BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times
ISAAC & JASMINE JONES
Live: Leeds
Married: Nov. 20, 2008
Met: April 2004, at a friend’s house in East Lake. Jasmine said her next-door neighbor’s house was the place to hang out and one evening when she dropped by Isaac was there playing basketball with the guys. “And the first time I saw him, I was like ‘oh my God, he is so cute,’” Jasmine laughed.
Isaac said one of the guys had a crush on Jasmine too and was “blocking. And even though they [the neighbor and Jasmine] never dated, he was kinda staking his claim and I didn’t want to break bro code. And being the respectable guy that I am, I hung back and peeped things out first. And plus, I was new to the neighborhood, so I took it easy,” he said.
Their chemistry “was definitely a slow burn,” said Jasmine. “I would throw out little hints letting him know that I liked him, and he was definitely picking up what I was putting down because he would flirt back a little, but I didn’t know that there was a whole blockage thing going on.”
For the next four years, Jasmine and Isaac developed a friendship and in February 2008, things between them picked up.
“One night, I went next door thinking it was just going to be a girl’s night, but the whole friend group was there. And when I saw Isaac that night, it was like the first time I saw him,” Jasmine said, “it was all fire, the chemistry was thick. And to get his attention, I took something of his and [played keep away] so that he’d have to chase me for it, and I ran outside and we ended up sitting in my car and talking for three hours.”
Isaac said the connection was strong but “because I was raised right, I was playing it cool, I didn’t want to be too aggressive, but I followed her outside… and to get my stuff back, I had to hug up on her. We were talking and told each other that we had interest, and we were looking at the stars through her sunroof and listening to music. It was a vibe,” he said. “And to test the theory of how interested she was, I made the executive decision to lean in for a kiss, and I figured if she kissed me back then I know it’s real. And the kiss was real, and from that moment on we were locked in.”
First date: March 2008, at the Cheesecake Factory at the Summit. To seal the deal and show Jasmine how he treats his lady, Isaac said he pulled out all the stops for their first date.
“When he asked me out and said he was taking me to the Cheesecake Factory, I was like ‘Ooooh, he got moneeey? I can get a meal, and a slice of cheesecake at the same time?’ And you know back then, at that age [early 20s], going to the Cheesecake Factory was like going to Perry’s Steakhouse,” Jasmine laughed.
“I was a young hardworking man. I knew how to get the money, and I wasn’t afraid to splurge on my lady,” said Isaac.
The turn: That night at Cheesecake Factory. “I didn’t want to take her out and continue spending time together without knowing what we were to each other because after we kissed, I wanted to lock her down,” he said. “She had a lot of other love interests, and I wanted her to close all those doors and make her mine. So that night, I said, ‘since we have all this chemistry we might as well go on and make it official,’ and asked her if she would like to be my lady, and she said ‘yes.’
The proposal: “We knew from the first date that we were going to marry each other. We were young and in our early 20’s, and our friends were still out in the streets and we didn’t want anyone trying to talk us out of our decision to get married, or in our business,” Jasmine said. “So we only told our family and no one objected. Of course, they knew how we felt about each other, and my dad is a pastor, so he was all for it and he agreed to marry us.”
“Her father realized I was a good kid and that I wasn’t going anywhere. He said his spirit agreed with it, and after they asked us if we were sure, they were OK with it,” Isaac said.
The wedding: At Jasmine’s parents’ home in Center Point. They had an intimate wedding with only immediate family. It was officiated by Jasmine’s father, Pastor Fred Hill, of Greater Refuge Church in Pleasant Grove. Jasmine wore a long white skirt, and a winter white sweater accented with pink, and Isaac wore a white suit.
Most memorable for the bride was realizing how their families brought their night together. “For me, that whole night was special for the fact that each of our families contributed to the wedding,” Jasmine said. “My mom did the cooking, Isaac’s mom did the baking, his dad sang ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ during the ceremony, my dad officiated, and Isaac’s grandmother gave the official blessing and [gifted us] a family heirloom. And looking at how everything came together so perfectly, I was just overwhelmed with gratitude.”
Most memorable for the groom was a moment with his grandmother. “My grandmother has glaucoma, so she’s blind,” Isaac said. “And some of Jazz’s friends [neighbors who were not invited to the wedding] were outside and came in unexpectedly. And my grandmother, being blind, didn’t realize they weren’t family and just started talking and told them, ‘we’re just sitting here at Isaac and Jasmine’s wedding’, and I was like ‘grandma.’ I said, ‘you weren’t supposed to tell them that, they weren’t invited. And she said, ‘you know I’m blind, I can’t see who I’m talking to. Oh well, it’s out now, they may as well stay and have a cookie’, and we started laughing.”
Words of wisdom: “Keep it fresh, keep dating, never lose the foundation of what got you guys to where you are,” Issac said. “Those are the important things that continue to elevate your union.”
“Keep God in the center, He’s the anchor that holds it steady,” Jasmine said. “Don’t get too engulfed in being husband and wife that you forget to be each other’s friend and safe place, because that’s the foundation of your marriage. Always be a united front, one band, one sound. Discuss your differences in private but cover one another in public.”
“And for any future couples that are getting married, if you’re looking for a wedding singer, I got you covered,” Isaac said. “I love writing music about love and I’ll create a personalized song about your love and sing it at your wedding.”
You can contact Isaac via social media @isaacjmusic on all platforms.
Happily ever after: The Jones’ attend Tower of Prayer Church in Leeds, where both serve in the music ministry, Jasmine as minister, and Isaac in the men’s ministry. They have four daughters, Tamya, 16, Kylee, 13, and twins, Zoey and Zariah, 12.
Jasmine, 37, is an East Lake native, and a Parkway Christian Academy grad. She is currently enrolled at Purdue Global University where she is earning bachelor’s degree in communications and works as a patient coordinator for Radius Physical Therapy in Trussville and owns a home-based baking business called “Jazzy’s Pies.”
Isaac, 37, is an East Lake native, and Hewitt Trussville High School grad. He is a recording artist and songwriter where he serves as the creative music director for Black Smoke Music Group and curates educational songs and tunes for a cartoon called the Hip-hop Boobly Show that can be streamed on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and more.
“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.
