Alan and I were both a bit atypical on the love scene in that neither of us necessarily desired it. For Alan, aviation had overtaken his world - all he wanted in life was to fly to cool places. I was more akin to staying put geographically, but my career, too, was more important to me than going on dates (the dating scene in Nash is... can you say disappointment after disappointment?). So, long story short we had both been single for a while and had our careers at the top of our minds.

Everyone loves love. You are kidding yourself if you think otherwise. Feeling not only wanted but understood to your core was something I thought my parents had merely lucked out on after all the dates I had been on. That's why when my sister Mallory told me I might be interested in the cute pilot named Alan that had watched the Tennessee Georgia game at her house the day before, I not so nicely told her to back off. Ha! All the long term singles out there know how aggravating the "let me set you up with this person" comment can eventually get.

Nonetheless, I found myself searching Instagram for a cute pilot named Alan Rickman.

It took about a month, but eventually Alan did send me a message after some prompting by Beau, Adam, & Josh, "It's kind of hard for me to DM you when you didn't respond 5 years ago..." & yep, Alan sure enough had messaged me on New Years Eve 2017 (so Dec 31, 2016). I laughed and apologized for the ignorance exuded from Freshman Year of College Macy!

Now, I am about to get a bit personal here, but I figure if you are reading this story to this point you care about our inner feelings. Alan sent me that message on December 14, 2022, the 1 year anniversary of someone I loved passing away. I was away on work trip to Seattle Washington, and I was overwhelmed with the sadness that day brings. I remember laying in my hotel bed crying, asking God to please just help me feel better. Help me not feel so alone in this world. Help me not be so sad. That's why I specifically remember laughing at Alan's DM as soon as it came through, streamed tears already starting to dry on my cheeks.

I respond back within the same minute, which is very unlike me. "hahha oh my gosh!! Sorry - I just realized my message never sent....." joking. Alan says "Well I GUESS I can move past it." and all of a sudden I am smiling. I feel okay. I hear my late friend's voice in my head tell me this is special. Whether my brain made that up or it was a message from Heaven I may never know, but I did know Alan felt different.

I was an hour late to our first date. Cue the "typical Macy" thoughts for all of you Bride-side readers. In my defense, I was at a family Christmas that ran a little over time, and there was no shot I was telling them I had a date. I had been on Hinge long enough to know that I can like texting someone all day long, but meeting them in person is a whole different story. This was true with Alan, but in the most opposite way of any other date I had been on. I did let Alan know I needed to push from 5 to 6, but what I didn't know was that he was already halfway there when I told him. So, we met at Longhorns in Jackson (which happened to have an hour long wait anyways) right at 6pm. Alan had just been seated, but when I walked in he stood up to introduce himself, which I liked. & So it began.

Alan is a hugeeeee nerd, and so am I. This was a beautiful revelation to me. Before going on the date I figured it'd take an hour or less, but to my surprise, we sat there and talked for two and a half hours. It took me realizing how late I would be getting back to Nashville before we finally parted ways. We talked about everything under the sun. Alan told me about baseball and the time he broke his back. He told me about how he just happened into aviation but how it had since changed his life; how much he loves what he does.

I shared a lot about my family and how much they mean to me. I complained about the job I had at the time that was overwhelming me. It was one of the first times in my adult life I told a man outside of my industry about my work without his eyes completely glazing over. Alan was interested in it, in me. I loved feeling interesting. That feeling can go away pretty quickly when it's taxes that you know a lot about, so feeling like someone wanted to hear about my day was a new and exciting addition to my life.

I called my friend Kirsten as soon as I got into the car and told her I was pretty sure I had just met my husband. I remember being so excited to tell her I didn't have to sacrifice on the smarts - this man had it ALL! Afterwards I called Autumn, my mom, sisters, etc. Had to give everyone an update that my heart wasn't stone after all. :P

From there, Alan became my best friend. He is so patient with me. He's kind and loving and cares about me in every way. He reminds me that I'm beautiful and respects my opinion. My mom always told my sisters and I, "I want you each to find a man that loves the Lord and adores you." I am so thankful and proud to have found that. To have trusted fate and waited for the person God made for me - my person. I truly believe Alan is my person. Alan is cool but nerdy. He's handsome and stylish and will always be real with me if my outfit is not it (I appreciate the honesty out here - I'm not trying to look bad either). He knows so much; I'm always learning more from him. He's strong and thoughtful and always makes me feel protected. He loves our dogs more than anything and I know that one day he will be the best dad.

This is a long story, but I'm not sure anyone would expect any less from me, so here it is. Out there for everyone to read! We are so thankful for each one of you and are so blessed and excited to get to share our day with yall so so soon!

-Macy