Carly Pearce and Michael Ray hope to have a long future ahead of them — including a long legacy, like the country couples who came before them.

The newcomers married on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, which was also Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's 23rd wedding anniversary.

“We fell in love because of our love of classic country music and '90s country and the Grand Ole) Opry, and Bill Cody from [legendary radio station] WSM is marrying us for that real reason,” Pearce tells Taste of Country during a recent interview. “We feel like it’s our duty to position ourselves in that light. We want to be remembered and we want to be a couple that had an impact on country music."

They have big plans in order to make that happen.

"One day, maybe we can co-host the CMA (Awards)," she says. We want to pour ourselves into the Grand Ole Opry. We want to make music that’s timeless, like all of those couples before us have done."

Most often, timeless music comes from the heart. Pearce let her heart guide her on her new single with Lee Brice, “I Hope You’re Happy Now.” Fans have taken notice of how she positions herself in her career.  “I saw someone on Twitter this morning write something about how, ‘This is the girl I fell in love with on ‘Every Little Thing,'" Pearce says. “Those are the comments that make me know my place even more in this genre. Basically, it's that I need to keep doing what I do best. It's that '90s thing. It’s the Faith Hill and the Patty Loveless thing. Those are the ladies that influenced me. I want to be the girl that is ‘the country girl.'"

Pearce and Ray dated for a few months before going public with their romance in July of 2018. They announced their engagement in December.

Country Singers Who Got Married or Engaged in 2019

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