The story of Allye and Riley began in the fall of 2019. Riley had just moved to Nashville, juggling alarmingly long hours at a new startup with the daunting task of building a social life and finding someone to tour the city's abundant eateries and drinkeries. 

One evening in September, they matched on Hinge. Allye, who is never one to waste time, cut straight to the chase: “I’m in Texas for a wedding right now and my friend made me re-install this app. I’m deleting it tomorrow. Text me and we can get together when I’m back.”

Riley was immediately interested—a picture of Allye in a white jumper with orange polka dots (and a strikingly sassy look in both her eyes and smirk) did some of the heavy lifting. 

A few dates followed. They were successful enough for Allye to discern that Riley was an excellent kisser, and for Riley to realize he highly enjoyed the practice. Ultimately, though, they decided that while the chemistry and character were there, the timing was wrong. Allye was actively planning an escape from Nashville for CRNA school—though she hadn’t quite figured out the when and where yet—while Riley was just starting to put down roots. They agreed to just be friends.

Then, a few months later, the world shut down.

"Just being friends" turned into a quick cup of coffee before the reality of the pandemic set in, and later a home-cooked meal after one particularly brutal, exhausting day for Allye in Vanderbilt’s ICU. Fast forward to July 2020: Nashville’s restaurants finally started reopening. Desperate for a taste of normalcy, they decided to meet at Butchertown Hall to catch up.

Allye arrived looking... significantly better than one normally does for a strictly platonic hang-out with an old flame. Butchertown Hall had an hour wait, so they made a pivot, killing time with cocktails and dessert nearby before heading back for tacos and margaritas. By the end of a great night, the "unthinkable" happened: Allye went back to Riley's for a nightcap.

Two weeks in and Allye made an unconventional decision: she left a toothbrush at Riley’s apartment. From there, things moved fast. The season was filled with long hikes, cooking together, random road trips, and the final "pressure test" came when Allye met Riley’s work friends over Labor Day weekend. It turned out she could handle Riley-grade debauchery just fine.

Six months into dating, they made a leap and decided to move in together. It felt surprisingly low risk: Riley wanted to buy a house, and Allye was still planning a move out of Nashville for graduate school the following year. If things went well, they’d move together; if they didn't, there was a built-in ejecto seat.

After surviving grad school together, Riley did what any logical man would do…he asked Allye to ‘marriage him’. What Allye thought was a standard, slow Saturday morning drinking coffee in bed and cooking breakfast burritos turned into her taking much longer than Riley liked to say ‘yes’.

Needless to say, they never needed the escape hatch. Six years later, that leap of faith has turned into their first international travels, innumerable home renovations, career milestones, a shared life in Nashville, and a mountain of beautiful memories with the people they love most.