 2 months old.
Brittany, 32, is a native of Atlanta, GA and graduated from Woodland High School (metropolitan ATL). She attended Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry with a minor in biology and Auburn University where she earned a master’s degree in science and chemistry. Brittany is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and works for Education Farm as the Senior Manager of Community Engagement.
Joseph, 35, is a native of East Birmingham and a graduate of Ramsay High School. He attended Alabama A&M, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Joseph previously worked as an agent/broker for 12 years and now works as the education director for the Birmingham Association of Realtors.
You Had Me at Hello highlights married couples and the love that binds them. If you would like to be considered for a future Hello column, or know someone who would, please send your suggestions to Barnett Wright [email protected]. Include the couple’s name, contact number(s) and what is special about their love story.
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