Cady Hickman remembers the first time she saw Cameron Green’s smile.

She was scrolling through posts in a Facebook group where women vouched for their male friends. The page served as a dating app of sorts, complete with a built-in safety net of reviews. Hickman didn’t necessarily jive with some of Green’s listed interests – namely his passion for motorcycles – but she could not get his smile out of her mind.

So she struck up a conversation. The pair began messaging back and forth, and eventually, they decided to meet in person at 603 Brewery in Londonderry.

“I think it was just supposed to be sort of a quick get a drink, feel it out and done, and we ended up having one beer each, some food, and we just talked for three hours straight, which I don’t know that either of us was expecting,” Hickman said.

Green can still picture his now-fiancee on that first date.

“I loved her red hair, curly and bouncy,” he said, sitting by her side in the booth of a coffee shop less than a month before their wedding and squeezing her hand.

The day they met, the pair, both in their early 30s, discussed their priorities and dating goals.

“I came in spicy,” Hickman said with a laugh. She knew what she was looking for and didn’t want to waste time dating someone who didn’t share her values. “I recognize that is also very taboo to say on the first date, but that really, if we were in disagreement with those things, it wasn’t going to be a good fit.”

They started seeing each other regularly, going on dates, meeting each other’s families – just having fun and seeing where things went.

He was living in Hampstead, while she was living in Manchester. They learned to time their excursions so that his dog and her two cats would not be left alone in their respective homes for too long.

Then, one evening about a month after meeting, Green attended a singing competition in which Hickman was participating. She had been fighting an illness and had lost most of her voice. Performing third-to-last, close to midnight, Hickman felt discouraged at being unable to put her best foot forward, but Green’s support changed the evening.

‘Cam was like, ‘You know what? You did so amazing. I’m so, so proud.’ He just said all these compliments. It was just so sweet that I just knew he was somebody very special,” she said.

Her feet ached from wearing heels all evening to the point where she debated taking them off and walking home barefoot. Green, however, had a different idea. He carried her on his back all the way back to her Manchester apartment. Somewhere along the street, the two of them verbalized what they already knew to be true: They were officially in a relationship.

“Every couple’s big step is a piggyback,” Green joked.

Now, two years later, they’re preparing to profess their love for one another in front of the world – or at least in front of the city of Concord. Their wedding, held at Market Days on Friday, June 27, will garner thousands of attendees.

The idea of a Market Days marriage started as a running joke at InTown Concord, the organization hosting the three-day festival slated to take over downtown. But over the winter, organizers began to seriously wonder: Why not hold a free wedding sponsored by the community?

On Valentine’s Day, InTown Concord announced it was seeking couples to apply for the marriage and invited interested parties to submit a five-minute video. Events & Marketing Coordinator Berit Brown said she worried no one would actually send in an application – instead, nine pairs put forth their names. After interviewing the three top couples, InTown Concord selected Hickman and Green, who now live together in Manchester.

“They were incredibly bubbly,” Brown said. “They really stood out and were so willing to just do something crazy.”

InTown Concord’s marriage contest came at the perfect time. A few weeks before coming across the application, Hickman and Green had made a decision about their future.

“It wasn’t that we started talking about having a wedding,” Hickman said. “We had started talking about wanting to start a family, and if we both felt ready for that, it came down to we probably can afford one or the other.”

With a no-cost wedding at Market Days, they wouldn’t have to choose.

“Just getting to see this dream come to life, this joke become real and serious, and also to give the gift of a wedding to somebody is incredible, because I know it’s really expensive and it is crazy to see how much people spend on weddings,” Brown said. “To be able to give that to somebody so that they’re not under any financial pressure to make it happen is really cool.”

The soon-to-be spouses have received an outpouring of support from the business community. Social Club Creamery will provide an ice cream cake. Penumbra and Cobblestone will supply flowers and decorations. Wine on Main will take care of the sparkling wine. Everything from the ceremony itself to the refreshments, music and hotel stay has been donated, offering local businesses a chance to showcase how they can contribute to people’s celebrations, Brown said.

With just under a week until their vows, Green and Hickman are solidifying the final details of the celebration and counting down the days until they say “I do.”

“I can’t think of another event that would have just the turnout or energy that this would, really just the special opportunity to get married in front of the State House with all the friends and things that we’ve acquired over the years,” said Green.

Following the ceremony, there will be a parade for the community to cheer on the couple as they head from the State House lawn down Main Street to the Main Stage, where they will have their first dance.

“We keep hearing stories of people just randomly sharing that they’re going to be at the wedding,” said Hickman, who belongs to the Concord Rotary Club. “That, to me, has always been something that I felt challenged with the wedding. At a certain point, you have to say no to people, but the people that are that passionate about coming to your wedding, that’s who you want to show up. Unfortunately, we know so many kind and wonderful people like that. That was always going to be a barrier, and now it doesn’t have to be a barrier.”

Between the two of them, Hickman and Greene have built a vibrant community in and around the Capital City. He works as a draftsman at a land surveying firm. She does marketing for a stone fabrication company. From going to regular run club meet-ups and walking their dog, Zoe, to building props and costumes for Hickman’s stage performances and meeting friends at their favorite local bar, the pair loves the life they’ve created together and all the people they’ve brought into their shared world.

Even so, the idea of getting married in front of countless people in public feels a little daunting to Hickman. When she gets nervous, Green reminds her that all she needs to do is look at him and at his smile.

“I don’t know if it’s a overstatement to say it’s kind of brave to do, with the element of public speaking where you’re sharing something personal with, truthfully, strangers, but also community members,” he said. “At the same rate, I feel good about it, because I’m pretty confident in what I want to say and to whom I’m going to say it.”

More about Market Days:

Market Days will take place from Thursday, June 26 to Saturday, June 28. Each day will run from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with Cady Hickman and Cameron Green’s wedding happening at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 27. For more information, visit https://www.marketdaysfestival.com..