Let's party!

{Lauren} Six years ago, I was shooting video and producing at Forecastle Music Festival. I waited in line on a Saturday morning with friends, Mary and Eli, to do a virtual reality demo that was part of the event experience. My instructor was gorgeous and I was immediately interested. {Landon} I was working for HTC heading up their VR Tech tours, and in between demos, I heard someone say to another guest outside “Are you from Memphis!?” He was not. Luckily, I was, so I peeked my head outside and said “I am!” She was a beautiful gal with long curly hair and an infectiously cheery disposition. {Lauren} We flirted our way through my 15 minute session as he walked me through the demonstration (me wearing VR goggles, him guiding me). {Landon} It was more like 25 minutes and we nearly had to be forcefully separated. It was definitely a love at first sight kind of deal. {Lauren} We begrudgingly said our goodbyes and I immediately went back to HQ to tell my coworker Justin that we were going to switch items on our shoot schedules so I could go back to the HTC activation to shoot video and try to see this guy. I went back by for a couple passes but didn’t run into him again. {Landon} I was either trying to focus on work or thinking about her for the next 24 hours, wondering if I’d ever see her again.

{Lauren} Sunday night I asked Alyssa to come with me one last time by the set up - I had nothing to lose, so why not. We ended up running into him as they closed up for the final night and made our way to the top of the bus where we sat and talked non-stop while Widespread Panic played the sunset show. All the while Alyssa, the sweetest friend ever, sat patiently just hangin while we were enamored in conversation with each other. {Landon} If you didn’t know me then, I wasn’t exactly shy - but conversationally, I was difficult and nervous unless I had a preconceived script to go by. There was no script here, but conversation was unreal as we got to know each other. Sweating profusely, stinking to high-hell while sitting on a bus balcony at a music festival in Kentucky… not where I anticipated meeting my future wife. And she’s right - Alyssa is a good friend. I’m glad she likes me. {Lauren} He told me he had to get on the road back to Franklin, TN and we decided to share our contact info... I mean, we were both from Memphis after all. Said our goodbyes with a movie worthy spinning hug and I didn’t think I’d ever see him again. {Landon} I did have to get back on the road to Franklin. I was proper broke, and didn't have a hotel that Sunday night. But I do recall reinforcing the fact that this would not be the last time that the two of us saw each other. {Lauren} Fast forward to now where he’s moved to Knoxville, we’ve bought a house together, and added an incredible pup, Eva, to our family. Forecastle is my favorite festival and it’s special because that’s where I met the love of my life. {Landon} I moved to Knoxville within a year. It was where I wanted to be all along (no, really). I found the most wonderful reason to get out of Nashville and like Lauren said - it’s all history now. Life is good with one another. Better than good. I couldn’t ask for more.

{Lauren} Now, Forecastle is even more special, it’s where Landon Linton asked me to marry him. {Landon} Never thought I’d be the guy proposing at a music festival, but we had such great access and friends in high places, that I had a chance to pull off a TV show worthy proposal. She had to say ‘yes’, right? {Lauren} As we were getting all our friends escorted onto the top floor of the Mary Miller steamboat at sunset, I thought I was helping Andy get a shot for the festival recap video. Little did I know, everyone knew what was going on and all there to cheer on. {Landon} I had schemed with all of Laurens co-workers at Loch & Key to get them in on the jig. Keeping a secret from Lauren is one of the hardest damn things for me. It very much helped that a ton of our friends were there to psych me up for the leap of faith. It was golden hour. On a river, music was playing, breeze was blowing and the camera was rolling. {Lauren} As the sun was setting on Friday July 12, while Portugal. The Man was playing on the main stage, I was proposed to at my favorite festival, where I met my favorite person, surrounded by my favorite friends. {Landon} She said yes.

The Mississippi Delta runs rich in my blood and I'm so grateful to share this area with you! I grew up in Memphis TN, my mom grew up in Vicksburg MS, and my dad grew up in the very house where Landon & I will wed. This house has been in my family for generations, so being able to create another memory here is beyond words. - Lauren In case you're curious what defines "The Delta", it's the region that stretches from Memphis in the north, to Vicksburg in the south, to Helena, AR in the west, to the Yazoo River on the east. Clarksdale is the home of the blues, known as the Crossroads (where Highway 61 and 49 meet). Legend is, it's where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in exchange for his prowess on guitar (cue his song Cross Road Blues). We hope you spend a little time learning the rich history of this special place.