We were prepared for a lot, but Coronavirus was not on the list! We are hopeful that we will be able to celebrate with everyone as planned on September 18, 2021. However, we are monitoring the news and will take precautions as necessary. We will continue to share updates as frequently as possible so that you can plan travel and accommodations.

It was another Tipsy Tuesday hosted by the Morehouse Alphas at their Fraternity House. Derrick happened to be number 11 on his Alpha line. Taylor was a Spelman Delta and Number 22, so it was serendipitous that they ended up being each other’s better half. Although it was a Tuesday night, and Taylor had class early the next morning, her linesisters dragged her to the pre-game. Taylor and Derrick spotted each other at the pre-game and immediately started talking about law school, hopes and dreams for the future followed by a shot of 90 proof grain alcohol. Before they knew it, sparks flew. In those days everyone sub-tweeted on Twitter, so it was pretty obvious to many that Derrick and Taylor hit it off. The young budding Spelhouse romance commenced and after that there wasn't another day on campus that Derrick and Taylor didn't text or see each other--they were inseparable. At that time, they had no idea that their conversations and dreams about law school would all manifest a few years later. After graduating from Morehouse, and Spelman, Derrick went on to Harvard Law School and Taylor moved to South Korea on a Fulbright Scholarship. Their relationship completely ended. Two years later, Taylor returned back to America, studied for the LSAT, took it two more times, applied to over 20 law schools and just so happened to get into Harvard Law School as well. Prioritizing their dreams and goals, Derrick and Taylor reunited at Harvard in 2015. Derrick and Taylor quite literally picked up where they left off. They realized that certain coincidences were not by chance and it was divine that they were placed together at the same time, same place, and same law school where their love blossomed and matured.

Derrick proposed making Taylor’s wildest black love romantic comedy dreams come true by including her favorite scene from the movie Brown Sugar. For Taylor’s 30th Birthday, she rented out a black-owned bar in Brooklyn called "good life." Taylor set the scene for what she thought would be the best birthday ever, but little did she know, it would turn out to be the best day of her entire life. Masterfully, Derrick decided to propose on this day—knowing that Taylor would be distracted hosting out of town friends and making sure everything was prepared. Maya (Taylor's sister) and Derrick took Taylor to the front of the bar to propose a toast. They all grabbed champagne glasses and everyone at the party crowded around to join them. As soon as Taylor got to the front of the party, "Love of My Life" by Erykah Badu started playing (theme song to the Brown Sugar movie). Instead of realizing what was about to happen, Taylor started dancing, because that is her “jam.” Maya made a heart warming toast that caused Taylor to tear up and ended her speech with stating: “this is just the beginning.” Naturally, Derrick followed sharing words about how incredible Taylor is and he thanked everyone for coming to celebrate. Then he asked, “what's the perfect gift for Taylor’s 30th birthday” and reached for this huge wrapped gift that was hidden behind the bar. The gift was a big flat square covered in gold wrapping paper. The two unwrapped the gift to find a life size screen shot of the moment in Brown Sugar where Taye Diggs asks Sanaa Lathan “Will you go out with me? Yes, No, Maybe?” At that moment, Taylor knew something was up because this is the exact way that Derrick asked her to be his girlfriend 5 years ago. Derrick continued, “Now I want to ask….” dropped to one knee and said, "Will you marry me?" Taylor cried tears of joy and couldn't believe this moment was actually taking place. It was more perfect than she ever could have imagined and was the easiest "yes" of her life.