Derek and I met in 2020 while we were both living in Maryland. We met for the first time on Halloween as two people looking to get out while enduring the pandemic. We went hiking in a park around the Baltimore area and after those few short hours, I knew that Derek was something special. We spent the next few months getting to know each other while trying to navigate the ever-changing Naval Academy Covid rules. We took many evening strolls around the campus because it was the only way we could see each other. It was often in the cold and windy Annapolis weather that we got to spend time together. After a few weeks, Derek asked me to make the 10-hour drive home to Indiana with him to meet his family for the first time (nerves!). I knew that it would be the only opportunity to meet his family prior to his graduation and he seemed like a pretty good guy, so I said yes! I had a feeling meeting his family and spending 10 hours in the car with him would be a pretty good testament to who he was. Turns out he was the best guy I had ever met.

We spent the next few months spending as much time together as possible, while still navigating strict rules placed on the Midshipmen at the Academy. Derek was due to graduate and commission into the U.S. Navy in May of 2021 and move to Pensacola, Florida to begin training to be a Naval Aviator. At this point, Derek asked me if I would be willing to move all the way to Florida with him. I couldn’t turn him down.

Pensacola has been good to us, truly. We adopted our perfect pup, Bessie, moved twice, met amazing friends that have become family, got engaged, learned how to fly a plane (Derek), learned how to fly a helicopter (Derek again!), and got officially married surrounded by our closest friends and family. We are due to move in the spring of 2024 and have no idea where that will be, but we get to do this crazy thing called life together and that will always be our favorite part.

We are so excited to celebrate our marriage with all of our favorite people in one place!