It's amazing how far simply exchanging business cards will get you...

The year was 2015. The city was Minneapolis. Hundreds of aspiring young journalists had flocked to the city to participate in the annual National Association of Black Journalists convention. Darren, in a meticulously chosen gray suit and Teddi, in her freshly pressed red Toyota polo shirt never imagined that they would cross paths, let alone, fall in love. This was the first event Teddi had worked for Model Masters as the only hired talent, so she wasn't sure what to expect. But Valarie was sure to reassure her that NABJ was a great event and all would be well.

Unbeknownst to her, Teddi had been dubbed "The Toyota Girl," by Darren and his friend, now groomsman, Kelvin Washington. From a distance, they plotted their approach. Teddi had just finished discussing Toyota's latest developments with a few curious patrons. Darren adjusted his tie, and planned to convince her that he was shy, leaving Kelvin to do the talking.

Teddi easily saw through Darren's purported shyness, and once the two realized that they had a few things in common, the conversation quickly downsized from a trio to a duo. He explained that he was a sports anchor, and she highlighted Toyota's presence in the urban communities. After exchanging a few smiles and common cities the two had both lived in, Darren and Kelvin provided her with their business cards before quickly running off to meet with their next group of ESPN candidates.

After experiencing a horrible bout of food poisoning, Teddi found herself confined to her hotel room, unable to participate in any after hours activities, thus never seeing Darren for the rest of the weekend As the weekend and convention came to a close, both Teddi and Darren boarded their separate flights to their respective cities. Teddi ensured she tucked those 2 ESPN business cards away for safe keeping...or so she thought.

Upon making it home, she realized that she had managed to lose Darren's business card. To her dismay, her only option was to be resourceful. She dug through her bags and was able to find Kelvin's business card and decided the only way to get in touch with Darren would be to send her information through his friend.Luckily for her, he happily passed along her email address, and shortly after, Teddi and Darren were engulfed in an animated email exchange.

From emails to phone calls. From like to love. From courtship to a lifetime. Before they knew it, Darren had booked her first of many flights to his home in Hartford, Connecticut. It is from here that their love grew. Through their faith in God, love for each other, and perseverance Teddi and Darren have found themselves not only madly in love, but atop of the tallest building in the country...

Darren had convinced Teddi to join him for what she thought was a simple evening in New York at One World Trade Center Observatory. Everything imaginable seemed to be going wrong - there was an insane amount of traffic coming in from Connecticut, his navigation continuously took him in circles, and it was drawing near to closing time. They were both dressed nicely, so she offered the suggestion of scrapping the observatory and using open table to find somewhere nice to enjoy a NYC dinner. He was adamant about forging on and making it to the Observatory.

After what seemed to be a tumultuous drive, they make it One World Trade Center about 20 minutes before closing. Security tried to convince him to take a rain check and use his tickets for another day, but again, he was insistent. They were escorted to the elevator that shot them up to the 100th floor of the building in a matter of seconds. They stepped off, and to Teddi's surprise they were greeted by numerous incredibly friendly staff, but she noticed that there was literally no one else around. He proceeded to escort her through the observatory, as she took note of how unexpectedly helpful the staff were. In hindsight, it was like they knew something that she didn't. He ultimately lead her to an elevated platform dubbed "The Sky Portal," and instructed her to wait there while he attempted to find someone to take their picture. Being a woman, naturally she took the opportunity to use the great lighting for a selfie opportunity while she waited!

Shortly thereafter, Darren returned with a young man who seemed to barely speak English, but was thrilled to assist them. As Darren began to approach her on the platform, the young man began to snap away with the Nikon. Teddi deemed it a bit odd, but didn't think much of it. Darren and Teddi began to position themselves, with Darren asking to remind him of which side she preferred to be on. As she turned away from him to attempt to demonstrate which side was her "good side" and which side was his, he began to drop down on one knee. By the time she began to turn back towards him, he was halfway down. It took her a second to realize what was happening because she was in complete and utter shock! For a second, Teddi took a glance around and realized they were completely surrounded by panoramic views of New York City and all of it's glory. The city shone and sparkled all around them, completely engulfing them in the moment. As they, Teddi with her hands over her mouth and he with the most amazing ring cupped in his trembling hands, stood on the illuminated platform, she felt like the entire city stopped for that one moment of time and was theirs.

His eyes watered and sparkled under the lights, and she managed to regain her composure just enough to wipe her tears and extend her left hand. It was then that she heard the gasps, a whispered "she said yes," and enthusiastic applause from the staff that had gathered to watch in the shadows. She lifted her man up off of his knees, cupped his face, and rested her forehead on his nose. Unbeknownst to her, the young man had snapped the entire moment from start to finish, forever capturing their special intimate moment, over 1700 feet in the sky in the tallest building in the country. Almost 2 months has passed since their moment, and she still feels like she's floating one hundred floors above one of the best cities in the world.