The New York Times

Have you ever thought about something and said to yourself "That would be too good to be true". Well, that is what I thought about us being in the New York Times. You see, I wanted to do something special for my parents (married for 41 years February 8th). How could I best honor them? I mean, I was only getting married once and buying them a trinket or a gift really wouldn't have expressed how much they meant to me. I wanted something bigger. More profound. Something that they wouldn't forget.

Shaunté and I in NEw Orleans.

My parents immigrated to the United States from Barbados in 1972. They got married in 1975, worked hard and raised 2 children in Brooklyn, New York before moving to Westbury, Long Island. I watched them as they sacrificed so that my older sister Michelle and I could have more than they did. In 1995, I graduated from Westbury high school and went off to college in Massachusetts. In 1999 I graduated from Boston College and moved to San Jose, California. Now, I live in Raleigh, North Carolina. I was always moving further and further away from them but no matter how far away I was, they were always with me. This is what I wanted them to know.

A classmate of mine from BC sent me a message and said: "You should submit your wedding information to the New York Times". I thought to myself: they would never pick us. I don't know why but I just thought that with the thousands of people that probably send in their wedding info, what are the chances of them selecting us? So, I took a shot and filled out the application anyway and sent in some photos.

Months passed. I had forgotten all about it. I went about getting on with my life and preparing for the wedding. Shaunté had a long list of things that we needed to get done so I was on my job. Then one day she called me while I was at work. She said there was an editor from the newspaper on the phone and wanted to verify our information. I was EXCITED to say the least. I could only imagine the looks on their faces when they first see the paper while sitting at their kitchen counter eating breakfast, or having family or friends call the house after noticing it. Or even better still, their coworkers commenting on the achievement. This was really special.

So, they day after our wedding day on November 22nd, 2015 we appeared in the weddings section of the New York Times. You better believe we bought several copies!

Here you can find the online link to the New York Times feature of Té & Toine.