HOW WE MET
We met over a decade ago, on 1/11/11, at one of those bars you really only go to for late-night dancing when everything else is closed. There was nothing extraordinarily noteworthy about the night we met, aside from the fact that Brian was impressed by how much chocolate milk Jordan can drink at Waffle House at 3am, and that it was the first of many nights where he would stand on the edge of a dance floor wondering how she has the nerve to dance like that in public.
"I remember he made me laugh, a LOT, and I remember feeling so... safe. Like I was finally home."
As we stood together in that crowded bar, we made the observation that it seemed like we had known each other forever - weren't we already best friends in a past life or something? We probably didn't realize how significant that feeling was at the time, but we certainly do now. Neither of us was in the market for our other half that night, but we've been inseparable ever since.
SHE SAID YES
On July 19th, 2021, as a French gypsy jazz quartet played Edith Piaf's "La vie en rose", Brian pulled off the surprise of a lifetime. He proposed at the Swan House Gardens, one of Jordan's favorite Atlanta landmarks.
She recalls, "I will never, ever forget that moment. I was in total and absolute shock, but in those few seconds everything else around me seemed to fade away and I could only see Brian. I just remember smiling wide-eyed and frozen, in a state of awe, feeling the same sense of undeniable clarity I had the night we met:
"a profound understanding that I was exactly where I was meant to be, and so was he."
Brian got the details just right by bringing along his own props, which really made the moment feel complete and meaningful: pink roses, champagne and the antique hand-blown glasses brought back from a previous trip to Provence, etched with the words "Souvenir de la Fête". There was dancing and a private tour of the Swan House before dinner at a new French restaurant in town. As a cherry on top, the marquee sign outside spelled out "CONGRATS J&B" for all to see.
Following a dinner of champagne, roast chicken and steak & frites, we decided on a nightcap in the upstairs lounge of the restaurant. We were brought to tears when we entered the room and realized how many of our nearest and dearest had made their way out on a Monday evening to celebrate with us.
True to form, the night ended around 2am at one of those bars you really only go to for late-night dancing when everything else is closed, and it honestly could not have been more perfect.