On this day (July 8) in 1997, Connie Smith and Marty Stuart tied the knot in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. Their relationship started while they were working on Smith’s 1998 self-titled comeback album. However, it was a day Stuart had been dreaming about for decades. He wasn’t even a teenager when he decided he wanted to marry his current wife of 29 years.
Stuart met Smith for the first time when he was only 12 years old. At the time, she was in her 20s and had already built an impressive career. They crossed paths when she came to perform on an Indigenous reservation near his hometown of Philadelphia, Mississippi. Interestingly, they said their vows at the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota.
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“It’s a strong spiritual center,” Stuart said when asked why they chose the location for their ceremony. “You know, it gets kind of crazy being in the country music business and, every now and then, you need to go back and plant your feet on the ground,” he explained. “You need to remember who made you and why you’re here, and that’s a great place to do it.” Additionally, the location allowed them to have a small, private ceremony while avoiding the press.
“I can’t imagine any woman with a man being more precious to her during the ceremony,” Smith said of their wedding. “It’s an honor to be his wife.”
Marty Stuart Had a Major Childhood Crush on Connie Smith
“Connie coming was big because Connie Smith was my mother’s very favorite singer,” Marty Stuart said in an interview. “I remember the recording we had of hers, one of her RCA Victor records. It was called Miss Smith Goes to Nashville. It was the most beautiful portrait of her. I sat it up on our stereo in the living room and would walk by it and just think, ‘She’s really pretty. I think Connie Smith is beautiful.’”
However, Stuart wasn’t just attracted to Smith’s looks. “Her singing was so powerful. It went beyond being pretty. She had the power to reach out and touch your heart.”
When Smith finally came to town, Stuart wore a brand-new yellow shirt, hoping it would make her notice him. After the show, he and his sister got her autograph and had their pictures taken with her. Later that evening, he told his mother that he would one day marry Smith.
Roughly 18 years later, he was proven correct.
Featured Image by Will Jacks/WireImage