Princess Place Preserve

Wedding Day

Guests Arrive

Ceremony

Reception

Fall

Our Wedding

Darren and I met at Advanced Camp for ROTC in Fort Knox, KY in June of 2022. He was very quiet when I first met him and honestly I thought he didn’t like me at all when we first met lol. Come to find out he’s just a bit more reserved when you first meet him. He quickly became a good friend of mine that month we spent together. He offered me sage advice, was always so kind and patient, and was just all around a really wonderful person to be around. He could always make me laugh no matter what we were going through at training. He and I stayed in touch after we left Knox, and continued to chat (as friends) every day. Come October 2022, we were both single and he started FLIRTING with me. Of course, I reciprocated…have you seen how gorgeous that man is? Wow. And I quickly realized even in the beginning endeavors of our romantic relationship that this was the man I was going to marry. If you’ve met me, you know I’m a very emotional human being. Always have been, always will be. Never did this man ever make me feel like I was too much, or on the flip side, not enough. He was steady and kind and patient and still could make me laugh no matter what was going on. We continued our long distance relationship—him in Florida, me in Idaho—up until I graduated in May of 2023. He flew out for my college graduation, conducted my oath of office at my Army commissioning ceremony, and after spending some quality time with my family and exploring Idaho, we took an 8 day road trip to move me out to Florida! Flash forward to September of 2025, I am beyond, beyond excited to finally be able to celebrate our marriage with a wedding! Darren proposed November 9, 2024 and we were married ten days later. (Absolutely perfect proposal btw…pizza picnic on the beach??? Yes x 1000.) I think everyone knows by now, but we opted for a courthouse marriage (right after the gym lol) so we didn’t have to prolong our engagement due to his deployment with the Army Reserves. As I’m writing this, we’ve spent the past four months apart, and I’m counting down the days until he’s back home with me…hopefully in February of 2026. Marrying Darren is easily the best decision I ever made. I married my best friend, and I am beyond grateful for the fact that I get to spend every day of the rest of my life side-by-side with him. Although we’ll have been married for nearly two years by the time the wedding date rolls around, I’ve always dreamed of my papa walking me down the aisle, wearing a white dress, and exchanging vows with the love of my life in front of all of our loved ones. I truly hope you can all make it down to Florida to celebrate with us! So much love to all of you!

Hers

Annika and I met at Advanced Camp for ROTC in Fort Knox, KY in June of 2022. She was the most beautiful girl there of course, and we became good friends. She thought I was quiet at first, but really I just didn’t know how to talk to pretty girls. It wasn’t until months after we left Fort Knox and continued to keep in touch (as friends) that I realized maybe this smart, beautiful, loving girl has as big a crush on me as I had developed for her over those few months. Eventually she made that much more apparent with not-so-slight hints as we talked and I couldn’t be happier. I quickly realized this is the most loving and supportive person I have ever met, and without a doubt, I wanted to spend my life with her. I eventually decided to visit her in Idaho January of 2023. I got to see that her family was just as loving and supportive, and I was excited to become a part of that family one day. That is also when I decided I wanted to steal Annika from them and take her to Florida with me (sorry!). She was quite strongly against this decision until she visited me in Florida March of 2023, where she promptly decided “Florida isn’t too bad”. In May of 2023 I flew back to Idaho to see her graduation, conduct her Oath of Office for her Army commissioning ceremony, and spend time with her family before our roadtrip back to Florida, where she would move in with me and my sister while I applied for jobs (thanks sis!). Exactly 1 year later, in May of 2024 Annika and I visited her family in Idaho for her sister’s college graduation. This is also when I had decided to ask her parents for their blessing to marry their daughter (which was more difficult than you’d think). Not because I had any reservations, but because that woman is always glued to my side, and I am to hers. I had to wait until she was in the shower to sneak away and talk to her father, who was thankfully more than happy to give me his blessing, and instantly call over his wife to fill her in. I proposed on November 9th, 2024 on the beach of Miami, where I had a pizza picnic date waiting for us, and of course she said YES! 10 days later we married at the courthouse, and I cant’t wait to celebrate with all of you soon. At the time of writing this, I am half-way though a deployment for the Army and I want nothing more than to be back home with my beautiful wife, celebrating with all of the people we love. I am more than excited to be able to share our love with you all soon. Thank you for being part of our journey!

Our Story

The Proposal

Photos

Krista Smylie

Meghan Holloway

Melanie Higgins

Parker Hamilton

Aaron Walker

Nick Hensley

Wedding Party

Q + A

Registry

A huuuuge thank you to my mama, Debbie Smylie, for organizing this!! She is amazing and we love her so much.

Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Palm Coast I-95

Travel

Things to Do

Annika & Darren

Annika & Darren

Photos

The Proposal