We wanted to share both sides of our story as they are very different!

Kerri's side of the story:

My life changed in late 2020 when I first laid eyes on the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. I was at work when Leslie walked in with the biggest smile and vibrant personality that changed the entire atmosphere of the room. I knew of Leslie through a mutual friend (Sammi) but had no idea how exceptional she truly was. Fast forward a few weeks and I was receiving a container at work and there she was again, the biggest smile waltzing down the street leading her truck with my container on it. Again, that little moment changed my life (Leslie, not the container..). Not long after that, Sammi invited me to grab drinks with her and a few friends and little did I know, Leslie was there as well. We didn't speak about anything except for the fact that we both had white Jeep Wranglers. I told her that I was selling it soon, as I was about to move to Korea. Leslie swears we talked more than that, however I held onto every word she said and she definitely only said 7 words to me. "I love mine, I'm keeping it forever." Despite the sass, I added Leslie on social media immediately after.

I then moved to Korea and silently stalked Leslie's Instagram for two years. We would occasionally "like" each others' posts or reply to stories but never anything serious. In the back of my mind, I knew there was way too much distance between us for the foreseeable future. Fast forward another year, we became closer during the Captain's Career Course. I finally built up some courage to "flirt" with Leslie. Being shy and terrible at flirting, I asked Leslie for some logistics products (which I did not need at all) and Leslie gladly sent them. However, to my surprise, Leslie didn't flirt back. Weird - I know. Somehow we became best friends on Snapchat during this but neither of us made a move. Fast forward another year or so, I reached out to Leslie and told her that I was moving to Colorado. Leslie was stationed there and would be heading back from her deployment to Korea around the same time.

Finally, the timing aligned in 2024. Since that moment, we have been inseparable. We started our love story over text and Facetime while Leslie was in Korea. We would both stay up really late or wake up really early to talk, as the time difference was 16 hours. She put in a level of effort that I had never experienced. I knew she was the one. We were forced to communicate a whole continent away and show up for each other by sending packages, letters, or coffee money. The second Leslie came home, she came to visit me in San Antonio, TX. I melted in her arms and my life has since been fulfilled. A couple months later, I moved in with Leslie when I got to Colorado and the rest is history. We have been through multiple stents of distance and even a deployment together to the Middle East! With every challenge, we have only grown closer and fallen in love more deeply.

Leslie's side of the story:

It’s Spring of 2020 and Kerri and I are stationed at Fort Campbell, KY. One day, I was tasked to deliver a container to Kerri's work. Kerri was Sammi’s co-worker, and Sammi had mentioned Kerri to me before - mainly that she was the best Field Artillery Officer with whom she had ever worked. Kerri met me outside so she could show me exactly where she wanted the container. I climbed up on the truck and started helping my Soldiers remove the ratchet straps that were holding the container on the truck. Kerri attempted to assist but could not quite get the strap to loosen. I came to the rescue and showed her the proper kicking technique to remove the stubborn strap. I jokingly gave Kerri a hard time and we successfully removed the rest of the straps together. My team and I dropped the container and were on our way. We now laugh about this often!

The next time we saw each other was 2-3 months later at Fort Polk, LA. I was running on fumes after having to take over a second platoon’s job due to a Covid-19 outbreak and Kerri and her First Sergeant drove by my fuel point in need of fuel. I don’t fully remember this, but Kerri said I was at least pleasant enough given the less than favorable conditions of doing a 30-day training exercise in the Louisiana heat in August.

A few months later, Sammi invited me to have drinks at the “Thirsty Goat” - one of my favorite Coffee Shops/Beer Gardens in Clarksville, TN. A couple of Sammi’s Artillery friends (including Kerri) were also at the gathering. I remember Kerri saying that she was getting rid of her Jeep Wrangler to which I responded that I would keep mine forever (and she’s still going strong!) Kerri took this the wrong way and thought I didn’t like her for some reason. Kerri was leaving for Korea in a couple days so after a nice evening at the “Goat” we all parted ways. I thought we had a great conversation!

Kerri and I somehow reconnected in 2022 during the Captain’s Career Course when I was at Fort Lee, VA and Kerri was at Fort Huachuca, AZ. We somehow ended up becoming each other’s most frequently “Snapchatted” friend - something neither of us noticed until Sammi asked how that happened. Kerri and I kept in touch on social media throughout the course - we even shared some PowerPoint products from our respective Military Intelligence and Logistics courses. After the 6-month course, I headed to Fort Carson, CO and Kerri found out that she had been accepted into Physician Assistant (PA) School at Fort Sam Houston, TX. We stayed in touch periodically, but didn’t truly reconnect until January 2024 when I was deployed to South Korea and Kerri found out that she was heading to Fort Carson, CO for the second phase of PA School. We were finally going to be stationed together! Kerri asked me for recommendations on places to live in “The Springs” and we agreed to grab beers as soon as we both got there. What started as weekly check-ins via Instagram messenger quickly turned into daily text messages and eventually FaceTime dates where Kerri would wake up at 4am to catch me before I went to bed. By the time I was returning to Colorado, we had plans to see each other immediately. Although we hadn’t seen each other in person in years, we knew how special this was going to be. I couldn’t get enough of this woman!

Kerri was loosely looking for a place to live in CO, but we decided to just pull the trigger and move in together immediately. Kerri, Brody, and Bentley moved in with in April of 2024 which was the best time! Then the opportunity for us to deploy to the Middle East together came up and we jumped on that! It has been the honor of a lifetime to fall more deeply in love with Kerri over the past two years. I cannot wait to marry my best friend!

K&L

Wedding Day

5:00 PM–5:30 PM

Ceremony

5:30 PM–6:30 PM

Cocktail Hour

6:30 PM–11:00 PM

Reception