JUST MARRIED!!!
Our union is dedicated to our courageous, trailblazing and endlessly loving grandmothers, Joanne Bogart & Helena “Omega” Walsh.
Jacob Plummer & Erica McLain officially joined forces on October 23, 2020 via a virtual wedding ceremony, the two broadcasting from their San Francisco apartment out to family and friends around the world.
Against the odds of social stereotypes, racial pressures and religious differences, our grandmas championed our love from Day 1.
We miss Jake’s Nana and Erica’s Grammy dearly, but we’re so thankful for the lessons they taught us, all the laughs we shared, all the warm hugs they gave, and their endorsements of our love.
In loving memories of …
Joanne Bogart (Nana)
December 29, 1928 - November 5, 2020
Nana’s strong, determined spirit that she’d exhibited throughout her life enabled her to hold out for our revised wedding date. We’re endlessly thankful to her nursing home for getting her on video to join our virtual ceremony. Erica was so nervous to meet Nana, but will always cherish the giant hug tiny Nana gave her the moment they met. Nana had been Jake’s rock, someone he could always depend on his entire life. We will miss her greatly.
More loving details about Jake’s nana coming soon.
Helena “Omega” Walsh (Grammy)
July 22, 1932 - January 3, 2019
Erica is Helena’s “A #1 grandbaby” (aka her first grandchild). Her Grammy always encouraged her to “Go to your destiny, Girl” and Erica’s not giving up in that quest. Helena and Jake found an unexpected bond in their mutual love for early 1900s gospel and had fun singing & dancing together to the tunes of Kate Smith and songs like “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.”
Learn more about Erica’s grammy: www.inmemoryofhelena.com
“If those two busy people just sit their busy selves down long enough and really looked at each other, they’d realize it; they’d know they’re suppose to be together forever.”
- Helena “Omega” Walsh,
Erica’s late grandmother
How We Met
It was 8AM on a Saturday morning (June 23, 2018 to be exact). The two were blurry-eyed at an Education Technology workshop in Chicago. She, having flown in from San Francisco at 1AM, was wondering when her coffee was going to kick in. He, having little to nothing to do with EdTech, was wondering why he was there at all. But he noticed her and she noticed him.
The morning was full of talks, activities, and a tour of the startup incubator that was hosting the event. Erica was too shy to speak to Jake, but she took note of his mannerisms and kindness to others. By lunchtime, Jacob had planned to take off, but not before passing Erica his business card (which she’s kept all this time):
”Connect on LinkedIn?!?,” Erica thought, “Real smooth, but way better than some cheesy pickup line.” So she returned his gesture with her own business card (which he’s kept all this time):
He sent a text right away! The two chatted about hanging out, but Erica wasn’t sure she wanted to give up any of her 5-day work trip for some ‘random’ guy. However, the workshop was the only thing on her schedule for that day, so she suggested coffee. He had something a bit more energizing in mind. They spent that Saturday evening at the birthday hangout, then dinner of one of Jacob’s closest friends, then went on to another friend’s reggae performance. The two had a blast, and Jake became a little less ‘random’… so Erica made time for him every day of her work trip!
Shortly after that Saturday, Jacob was having breakfast with a friend who wanted to inquire further as to their first encounter: “So, dude, were you pursuing her, or was she pursuing you??” Jacob thought for a moment then appropriately responded, “I think we were pursuing each other!” And so it was. Erica had never really pursued a guy before. Something about Jake just felt different.
Over the course of the next month, Jake would fly to surprise Erica on her other work trips, and she would take spontaneous flights to Chicago. They finally decided to make their relationship “official.” It certainly wasn’t easy trying to maintain a long-distance relationship, but they set their intentions towards investing in one another.
On October 14, 2019, after nearly a year and half of racking up flight miles to spend time together in their respective cities and proving they could be great travel mates on international excursions, Jake decided to propose. Erica said ‘YES!’ and here we are. The two have just moved to an apartment in San Francisco and have intentions towards making the most of all the Bay Area has to offer.
(NOTE: this was drafted in February 2020. The COVID pandemic definitely halted our plans of enjoying the Bay Area, but we’ve picked up some new at-home hobbies and have generally been really enjoying quarantining together … as much as it’s possible to enjoy being stuck in quarantine.)
