Sometimes the best love stories unfold on a backroad. That’s exactly how country star Lainey Wilson found the venue for her wedding to Devlin“Duck”Hodges—she and her now-husband were simply driving through Tennessee when a billboard caught their eye. Ruskin Cave in Dickson, Tenn. called to them, and Wilson made the call on the spot:“Done deal.”
On Sunday, May 10, Wilson traded her signature bell-bottoms and hat for an Oscar de la Renta gown adorned with cherry blossom florals, arriving in a horse-drawn carriage to say yes to the man she’s been dating since 2021. Hodges, the former NFL quarterback, popped the question back in February 2025, and their wedding brought together Nashville’s country music community—everyone from Luke Bryan to Wynonna Judd to Miranda Lambert showed up to celebrate. Her mentor and friend Wes Williams officiated, and Wilson’s father walked her down the aisle.
What made the day even more personal? The couple leaned hard into Wilson’s Louisiana roots. The Rebirth Brass Band performed at the reception, guests enjoyed Cajun food from the chefs at Wilson’s Bell Bottoms Up Bar, and they shared their first dance to Muscadine Bloodline’s“10-90 (The Sound of Roses).”It wasn’t some over-the-top production designed to impress—Wilson told Vogue that she and Duck wanted something“special and beautiful, but really welcoming and comfortable for our guests.”
That’s the move of two people who know what matters. Wilson’s built a career on authenticity, and this wedding felt like a natural extension of that—a Grammy winner choosing cave walls over ballrooms, Cajun flavors over formal menus, and a spot discovered by chance over a venue booked years in advance. Even better?“I have never seen Duck smile as big as he did then,”Wilson told the publication. When your groom’s grin is that genuine, you know you nailed it.
About the Author
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
