Given their day jobs, musician Brittany Howard and record executive Anna-Maria Babcock’s meet-cute feels entirely appropriate: they first crossed paths at a concert. “We met at a friend’s album release show on October 10, 2023, at The Blue Room in Nashville,” Anna-Maria explains. Brittany, who is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Alabama Shakes, was helping out at the merch table after the show. “I walked up to the table and a mutual friend introduced us by putting our hands in each other’s while asking, ‘Have y’all met yet?’ It was love at first sight for the both of us,” says Anna-Maria. A few days later, the two went on their first real date and fell in love over pizza rolls and mocktails at Brittany’s home. “The first date that never ended!” Anna-Maria jokes.
Just over a year later, Anna-Maria proposed on November 15, 2024, at Smith Lake in Alabama. After an extensive tour year, she encouraged Brittany to come with her on a fishing trip. “Little did I know, this was more than a fishing trip,” says Brittany. “On the first night of our stay, under the last full supermoon of the year, Anna-Maria got on one knee in a freshly made wood-fired hot tub. After the proposal, I said, ‘yes!’” Despite spending hours preparing the hot tub, the couple jumped out to share the news with their friends and family. “All those hours to prepare the hot tub, just to get out after five minutes! It’s okay though,” says Brittany. “We got all of our life together to make another fire.” Adds Anna-Maria, “Brittany followed up with a double proposal (the gay way) during our trip to Portugal for my birthday just a few months later! I also said yes to forever!”
Anna-Maria and Brittany spent the next two years planning their perfect wedding celebration. The big day arrived on October 24, 2026, at the Southall Farm & Inn in Franklin, Tennessee. The couple describes planning as both “so much fun” and “a lot of work.” “We had a hand in every single design aspect of the night; we wanted the space to feel like us,” says Anna-Maria. Alongside planner Carly Pickett, the brides lent their handwriting to save-the-dates, made an ofrenda to honor ancestors, and hand-selected planters from home to fill with florals. Says Anna-Maria, “We wanted our people to feel like they knew exactly whose wedding they were at—one that was very Black, very Mexican, and very queer!”
