page 112 X metropolitan weddings X summer/fall 2020
written by | mary sue hoban
photographed by | Negative Image Photography
�from singles day to the only one�
Mackenzy Martin decided to have some fun celebrating Singles
Day on February 15, 2019. As an antidote to Valentine’s Day,
she and a friend joined thousands of others on Kelly Stamp’s
Instagram site by posting a photo and a fun message for other
singles to enjoy. “It was a picture of me with two dogs,” she remembers.
“I said I’d be happy to meet someone in the Bentonville,
Arkansas, area. Not a high pressure scenario.”
Meanwhile, the parents of a hardworking single young man,
Hunter Hinds, thought he could stand to improve his social life
after relocating with his job to a new Arkansas locale. While he
was busy working, they posted his bio on the same site, including
a picture of him with his beloved truck. They also browsed, compiling
a list of eight favorite postings by women in his area. After
bringing Hunter up-to-date about his online social life, his mother
extracted a promise that he would make time to meet at least
one woman on her list. He went right to the top where Hunter’s
mother had rated Mackenzy’s post #1. After Kelly Stamp's let
her know of Hunter’s interest, Mackenzy previewed his post and
agreed to chat. So Hunter Hinds and Mackenzy Martin left Singles
Day behind them forever.
After connecting via text messages on February 20, they had their
first date March 3, decided to see each other exclusively before April,
and Hunter proposed on October 19, 2019. “It didn’t seem fast as it
happened,” Mackenzy laughed. “It seemed just right.” Even rain
during the proposal didn’t mar the moment as they strolled among
the trees in the hills of his family’s property in Alabama.
It seemed that more than Instagram bound them together. As
they got to know each other, they discovered that they were two
strangers with a lot in common. They even very likely crossed
paths as children. While Mackenzy’s family lived in one Georgia
town while she grew up, Hunter’s family had moved extensively.
In discussing his journeys, they discovered they were in the
same Southern orbit as children and then again while Mackenzy
was student-teaching.
The couple realized that many of their significant times together
had occurred on dates with repeating numbers (2/20, 3/3, 10/19/19,
etc.). So they went in search of a wedding date that fit the pattern:
June 20, 2020! With the date settled, they selected their location.
Under the Woods in Jane, Missouri, gave the pair exactly the
blend of elegance and nature they were hoping for. They loved
the setting between Arkansas, where they both live, and the resources
of Springfield, Missouri, to the north. “It gave us lots of
great options to use local people, artisans and businesses to create
our special day,” Mackenzy emphasized.
The unexpected advantage of their choices wouldn’t be known
until the days just before the wedding, when many couples had
to forgo gatherings due to restrictions around the coronavirus.
Hunter and Mackenzy were perfectly positioned to have their
“Southern formal” wedding, with plenty of indoor and outdoor
room for safety considerations.
The bride had fun planning with her wedding coordinator and
friend, Andrea, another transplant from south Georgia. They
looked to Mackenzy’s Pinterest board, which illuminated her vision
for the day. In a stroke of luck and determination, she even
found the exact wedding dress she had clipped long before.
Both the ceremony and reception were held at Under the Woods,
creating a beautiful background for their summer flowers, greenery
and monogram accents. The couple’s pastor from Rogers,
Arkansas, came up to perform the simple ceremony. The groom
and his groomsmen wore classic navy suits, with Hunter sporting
a bowtie. The bridesmaids, the bride’s friends since they all
started dance class together at age 10, wore sage green dresses
in individual styles. Andrea’s children – the flower girl and pair
of ring bearers – rounded out the wedding party. Mackenzy, an
elementary school teacher, further infused the day with youthful
love and spirit, deploying 15 of her students as attendants who
enthusiastically passed out programs and then favors throughout
the evening, including glowsticks and sparklers.
The sense of fun was clear at the reception, where guests enjoyed
barbecue and other Southern treats. Accommodations for safe
serving didn’t put a damper on the delicious and delightful meal,
or the celebration. “We wanted to have something for everyone to
enjoy – young, old, family, friend.”
Even though global health precautions put their dream trip to
Greece on indefinite hold, the newlyweds traveled by car to Alabama
where they enjoyed private time on the beach. They also
went househunting. Hunter’s job now is taking them together to
the South they had both enjoyed in their youth. But this time,
Hunter will not be alone in his new hometown. XmW