Allen Carr Mackey was a profoundly kind, insightful, witty, stoic force of a man. He loved unconditionally and was unconditionally loved. I can't believe I was lucky enough to marry him. Breckenridge is a place I know because he knew it. Because his parents knew it and took him there. Because then he took me. Below are just pieces of the story that is leading us to Breckenridge in 2023. - All my love, Lauren
Allen and I had been together 3 and a half years when we had the opportunity to vacation together in Breckenridge, Colorado, in June 2013. We were going to get to stay at his mother's timeshare, a place he had stayed so many times in his life. I had this ~idea~. This idea that we should get married in Breckenridge. On the first day of vacation I said I wanted to play “get married chicken” with him on vacation and he laughed. On the second day he said we could see if it was possible. On the third we figured out it was. On the fourth day we got a marriage license from the county courthouse that just happened to be in Breckenridge. I bought a white dress in town. On the fifth day we went rafting (?!). But then on June 20th we got married, and the next day on June 21st he turned 30 and we celebrated with his cousins who had no idea about the white dress in the suitcase. Now I tell everyone how I dared him to marry me.
When we left Colorado in 2013, we agreed we'd go back every five years. In 2018, I made the pilgrimage on my own. I wasn't sure how it would feel. Would it be epically sad? It was. But it was also incomprehensibly beautiful. And I was filled with the same joy I felt that first trip. Allen gave me this beautiful place and made me a part of it. Before that, his parents gave it to him. Who else could be a part of it? And on that trip, the idea for Breck2023 was born.
In 2023, Allen should turn 40. We should celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Allen can't quite join us, but let's go celebrate just the same. Let's go weave new memories and add new people to the story.
