On August 5, 2017, the couple's mutual friend Ann-Sophie picked Annika up from the Birmingham Airport. Her flight back from Germany had been delayed by a day. Ann-So was going to meet Blake for lunch at Panera Bread and Annika came along!

Although Annika had been in Alabama for over a year, she had not had time to go to a shooting range. Blake took her to his family's house in Winfield, Alabama. Together with Blake's brother, she finally got to do some target shooting in the backyard. Blake also introduced her to something very explosive: Tannerite!

Together with our friend Monica, we spent our 2017 Fall Break in Pensacola, Florida. After having our caricatures drawn, riding a ferris wheel at the fair, drinking some German beer, and seeing great Halloween costumes, Blake asked Annika whether she wanted to be his girlfriend.

In December 2018, Annika and Blake traveled to Germany, to spend Christmas with her family. While the vacation was full of culture shocks, Blake got to see the Bavarian castles and real German Christmas markets!

In June of 2019, Blake competed in the NPC Clash at Capstone in Tuscaloosa. While Annika was surprised that some of her friends were willing to pay the entrance fee to see Blake on stage, she was completely oblivious to what was about to happen. After Blake had finished his posing routine and won two first-place trophies, the MC suddenly called her to the stage... and in front of hundreds of guests, Blake proposed and Annika said yes!

Blake and Annika tied the knot legally on December 9, 2019, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. After initial struggles to fill out the marriage document correctly, and being sent to redo it by the court clerk, they still made it! The month and day are an anagram of the year, and every digit appears twice.

The couple initially planned to get married on May 9, 2020 but had to reschedule due to the pandemic. The second attempt on May 15, 2021, was also a bust, due to U.S. travel restrictions and Annika's family being unable to enter the country. Luckily, we were finally able to reschedule a third time for May 21, 2022!