Denalerie & T.L.
North Brunswick, NJ
Denalerie, 35, CEO, 3D Management Consulting LLC
T.L., 35, Owner, Tek Know Solutions LLC
Denalerie and T.L. remember the exact details of their first meeting—6pm, December 10, 2006, in Times Square—which took place after almost a year of chasing each other on Yahoo.com personals. Six months after their first date, Denalerie decamped from NYC to the Jersey suburbs where T.L. had a home. The couple opted not to wait for the Garden State to legalize marriage equality, and made their commitment to one another legal with a civil union on March 12, 2010 followed by a no-holds-barred wedding on September 11. They videocast the event for Denalerie’s relatives in Texas, so they and 80 VIP guests could witness T.L. walking Denalerie down the aisle; African traditions like the tasting of the elements; five couture outfit changes; and a military flight salute. These two lovebirds credit their “belief in a higher being, passion for LGBT community work, family, entrepreneurship for women of color, and an addiction to reality TV” as the glue that keeps them together. This past December, they celebrated their five-year anniversary at the Times Square Olive Garden—site of their first date.
