We met at Downs Memorial United Methodist Church in Oakland in 2019 where we were attracted to each other, but didn't initially think much of the encounter. We continued to see each other occasionally in church from time to time, which was interrupted a bit by the COVID-19 pandemic. We reconnected at a birthday celebration for Erica's brother (our officiant) at Lake Chalet in August of 2023 - Phillip thought it was past time to make a move! He reached out to Erica's friend/bridesmaid, Classy Martin, to see if she was single. To his delight, she was! Our first date was on Sunday, October 22, 2023 at The Grand Lake Kitchen in Oakland (Dimond District). Our relationship started out as long distance, as Erica spent stretches of time between Canton, Mississippi (her hometown) and Oakland, California. Since then, we have enjoyed a lot of travel, many many dates, parties, and movie nights (The Hangover II dozens of times). We are enjoying the engagement period and are looking forward to spending forever together!