before we were us

Whether You're Single, Dating, Married, or Rebuilding After Loss, You Belong Here

Before We Were Us creates space for honest reflection on the stories, patterns, and myths we carry into love, so we can build relationships rooted in self-awareness, compassion, and truth.

It's a space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with how we understand love, connection, and ourselves. Before the labels, the expectations, the heartbreak, and the healing, there was a version of us that still believed in love and possibility. This experience is about finding our way back to that place with honesty and grace.

In a culture where social media distorts love into performance, dating apps commodify connection, and conflicting voices leave us more confused than confident, we believe something different is possible.

Healthy love begins with understanding who we were before we became "us." Through curated gatherings, guided conversations, and communal rhythm, we invite singles, couples, and those navigating love after loss to slow down, look inward, and grow intentionally, beyond the noise of what culture tells us love should be. This is not about fixing what's broken. It's about naming what we brought, releasing what doesn't serve us, and building what does. Here, we explore love from the inside out. How we love ourselves. How we love others. And how our connection to something greater shapes it all.

a note from jermaine

“I didn’t learn God through church first. I learned Him through love. Through my wife. Through covenant. Loving her taught me patience, grace, forgiveness, and what it means to stay when it’s hard. Our marriage became my first understanding of who God is. Before We Were Us is rooted in that truth, that sometimes God introduces Himself through relationship before religion, and love before language.” 

— Jermaine
Upcoming Experience

Before We Were Us is a reflective, inspirational, countercultural relationship experience designed to slow us down long enough to tell the truth, gently.

This is not a seminar. Not a panel. Not group therapy. It’s an evening to honor the full journey of love, singleness, dating, marriage, and navigating love after loss, without hierarchy, pressure, or performance. Every marriage was once a conversation. Every relationship carries a story that started long before us.

REGISTER

What Sets Our experiences Apart

01 / curated + intentional

every detail matters: music, prompts, atmosphere. we create spaces where reflection feels natural, not forced.

02 / singles + couples, together

we don’t separate or rank. Whether you’re solo, dating, or married, you’re doing the same work, understanding who you were before you became “us.”

03 / Community that goes deep

this isn’t surface-level networking. it’s a committed crew doing real work together, month after month, conversation after conversation.

۝❤️💍 BEFORE WE WERE US ۝❤️💍

۝❤️💍 BEFORE WE WERE US ۝❤️💍 

Featured Experience

January 2026

Before we were us kickoff dinner

    • Dinner at Ancho & Agave, Lombard (each person pays for their own meal + tip)

    • Welcome and vision-casting for the year ahead

    • Table game/Icebreaker: “Before I understood love, I thought it meant…”

    • Introduction to the Before We Were Us concept and monthly rhythm

    • Sneak peek of the Valentine’s Day gathering

    • Early-bird access to February event registration

  • 7:00 PM
    Time Arrival, seating, and settling in

    7:15 PM
    Welcome & tone-setting for the year

    7:30 PM
    Dinner service begins & natural table conversations

    8:00 PM
    Table game: Quick reflection prompt with light sharing

    8:15 PM
    Preview of Valentine’s event & the year-long journey

    8:30 PM
    Wrap-up, connection time and organic departure

  • RSVP by commenting below or sending us a DM to save your spot. Show up ready to eat good food, laugh, and get a first look at what we're building this year.

    Bring cash for your meal and tip (makes checkout easy for everyone).

    Singles can come solo or bring a friend. Couples come together. No awkward icebreakers. No forced sharing. Just chill energy, one good question, and real conversation.

    This is the kickoff to a year of monthly gatherings where we slow down long enough to have the conversations we didn't know we needed.

DIRECTIONS
2026 SCHEDULE