The big day is almost here for Parker McCollum and his soon-to-be wife, Hallie Ray Light. The ACM New Male Artist of the Year recently revealed that at the end of the month, on a Monday, the happy couple will get hitched in his home state, Texas.
Before getting to the altar and saying “I do,” there is a lot of time and energy that is put into wedding planing. When it comes to the prep work, McCollum admits he felt it would be best to leave most of the decision-making up to his fiancée.
“Very early on they were talking about the groomsmen tuxes,” he said during a recent interview. “I was like I wanna go black cowboy hat, all black tux, black boots, black pants, everything. And she was like, ‘absolutely not.’”
He might try to throw in his two cents here and there, but in the end Light will make the final decisions and he’s okay with that. “They just ask to be nice, but they ain’t gonna listen to me,” he laughed.
Among all these major decisions that they have to make, McCollum does have a say in what song they choose for their first dance. His choice is George Strait’s chart-topping classic, “I Cross My Heart,” during which they’ll gaze into each other’s eyes while swaying to the romantic lyrics, “I cross my heart / And promise to / Give all I’ve got to give / To make all your dreams come true / In all the world / You’ll never find / A love as true as mine.”
McCollum explained that the best case scenario would be if Strait himself, or John Mayer, would show up in person to perform live for their first dance as a married couple. Although these superstars would make this day even more special, McCollum joked that he “can’t afford either of them, so they won’t be there.”
Since it is a day for him to just enjoy this new chapter in his life with Light, the chart-topping hitmaker is sure about one thing, he will not be performing during the wedding.
“I told her dad, he didn’t want to pay that much, so I won’t be singing at the wedding,” the Texas native joked. “That’s my day off! You want me to work on my day off? No, I’m kidding. I don’t think I’ll be singing. I’ll just enjoy—it’s all about her anyway, it’s her day. So I’m just grateful that she’s choosing to spend it with me.”
The two started dating in 2019 and then Light said yes to the “Gold Chain Cowboy” when he proposed in July 2021. From Light’s Instagram post that she shared just a few days after their engagement, they are eager to get married and they aren’t wasting any time. She shared a photo of her and her Fiancé from their celebratory night, adding a caption that oozed love and excitement.
She wrote, “We have a wedding date!!! still over the moon…can’t wait to call this handsome man my HUSBAND! I love you more than you will ever know Parker! & it will only get stronger.”
With the date quickly approaching Bobby Bones asked McCollum if the pre-wedding nerves have set in yet. “Not yet,” he responded because of the packed schedule that’s keeping his mind busy.
Between his ACM win, his upcoming wedding celebration and his recent performance at the Houston Rodeo, 2022 is already turning out to be a “hell of a year” for McCollum, and the year has just begun.
While on The Bobby Bones Show, he revealed that this March has been “one of the greatest months of my life.”
Additionally, McCollum recently earned his second consecutive No. 1 at Country radio with his single “To Be Loved By You,” a song that was inspired by his soon-to-be wife. The song went No. 1 on both the Billboard and Mediabase Country charts.
His song hit the top of the charts the same week that he made his childhood dream come true as he performed for 73,000 fans at the famed Houston Rodeo at NRG Stadium in his homestate of Texas.
“It’ll be years before I truly look back and realize what happened this week,” shares McCollum. “I was nervous that all my hard work and sacrifice wouldn’t be worth it in the long run. Well, after selling out RodeoHouston and having my second No. 1 I can assure you all–it was damn worth it. Every single last bit of it was worth it.”
“To Be Loved By You” follows his first-ever chart-topping hit, “Pretty Heart,” both of which appear on his EP, Gold Chain Cowboy.
