BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times
AALIYAH & ROY ORR
Live: Clay
Married: March 25, 2006
Met: Thanksgiving night 2000, at The Platinum of Birmingham nightclub. Aaliyah had moved to Atlanta for a job with Alight Solutions, her first job post college, and was home in Birmingham celebrating the holiday. That night, she and some friends went to the Platinum after dinner to “work off some of our Thanksgiving eats”, and she and her friend April Wortford, spotted Roy from afar.
“April said, ‘ooh, I see somebody real fine’ and pointed him out, and I said, ‘you should step to him then’, and she said ‘uh-uh, you know I love my man’. [Soon after], April saw Roy checking me out, and at some point I ended up in close proximity to him, and he reached back and grabbed my hand and we were just standing there in the middle of the club holding hands, Aaliyah laughed. “And then one of my other friends said, ‘what are you doing?’ And I said ‘we go together.’”
Roy said, “I was actually having a conversation with some guys that I played ball with and they didn’t know I was back in town, so I was standing there talking to them when she was walking by, and I grabbed her hand because I didn’t want to let her pass me by. That was also my way of ending the conversation with them,” Roy recalled.
The pair talked for a while “and this was back when we still had pagers, and I had both a cell phone and a pager, but I gave her the pager number because I wanted to see if she was serious,” said Roy.
Aaliyah said, “After the club, I stayed the night at April’s, and she convinced me to page him that night. She was like ‘y’all need to go out before you go back to Atlanta’. He called back and we stayed on the phone all night.”
First date: The following Saturday night at Chili’s at the Century Plaza Mall and the movies on Lakeshore at the Wildwood Movie Theater where they saw ‘The Grinch That Stole Christmas’ starring Jim Carrey.
“I felt super comfortable because the conversation was easy. We never ran out of anything to talk about and it had been a long time since I had felt that way about a guy,” said Aaliyah. “I also remember he kept asking me if I was seeing somebody, he was like ‘I know you got a man in Atlanta’, and I kept telling him I didn’t…”
“I remember asking her about family and friends in Birmingham, and it turns out she was cousins with some guys [twins] I used to hang out with and I couldn’t believe I never ran into her because I used to hang out with them all the time… I played little league baseball all the way through high school with them,” Roy said. “And Aaliyah was real easy on the eye. I caught myself staring at her all night when she wasn’t looking. I love her light brown eyes, I couldn’t stop staring into them.”
The turn: For Aaliyah, it was spring 2001, when she moved back to Birmingham. “That’s when it got serious for me. [While I was living in Atlanta] we were seeing each other regularly, whether it was me coming home, or him driving out to see me… But it really took the turn one day when I was hanging out at his house with him and his mom [in West End], and he was washing my car while me and his mom were sitting on the front porch, and a neighbor came out and said, ‘Roy, is that your girlfriend?’, and he was like ‘yes, ma’am’. When I heard that I was like, ‘oh, we go together?’” Aaliyah laughed. “That was a defining moment. And when I asked him about what I heard him say he was like ‘yeah’, like ‘duh, Aaliyah.’”
The proposal: June 2005, at City Stages, a music festival in Birmingham that’s no longer around, on a Sunday afternoon. Roy said he always knew he wanted to propose to Aaliyah with a grand gesture, and City Stages was the perfect opportunity. He was acquainted with a singer named Alvin, who was part of ‘Just A Few Cats’, set to perform at the weekend long music event.
“I called him and asked him if he could give us a shout out or something on stage, and he said, ‘I’ll do you one better, we just wrote a song called ‘Lost in Love’, and we’re gonna perform it, so I’ll [dedicate the song] to y’all, and when we get done singing it you come up to the stage and take it from there,’” Roy recalled. “So we were in the front of the stage where everybody could see us, and while she’s clapping and happy about the shout out, I got down on one knee behind her and pulled the ring out and the whole crowd went crazy. When she finally turned around and realized what I did, she covered her mouth and backed up… I got up, put the ring on her, and once we started hugging, all the friends and family ran out of the crowd and that [shocked her even more].”
Roy had arranged for Aaliyah’s family and friends to be present for the big moment, along with his family. They were spread out through the crowd, hiding among the other attendees.
“I was very shocked and surprised. I didn’t even answer him at first, I just got the ring on my finger and then he was like ‘are you ever gonna answer me?’ and I was like, ‘oh, yes’,” Aaliyah laughed. “Plus, Roy had been acting strange all day, kinda like he was irritated with life and I almost didn’t even wanna go to City Stages with him. But after I got over my shock, I realized why he was acting like that…”
The wedding: At Woodland Park Church of Christ in West End, officiated by their pastor, Pastor E.O. Jackson of Greater New Antioch Baptist Church. Their colors were champagne and crimson.
Most memorable for the bride was the feedback she received at the reception about the tone of her responses to her vows. “…I was getting over a cold, and my voice was nasally, and people said I sounded like I was asleep when I said ‘I do’…. so that night I made sure Roy knew that I meant every word in the vows,” Aaliyah laughed.
Most memorable for the groom was the moment their wedding singer serenaded his bride down the aisle. “When Aaliyah was walking down the aisle, Nadia Tellis was singing ‘I Believe In You And Me’, by Whitney Houston, and it was so beautiful, Aaliyah was actually glowing. I don’t know if they had the lights on her or what, but I couldn’t see anybody else in there but her. I was definitely in my feelings,” Roy said.
They honeymooned in Orlando, Florida, and stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel. “We also went to Universal Studios Orlando, and they were doing a taping of Ellen DeGeneres [daytime talk show] , and Wyclef Jean [a hip-hop artist] and Shakirah [a Latin artist] were doing a performance and we got to see it,” Aaliyah said. “And they were also staying in our hotel,” Roy added.
Words of wisdom: “Never make assumptions about what you think your partner knows. It’s your job to communicate your feelings because they cannot read your mind,” said Aaliyah.
“Wake up every day and be intentional about choosing your mate and your marriage. Every day is a conscious decision to choose your spouse again and again,” said Roy.
Happily ever after: The Orrs attend Greater New Antioch Baptist Church in Ensley, where Aaliyah serves on the usher board, and both on the couple’s ministry and Vacation Bible School. They have two sons, Mitchell, 15, and Harrison, 11.
Aaliyah, 47, is a West End native, and Minor High School grad. She attended the University of Alabama where earned a bachelor’s degree in management information systems, and Birmingham Southern College, where she obtained a master’s degree in public and private management. Aaliyah works as a client service leader for Strada, a human resource services company, based out of Miami, Florida.
Roy, 46, is an Acipco [North Birmingham] native, and a Phillips High School grad. He attended the University of West Alabama where he studied business management, and Jefferson State Community College where he obtained his EMT [Emergency Medical Technician] license. Roy worked for Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service for 10 years and now works at Overnight Parts Alliance as a warehouse manager.
“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.
