BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times
KEVIN AND TIFFANY MURPHY
Live: Pinson
Married: June 29, 2017
Met: While the two were classmates at A.H. Parker High School, Kevin does not remember having ever met Tiffany, but she does remember meeting him. However, in January 2014, Tiffany was working a second job at Burlington in Crestwood, when Kevin came in to make a purchase, and she recognized him from high school.
“I didn’t see a price tag on the item, so I was looking for assistance, and she called me over to her line. That’s when she asked if I went to Parker, and we got to talking,” said Kevin, “and I told her to write her number down on my receipt so I can have it, and she laughed and said, ‘you can take your phone out and put my number in it.’” Kevin remembers hitting her with a Bernie Mac line from the movie ‘Life’, and she caught the reference.
“That was actually one of the ways we connected, quoting random lines from movies and we both always got [the reference],” said Tiffany. “And the next day, he called and he asked if I had any plans that night, and I said ‘no,’ and he said well let’s go to dinner.”
First date: The next day, at a Mexican restaurant in the Pinnacle shopping center, in Trussville. Kevin remembers showing up late. “I had some things going on and I actually ended up wearing [the item] I purchased the day before at the store,” Kevin laughed. “Over dinner, we basically just talked about the things going on in our lives, and the time in between since high school and college…”
“We talked about old friends, asking who remembered who, and seeing who was still hanging out with who from high school because we actually had some mutual friends,” said Tiffany. “I thought the date went good — considering the lateness [Kevin was 30 minutes late],” she laughed. “But the conversation flowed, which I liked, so I ended the date feeling good.”
“I thought she was pretty chill and laid back and thought I would like to get to know more about her, so I continued to pursue her,” Kevin said.
The turn: “It happened pretty quickly,” Tiffany remembered. “We began hanging out every weekend, and then we had that bad snowstorm, Snowmageddon in [January] 2014. Kevin got snowed in at work, and I almost got snowed in on the road, but I was able to make it home … but we talked the whole night off and on while he was stuck at work and he asked me to be his girlfriend.”
“When you’re 6-5 and 300 pounds and stuck at a car dealership trying to figure out where or how you can get comfortable for the night, it makes you realize how much more comfortable you would be if you were where you wanted to be,” Kevin laughed. “I was thinking about her a lot that night, so I asked her to be mine.”
The proposal: March 17, 2017, at Tiffany’s home [which is now their shared residence] in Pinson. The two were getting ready to go to dinner to celebrate their birthdays –- Kevin’s is March 13th, and Tiffany’s is March 15th.
“He told me he bought me a new Brahmin bag [a designer handbag] for my birthday and was waiting for it to come in, and that’s why the gift was late. And that night, he said it had arrived and gave me a gift bag, and I pulled out the [purse cover bag] and inside it was a purse that I already owned, and I looked at him crazy, ‘like what is going on?’” Tiffany laughed. “And he said go inside the purse, so I opened it up and saw the ring box, and by the time I looked back up at him, he was down on one knee.”
“… I chose to do it intimately in case the answer didn’t go the way I wanted it to go,” Kevin laughed, “and then if it did go the way I wanted, I wanted us to be able to celebrate the moment intimately. I didn’t put a lot of words to it because I was so nervous. All I said was, ‘Today, would you be mine?’, and she said ‘yes’.”
“Before we went out to eat, we went to my parents’ house to show them the ring and share the news, and my sister happened to be there,” Tiffany remembered.
Kevin added that he asked Tiffany’s father and uncle for her hand in marriage.
The wedding: At Tiffany’s home church, Mount Olive Baptist Church on Birmingham’s southside, officiated by its pastor and Tiffany’s uncle, Lonnie Hall, with the covenant prayer performed by Minister Joseph Harris, of Faith Chapel Christian Center, in Wylam. Their colors were navy blue, white, and gold.
Most memorable for the bride: “I remember it was raining, and I wanted to go ahead and start because we were all dressed, but my cousins were delaying me because they knew Kevin had left to go and get the ring (that he left at his mother’s house) … but when it was time to walk around to the front of the church [to make my entrance] Kevin sent [one of my male cousins] around to the back of the church with his umbrella to walk me to the front. And it was so sweet because Kevin knows I don’t care nothing about no rain, I’ll just make a dash for it because I have natural hair, and I had locs at the time, but he was showing me that he will cover me at all times, and he still has that umbrella to this day that he wants me to walk under,” Tiffany said.
Most memorable for the groom was having to run a last-minute errand 30 minutes before the wedding was set to start. “I was kind of nervous and thought I had everything together, but about 30 minutes before the wedding started, I realized I didn’t have the ring; it was still at my mom’s house. So, I had to shoot from the church [on the southside] to my mom’s house in East Thomas, and get back to the church in 30 minutes, all while it was raining,” said Kevin, who did make the wedding on time.
They honeymooned in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. “We already had that trip planned, and to be honest, we only had a wedding for our mothers, we weren’t going to have [a wedding] … And when we were [trying to pick a date] we planned it around our [upcoming vacation] so it could be our honeymoon,” said Tiffany.
The couple left out for their honeymoon road trip the next morning. “I remember Tiffany’s friends packed up a road trip basket of food from the reception for us, and that was the first food that I had eaten since before the wedding, because I was [socializing] and didn’t get to eat at the reception,” Kevin recalled.
Words of wisdom: “Always remember you’re on the same team. Even if you have disagreements or are angry, remembering that helps you come to a resolution faster. When you realize this is your person and this is who you chose to go through life with, that’s what helps us bounce back from disagreements,” Tiffany said.
“Stay true to yourself, keep it light, keep it fun, and enjoy the person that you’re with because that’s who you’re gonna do life with and see daily,” said Kevin.
Happily ever after: The Murphys attend Faith Chapel Christian Center in Wylam, and have an American Staffordshire, named Kaptain.
Tiffany, 43, is a Norwood native, and A.H. Parker High School grad. She attended Jacksonville State University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and a master’s degree in public administration. Tiffany works as a program specialist for DHR for the State of Alabama.
Kevin, 44, is an East Thomas native, an A.H. Parker High School grad, and works for DHR as an ASA [administrative support assistant] for the State of Alabama.
“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.
