The Most Famous Southern Weddings of All Time

The rock ‘n roll king from Memphis married his queen, Priscilla, in 1967. Close family and friends were in attendance at the short ceremony to celebrate the love these two shared. Reportedly, Elvis Presley wore Western-style boots with his tuxedo, a nod to his Memphis roots, and they enjoyed a towering, six-tier wedding cake.

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year, and both her wedding dress and her husband’s wedding attire are currently on display in Dollywood. Famously private, the couple met in Nashville and married in 1966 when they were both in their early 20s. The ceremony was held just across the Tennessee state line in Ringgold, Georgia. 50 years later, this duo is still going strong.

Tim and Faith just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary (Congrats, y’all!) and they are a couple that, over two decades of marriage, has inspired us to believe in lasting love. The country music duo married in 1996 after falling in love on the Spontaneous Combustion tour, which Hill opened and McGraw headlined. The wedding ceremony was held in McGraw’s hometown of Rayville, Louisiana. 20 years later, it’s still a match made in country music heaven.

Paul Newman was born in Ohio, but that didn’t stop the South from claiming him as our own thanks to his film adaptations of Tennessee Williams plays and his ability to inhabit Southern characters. In 1958, Newman married Southern actress Joanne Woodward, who hails from Thomasville, Georgia and grew up in Marietta, Georgia. They met in 1957 during filming for “The Long Hot Summer,” and enjoyed 50 years together in wedded bliss.

Alright, alright, alright. This Southern couple sends hearts aflutter with their love story, and we love their low-key Texas family life. The actor from Uvalde, Texas, and former model from Brazil married in a family-focused ceremony Texas in 2012. They now live near Austin with their three children. 

The former president and first lady married in Plains, Georgia, in 1946. Flanked by candles and loved ones, they said, “I do,” and commenced a life of political service, time in the White House, and a 70 year marriage (so far). We’d call that a strong marriage with unshakeable Georgia roots.

The love story of these two Southern icons has been chronicled in song, film, and every medium in between. Johnny Cash proposed onstage during a concert in London, and the duo married two weeks later in Franklin, Kentucky. Country music fans everywhere celebrated the union of two iconic musicians in love.