‘You Know That I Love You, and Want to Spend the Rest of My Life With You, Right?’

BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times

BRITTANY AND JOSEPH HOLLIS

Live: Birmingham/Norwood

Married: Jan. 6, 2019

Met: Fall 2010, at a Kappa party near Alabama A&M University’s campus in Huntsville. Brittany was beginning her sophomore year, and Joseph was beginning his senior year. They did not formally meet that night, but Brittany thought Joseph was attractive and “went on a search” to inquire about him through his line brother, who then passed along her number to Joseph. When Joseph called, “We talked for hours,” said Brittany.

“The thing that resonated with me is that he is the first guy that ever introduced himself to me using his full name… He called me and said, ‘I’m Joseph Matthew Hollis’ and explained how he got my number, and that stood out to me,” Brittany said. “We talked like we knew each other, we talked about random things and figured out we had a lot of commonalities, and within a week we decided to meet.”

They arranged a quick meet-up at Normal Hills student apartments 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 busted, but my friend talked me into it,” Brittany said.

“I look for a person’s true self, so [her appearance] was cool by me. We just sat out there and got a feel for each other and it was a cool meeting, and we saw each other again within a couple of days,” Joseph said.

First date: Early September 2010, at the Parkway Mall in Huntsville.

“Brittany said she had never had a smoothie from Planet Smoothie, and I was like, ‘shoot let’s go then’. That was the perfect cheap little first date. We walked around the mall and talked,” Joseph said.

“He took me to a place that I’d never been before and I thought that was pretty cool because he listened to me [during conversation]. I also liked that he came and picked me up from my dorm because he didn’t live on campus…,” said Brittany.

The turn: Spring 2012. “Joseph had already graduated [the year before], and I was a junior about to be a senior and we were still talking to each other and doing the long-distance thing 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 woman because we had been talking for a while, and it made sense. Everything was clicking and running on all cylinders, and to be honest, she was my woman way before then, “ Joseph said. “I had committed to her probably three months before I told her… That was just my way of bringing her up to speed on where I was at.”

Britney and Joseph Hollis met at a party near Alabama A&M University in 2010 and married in 2019. (Provided)

The proposal: July 21, 2018, at their shared residence in Norwood. Brittany had since graduated from A&M, completed her master’s degree at Auburn University, and moved home to Atlanta for a year, before moving to Birmingham to settle down with Joseph in the new house he’d bought for them.

“I was getting ready for work, I had an evening shift at Apple [at the Summit], and he came upstairs and was acting funny. He was like, ‘you know that I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you’, right? And I said ‘are you alright’ because I thought somebody had died,” Brittany said. “And then he started sliding off the bed and got on his knee and opened up the box and showed me the ring and said will you marry me? There was absolutely no hesitation, I said ‘yes’, and I told him I was happy no one had died,” she laughed. “Then I proceeded to go to work and was happy all day. I remember telling everybody I had gotten engaged.”

“Ultimately, it was just about moving us to the next step, we had been together a long time and had achieved a lot of milestones. We had a little dog at that 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, officiated by Joseph’s best friend, Evan Fancher, and their colors were red and white.

Most memorable for the bride was arriving at her wedding and approaching her groom. “When I first walked in I remember walking up the stairs to him and I remember seeing his face when he saw me. We got married up the stairs and everybody else was on the floor at the bottom, and looking down and seeing all the beautiful faces and seeing all of our friends and family in the intimate space made the moment feel so right,” Brittany said. “And the house party [after the reception] was also one of the most memorable things…”

Most memorable for the groom was “seeing the culmination of our lives come together,” Joseph said. “We had friends come together from everywhere to witness our union, and we basically had a house party after the reception, and seeing everybody come together for that too made me feel good.”

They honeymooned in Atlanta, Georgia. “We took a ‘funny-moon’ [how they referred to their quick getaway as they did not want to consider the short trip their honeymoon]. “We just went someplace familiar and went to dinner at Two Urban Licks, and to the High Museum in Atlanta,” Brittany said.

Words of wisdom: “Never lose yourself when you get married, always remember who you are because in order to be a happy couple you have to be happy with yourself,” Brittany said. “Don’t be afraid to compromise because that’s a lot of what marriage is. And when things are hard, remember the foundation of why you guys started and continue to be who you are as a unit…”

“Don’t have unnecessary arguments, and don’t argue for the sake of arguing,” Joseph said. “You can’t make anybody happy if you’re unhappy with yourself and also realize that you can’t make your spouse happy, but it’s your job to nurture an environment where they can be happy,” Joseph said. “The environment is super important and that’s the one thing you can control. Fulfill your role (whatever that role is) so that you’re doing your part for the family, and do it to the best of your ability.”

Happily ever after: The Hollis’s have two children, a daughter, Umi, 21 months, and, a son, Yuseph, 2 months old.

Brittany, 32, is an Atlanta, GA native and Woodland High School [metro ATL] grad. 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 obtained 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 an East Birmingham native, and Ramsay High School grad. He attended Alabama A&M where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business management and is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Joseph previously worked as an agent/broker for 12 years, and now works for the Birmingham Association of Realtors as the Education Director.

“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, please send nominations to Barnett Wright bwright@birminghamtimes.com. Include the couple’s name, contact number(s) and what makes their love story unique.

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