Domino players Kelly Newsome and Devin Rambo get married in Montreal

Kelly Newsome and Devin Rambo met last year, but their families had known each other for a long time. After participating in a dominoes tournament, their romance quickly progressed.

Kelly Dianne Newsome and Devin Darnell Rambo's families have known each other for years. Each family is a powerhouse in a domino-playing community in Kansas City, Missouri, passing down a love of the game across generations. Years ago, Ms. Newsome's uncle, Travis Newsome, taught the game to Mr. Rambo's father, Rickey Rambo, the current doubles dominoes world champion.

But Ms. Newsome and Mr. Rambo didn't meet until June 2022. A month before the 46th annual World Championship Dominoes Tournament in Andalusia, Alabama, she attended a preparatory seminar that he taught in Kansas City. They were both ready to compete in doubles at the tournament.

When Mr. Rambo first saw Ms. Newsome, he was intrigued. Her uncle had told him she was a lawyer in New York and Mr. Rambo expected a "diva."

Mrs. Newsome, 40, is a partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, a law firm. She holds a law degree from Georgetown and two master's degrees, one in economic law from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris and one in public administration from the University of Missouri.

Mr. . Rambo, 31, is a financial management advisor at CommunityAmerica Credit Union in Kansas City. He holds an associate's degree in business administration from Metropolitan Community College, also in Kansas City.

At the tournament in Andalusia, Mr. Rambo and his partner took first place, while Ms. Newsome and her partner placed second in the consolation category. Then, in a series of post-tournament debriefings hosted on Zoom by the Kansas City domino community, the two met again. They were still just acquaintances, but soon they started flirting.

Mrs. Newsome's uncle had encouraged her for years to meet Mr. Rambo. His father, Jerry Newsome, was also happy to make an official presentation. During one of the Zoom meetings, Ms. Newsome mentioned that she did not have Mr. Rambo’s number. “And literally my dad was like, ‘Here he is,’” she said. "He texted me his number on the side."

While Ms. Newsome was in New York and Mr. Rambo was in Kansas City, they started talking one-on-one. “These were 10 to 11 a.m. calls,” Mr. Rambo said. Ms Newsome said they "missed a lot of work".

But their nine-year age difference gave him pause. When Ms. Newsome flew to Kansas City in mid-August to visit family, she was ready to end their correspondence. But Mr. Rambo had something up his sleeve. “Just give me the weekend, see if you change your mind,” he told her.

Mr. Rambo once told Ms. Newsome, much to her surprise, that he had never seen “Black Panther,” a Marvel film. So he held a private screening at a theater in Blue Springs, a suburb of Kansas City, scattering rose petals in the aisles and hiring a waiter to hand out refreshments.

This became their first in-person date. Afterwards, Mr. Rambo asked Ms. Newsome, “Is it too early to fall in love?” Around the same time, Ms. Newsome told a friend, "I'm going to end up marrying this man." »

They quickly became inseparable, Ms. Newsome said. Mr. Rambo began splitting his time between Kansas City and Ms. Newsome's apartment in Harlem. On August 25, 2022, the couple became official. In November of that year, Mr. Rambo began planning a proposal.

At first, many attempts failed. “All the plans I made were abandoned,” Mr. Rambo said. Soon he decided enough was enough. Early one morning while they...