MET IN HIGHSCHOOL, BECAME A COUPLE ON THIS DAY... LOVED ONE ANOTHER EVER SINCE...

KeLea and Vance officially met in junior high school but did not become close friends until high school. Although they were both dating other people, there was something that kept drawing them close. One night at a friend's birthday party, they spent the entire night outside talking and basically skipped the entire party (something clicked). From then on, they would spend hours on the phone talking each night but still remained only friends. Fast forward to May 2005, Vance hosted his 17th birthday party at the Embassy suites downtown St. Paul. They flirted all night...it was also the first time KeLea had met his parents. As she left that night, Vance asked his Dad if he should make a move and his Dad asked what he had to lose. This is where the story gets tricky, Vance texted KeLea admitting to his feelings and she responded that she felt the same way...only he never got her text. She kept trying to resend because she never got a reply (where is the read receipt when you need it?). The next Monday at school he ignored her the entire day...what had she done wrong? So she wrote a long letter explaining the events of the night and the technological fail, he finally came around and the rest is history! 13 years later, despite several years of separation, challenges of growing up and plain old stubbornness their love persevered. December 9, 2017 - He proposed July 13, 2018 - They had their first child (Surprise!) July 18, 2019 - They become one #TheRealMcWedding

As an annual tradition, KeLea and Vance go ice skating for their anniversary. This particular year, their anniversary fell on a weekday and they both decided that they would not make that year a big deal and would celebrate with something low key the following weekend. That Saturday, Vance had a "loose" agenda planned of mani/pedi's, food and eventually ice skating. If you know KeLea, although she rarely goes the nail shop, her one requirement for a proposal was that her nails were done (smart man!). As they go through the day, KeLea's best friend Jazlynn was texting her just "checking in" and keeping tabs on where they were. The entire time, KeLea had no idea what was going on. As they pull up to the ice rink, Vance let's her walk on as he goes back to the car because he "forgot" something in the trunk...still she has no idea. They skate, and Vance is acting a little strange trailing behind her...she skates on. Eventually, he asks her to practice skating tricks and close her eyes... not completely unusual so she indulges. When she opens her eyes, he is on one knee (on ice skates) with a huge rock asking her to marry him. Better yet, as he proposes her bestie, his brother and their close friend and photographer Haythem jump out of the crowd and had captured it all. IT WAS PERFECT and she was completely surprised.