Country music singer-songwriter and Yellowstone star Lainey Wilson and NFL quarterback-turned-entrepreneur Devlin “Duck” Hodges’s meet-cute could have been a scene from the hit Taylor Sheridan show that she appears in. The two were set up on a blind date in 2021, and after dinner and signs of mutual chemistry, they ended up at a honkytonk. “We went to a spot on the water in Nashville called Moby Dicky’s, and then we went to Silverado’s,” remembers Lainey, who won the Grammy Award for best country album in 2014 and whose Netflix documentary, Lainey Wilson: Keepin’ Country Cool, dropped last month. “We’ve been pretty inseparable since,” she adds.
After four years of dating, Duck took Lainey to iconic country singer and songwriter George Jones’s renowned estate in Franklin, Tennessee, and asked her to marry him on the doorstep in February of 2025. “He had it set up with rose petals and pictures of the two of us from the last five years,” Lainey recalls. “We love George Jones, and he knew it would mean a lot to me to do it right there on George’s front porch.”
The wedding was held just over a year later in May 2026, at the Ruskin Cave in Dickson, Tennessee. “Duck and I were driving backroads in Tennessee and saw a billboard for The Ruskin Cave,” Lainey explains. 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.”
Lainey knew from the start of the planning process that she wanted the wedding to represent her and Duck’s warmth as a couple. The couple worked with Hugh Howser and Kate Steele with H Three Events to execute their vision. “We wanted it to be special and beautiful, but really welcoming and comfortable for our guests,” she says. “We tried not to take ourselves too seriously. Being from Louisiana, I wanted to bring in a little bit of Cajun flair, so naturally we hired a 12-piece jazz band called Rebirth and had a Cajun meal from the chefs at my bar, Bell Bottoms Up.”
Considering the bride—who is famous for her denim bell bottoms—has almost never worn a dress, she knew her wedding look would have to be something special. Enter her stylist, Alexandra Mandelkorn, and the Oscar de la Renta team. They all worked together to create a custom look that was entirely Lainey, featuring tiny Japanese cherry blossoms around the neckline and scattered throughout. “The cherry blossom represents living in the moment, and that’s exactly what we did,” Lainey explains.
Duck wore a bespoke suit by D. Lacquaniti; a custom bolo, cufflinks, and a hat pin created in collaboration with Mud Lowery; custom boots by Golden West Boots; and a cowboy hat by Charlie 1 Horse—all styled by close friend Raina Gir.
The ceremony took place on Sunday, May 10, on a cobblestone ledge at the foot of a waterfall. “You could hear the water trickling down and birds singing, and we had a nice spring breeze,” Lainey remembers. “I arrived in a white horse-drawn carriage and walked down the aisle with my Deddy to join Duck at the altar.” The couple was married by Lainey’s friend and mentor, Wes Williams, and took communion together during the ceremony in front of their family and friends.
“I have never seen Duck smile as big as he did then,” Lainey admits. “It made me feel giddy about turning the page into this next chapter of marriage. We were both anxious to say ‘I do!’”
After the ceremony, Raye’s song “Where Is My Husband!” played as the newlyweds walked hand-in-hand down the aisle—and then, the legendary New Orleans group Rebirth Brass Band led everyone in a second line march to cocktail hour. “It was so lovely to have that touch of my home in Louisiana up here in Tennessee,” Lainey remembers.
After cocktail hour, they did another second line march to the cave where the reception was hosted. “My mama led the dinner prayer for all of our guests, and we settled in for a night of good food, good company, and good music,” Lainey recalls. “Our family and friends know how to have a good time, and the dance floor was packed all night. To close out a perfect evening, Duck and I followed the band through a send-off line of sparklers and cheering loved ones, climbed into an old white Ford truck, and drove off!”
