Lainey Wilson Marries Duck Hodges in Waterfall Wedding

Lainey Wilson is a married woman. The country superstar and her now-husband, former NFL quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges, exchanged vows on Sunday, May 10 — Mother’s Day — at The Ruskin Cave in Dickson, Tennessee, in a ceremony that was every bit as warm, unpretentious, and deeply personal as the woman herself.

Wilson, 33, and Hodges, 30, revealed the news Thursday, May 14, sharing stunning photos of the day with Vogue. And yes — she traded in her signature bell bottoms for a gown.

“Duck and I were driving backroads in Tennessee and saw a billboard for The Ruskin Cave,” Wilson told Vogue. “Duck said, ‘You wanna get married there?’ I said, ‘Done deal.’ We dropped by, saw the venue and fell in love with the natural beauty of the cave and the simplicity of the property.”

That’s about as perfectly Lainey Wilson as a venue origin story gets.

A Ceremony Built Around the Moment

The ceremony took place on a cobblestone ledge at the foot of a waterfall on the property. Wilson arrived in a white horse-drawn carriage and walked down the aisle with her father — whom she lovingly calls “Deddy” — to meet Hodges at the altar. The couple was married by Wilson’s close friend and mentor, Wes Williams, and the two took communion together during the ceremony.

“You could hear the water trickling down and birds singing, and we had a nice spring breeze,” Wilson recalled. “I have never seen Duck smile as big as he did then. It made me feel giddy about turning the page into this next chapter of marriage. We were both anxious to say ‘I do!’”

As the newlyweds walked back down the aisle, Raye’s song “Where Is My Husband!” played — and then the legendary New Orleans group Rebirth Brass Band kicked in, leading the entire wedding party in a second line march straight to cocktail hour. “It was so lovely to have that touch of my home in Louisiana up here in Tennessee,” Wilson said.

The Dress (and the Look That Almost Wasn’t)

For a woman who has built an entire aesthetic around denim bell bottoms, choosing a wedding dress was no small thing. Wilson worked with her stylist, Alexandra Mandelkorn, and the Oscar de la Renta team to create something that felt entirely her own — a custom gown featuring tiny Japanese cherry blossoms around the neckline and scattered throughout the dress.

“The cherry blossom represents living in the moment, and that’s exactly what we did,” Wilson explained.

Hodges matched the moment in a bespoke suit by D. Lacquaniti, complete with a custom bolo tie, cufflinks, and a hat pin created in collaboration with Mud Lowery. He finished the look with custom boots by Golden West Boots and a cowboy hat by Charlie 1 Horse — all styled by close friend Raina Gir.

Louisiana in Tennessee

The reception moved into the cave itself, where Wilson’s mother led guests in dinner prayer before the party really got going. Wilson wanted the evening to feel like home — her Louisiana home, specifically. The couple hired the Rebirth Brass Band for a second second-line march from cocktail hour to the cave reception, served a Cajun meal prepared by the chefs from her Nashville bar, Bell Bottoms Up, and kept the dance floor packed all night.

“We wanted it to be special and beautiful, but really welcoming and comfortable for our guests,” Wilson said. “We tried not to take ourselves too seriously.”

The night ended with Wilson and Hodges following the band through a send-off line of sparklers and cheering guests, before climbing into an old white Ford truck and driving off into the Tennessee night. Simple. Perfect.

Four Years in the Making

Wilson and Hodges were set up on a blind date in 2021 — a night that started at dinner, moved to a spot on the water called Moby Dicky’s, and ended at a honkytonk called Silverado’s. “We’ve been pretty inseparable since,” Wilson told Vogue.

What makes their love story especially charming is the full-circle nature of it. In her Netflix documentary, Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool, Wilson opened up about just how broke she was when they first met. “I was so broke when we met. And he thought I was doing a little bit better than I was. But a few weeks after we met, my sister had to Venmo me a couple hundred bucks.” That was 2021. By the time they walked down the aisle, Wilson had a Grammy, a starring role on Yellowstone, and her own bar in Nashville.

Hodges proposed in February 2025, on the front steps of George Jones‘s iconic estate in Franklin, Tennessee — a spot that meant everything to Wilson. “He had it set up with rose petals and pictures of the two of us from the last five years,” she recalled. “We love George Jones, and he knew it would mean a lot to me to do it right there on George’s front porch.”

@nc5nashville

Spilling the romance tea 💍: Lainey Wilson talked to us about the moments leading up to her proposal and wedding plans in the works ❤ love laineywilson countrymusic #nashville

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The ring, for the record, came in a mini cowboy hat-shaped box. Of course it did.

Wilson has described Hodges as her “biggest supporter” and “biggest cheerleader” — someone who has been by her side through the full explosion of her career. “He’s just the place that I get to call home,” she told People ahead of the wedding. “And I think he’s pretty dang lucky to have me, too.”

Married life won’t slow Wilson down for long. She’s set to open for Chris Stapleton at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on May 23 — less than two weeks after saying “I do.”