When Jannah Clarke Handy watched Kiyanna Yasmin Stewart read a poem about her ex-boyfriend during a staff talent show at Rutgers University in the fall of 2013, she decided she would someday marry Ms. Stewart.

“I was so taken aback by her artistry and her beauty,” Ms. Handy said.

At the time, Ms. Handy, who is now 37 and has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Smith College and a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was a residence life coordinator at Rutgers. Ms. Stewart, now 34, has a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers in journalism and media studies and Africana studies, and was working as a hall director there while finishing her graduate program.

The two had met during the summer of 2013 at a social justice training program run by Rutgers, and bonded after realizing that they had grown up around the corner from each other in Flatbush, Brooklyn, though they had never met. Ms. Stewart’s first impression of Ms. Handy was that she was “cute, stylish, swaggy, very smart, very friendly and hilarious.”

They became friends, but they did not acknowledge that there was something more between them until a party that December.

“I had never been in a relationship with another woman, and I was contending with my identity,” Ms. Stewart said. But at the party, she said, sparks flew. “The drinks were flowing, we were dancing, we had our crew,” she said. “It was really intimate and safe and fun.”

They started hanging with each other more often. “Kiyanna would go to thrift shops and flea markets and in order to spend time with her, I would go to those places, too,” Ms. Handy said. They would issue challenges to each other. “We would see who could find the best item for $10, or the best winter coat, or the oldest thing,” Ms. Handy said. “We still do it. We’re very competitive.”

For months, they hesitated to make their relationship official. Both had recently ended long-term relationships and did not want to rush into something new. Then, in May 2014, Ms. Stewart left for Ghana for six weeks as an assistant program director on a women’s studies trip through Rutgers.

When she returned at the end of July, she and Ms. Handy became inseparable. “We were apart for so long, and it was so difficult, that when I came back, I said, ‘I actually want to do this,’” Ms. Stewart said. They became exclusive in August.

Soon, the two had the idea to sell vintage and antique items they found during their outings that reflected the experiences of Black people in America. “We’d be in a shop and there’d be one Lou Rawls record,” Ms. Handy said. “One Black record in these hundreds and hundreds of records. And I’m just like, where are all the Black antiques, all the Black vintage items? We have to go to so many different places just to find a couple of things.”

In November 2014, they started their business, BLK MKT Vintage. By 2019, they had both quit their jobs in academia and opened a brick-and-mortar location in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Their vintage collection today includes a draft script of Spike Lee’s film, “Mo’ Better Blues,” and a photograph of Malcolm X at a protest in Bedford-Stuyvesant. They regularly loan items to projects like the HBO drama series “Insecure” and “Saturday Night Live” on NBC.

“The business has really taught us some significant lessons about how to be in community, how to work with another person, how to compromise, how to cultivate a shared vision even with separate and distinct interests and values and curiosities,” Ms. Stewart said.

On Feb. 3, 2021, Ms. Handy surprised Ms. Stewart with a proposal at their shop. After saying yes, Ms. Stewart pulled out her own ring box. She had been carrying it around with her everywhere for two months, waiting for Ms. Handy’s proposal. “I wanted the moment to be reciprocal,” Ms. Stewart said. “And I wanted us both to be icy.”

Ms. Handy had invited their family members to surprise Ms. Stewart, so the group had a toast. Afterward, Ms. Handy and Ms. Stewart had a celebratory takeout meal from Golden Krust, a Caribbean restaurant chain.

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Ms. Handy and Ms. Stewart were married Dec. 9 at Peaches Prime, a restaurant in Brooklyn, in front of 75 guests. The ceremony was officiated by Jasmine Mans, a poet and friend previously ordained by the American Marriage Ministries.

Ms. Stewart wore an ivory silk charmeuse fitted gown with ruching designed by Fe Noel, a brand whose shop is a block away from where Ms. Stewart grew up. Ms. Handy wore a white double-breasted suit and a fedora hat that belonged to her father, who died when she was 16. The company that made the hat, Thunder Voice Hat, reshaped it to Ms. Handy’s specifications and added a band, a sprig of baby’s breath, a bundle of lavender and a piece of turquoise.

Before and after the wedding, Ms. Handy and Ms. Stewart stayed at the William Vale hotel in Brooklyn. “That was really cool because of the views,” Ms. Handy said. “We felt like we were able to see our city in a new way.”