By Anita Debro
Special to the Birmingham Times
“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 nominations to Ariel Worthy at aworthy@birminghamtimes.com. Include the couple’s name, contact number(s) and what makes their love story unique.
JULIAN AND BREAH GRANT
Live: McCalla
Married: April 14, 2018
Met: Julian, 28, and Breah, 27, met in a Spanish class at Alabama Agriculture & Mechanical University in 2010. Julian is from Birmingham and a Ramsay High School graduate. Breah is from Fairhope. He was a junior and she was a sophomore and they both remembered how prepared the other was for the class. “She always did her work,” Julian recalled. “Julian and I had friends in class with us and they would always ask us for help,” Breah said. The pair lost touch after that class but over the summer communicated on Twitter and by texting.
First date: That summer they agreed to meet up for a movie. For Breah, that was the first date and it was nice, but Julian thinks of the couple’s first date a few months later during football season at A&M. He was a member of the Student Government Association and she was a cheerleader. “After the football game, I asked her out,” Julian said. They went to Mellow Mushroom in Huntsville. “It was a nice date for college students,” he said. “We just felt relaxed around each other, hanging out,” Breah said. “It was cool getting to know her that night,” he said.
Making it official: It was April 13, 2012 and Breah and Julian had attended Julian’s fraternity — Alpha Phi Alpha— ball. After the ball, Julian took Breah to Big Spring International Park in downtown Huntsville. There he asked Breah to be his girlfriend. “I was surprised,” she said.
Going the distance: Julian graduated from A&M in 2013 and moved to Birmingham that year to work at Alabama Power and work on his master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) while Breah was still in Huntsville. She then moved to Tuscaloosa to earn a master’s degree. In 2015, she finished school and received a job offer back in her hometown of Fairhope. “There was a lot of back and forth for us with the long distance relationship,” she said. “We were traveling back and forth for about three years.” In 2016, the two were finally united in Birmingham when she received a job offer from a local company.
The proposal: In February 2017, the couple were preparing to attend the Mardi Gras ball, but Julian had something extra special planned. “I probably decided around November (2016) to
propose,” he said. “We were at one of her line sister’s weddings (Breah is a member of Delta Sigma Theta) and another one of her line sisters approached me and she was like ‘it’s time to ask her,” he recalled. Julian realized that the perfect time would be the Grand Marshal ball. He recalled that week of the ball being worried. “That week I lost my voice,” he said. “I was stressing. I called my friends and my pastor.” But by the day of the ball he was ready. “He was the first one dressed,” Breah said. “He was rushing me.” At the ball, Julian had reserved an area at the Mobile Convention Center where the ball was held and he had invited friends and family. Breah said she knew something was different when she started seeing people she recognized. “I just felt like I was going to pass out,” she said. “I was in shock.” She admits that she did not really realize what Julian was saying to her as he was walking her to the balcony area. “I was telling her that we had been attending this ball for three years and we should do this forever.”
The wedding: The couple married in Daphne at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church. “That day was a blur,” said Breah, who recalls being worried about her mother, who has a breathing disorder, being able to enjoy that day. Julian remembers worrying about the weather as it was supposed to rain. The day, however, turned out perfectly, they said. “My mom was able to walk down the aisle and so did his grandmother, who had mobility issues,” Breah said. “And it ended up raining, but only towards the end of the day,” Julian said. Following the wedding, the couple honeymooned in the Dominican Republican.
Words of Wisdom: The newly married couple has received countless advice. “People love newlyweds,” Julian said. The piece of advice they receive most often, he said, is to communicate. “That is a good one,” Breah said. “They tell you to communicate and not keep feelings bottled in,” Julian said. Keep the issues that come up in their relationship between the two of them, they agree. Julian offered this advice for couples about to marry: “Have fun and don’t stress,” he said. Keep the focus of the relationship on each other, Breah advised.
Happily ever after: Breah is a social worker for Birmingham City Schools. Julian is a commercial and industrial account manager at Alabama Power. The couple looks forward to many years of wedding bliss, traveling, working on their respective careers, growing in their faith and eventually starting a family. “The family part is very important for us,” Julian said.
