This Music-centric Memphis Wedding Even Had a Tattoo Artist!
From food trucks to a tattoo station, this music loving couple planned a Memphis wedding that let them march to their own beat. Image: For the Love Birds Photography
For Elizabeth and Andrew Dodson, music and Memphis are inherently woven into the fabric of their lives. So when it came time to say “I do,” it only made sense that the couple marched to their own beat, celebrating their big day in true Memphis style. After exchanging vows at Grace – St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, the newlyweds threw an Overton Park Shell wedding reception with a music-festival vibe that included food trucks, tattoos, live music, and lots of love!
Lizzie and Andrew first met in 2021 at a Christmas/Hanukkah party hosted by close friends. Despite Lizzie arriving at the party after an exhausting, whirlwind day, she and Andrew talked throughout the evening.
After several dates, they officially became a couple on April 2, 2022, a date Andrew chose for two very specific reasons. “I wanted it to be its own day and not share with April Fool’s Day, and it is also my brother’s anniversary with his wife,” he tells us.
When it came time to propose, Andrew knew he wanted something special and distinctly Memphis. With help from Lizzie’s parents and closest friends, he planned an evening that began at The Peabody, where the couple enjoyed a private rooftop experience complete with photos, before heading downstairs to Chez Philippe for dinner. In an extra-special touch, the couple got a meet-and-greet with the chef, too! From there, they headed to Cameo, one of their favorite local bars, where a crowd of family and friends was waiting.
“The entire night was just magical and (I’m still thankful for this) everything went to plan!” Andrew says.
The ceremony at Grace – St. Luke’s held particular significance for Lizzie, who has served as the church’s staff soprano since 2019. She grew up in the Episcopal Church, and it has long been an important part of her family’s life.
The couple also wanted to honor Andrew’s Jewish background. A week after the wedding, they held a marriage blessing at Beth Sholom Synagogue, where Rabbi Sammy Rosenbaum gave them a special sendoff into married life.
“Our families are incredibly important to us,” Lizzie says, “so being able to honor both sides and both faiths was absolutely necessary to feel like we were married fully.”
At the church, the couple shared personal vows privately before the ceremony, then exchanged traditional vows in front of 175 guests.
From there, the celebration moved to the Overton Park Shell, a place the couple has always loved for its history and legendary lineup of performers. There, they created an aesthetic inspired by two of their favorite things: Memphis and music festivals.
“I saw a picture on Pinterest that sent me into a tizzy of imagination for the colors,” Lizzie says. “We wanted it to feel like Bonnaroo meets Memphis!”
After attending Bonnaroo in 2024, the couple had been enamored with the idea of a music-festival-style wedding. At the Shell, that vision came naturally. There was no formal cocktail hour — just straight into party mode!
Dinner was relaxed. Staying true to the Overton Park Shell spirit, the couple brought in food trucks, including Tops Bar-B-Q, where Andrew ordered a pulled pork sandwich, and Lizzie enjoyed her favorite burger. For a sweet treat, Mister Softee served a full menu of ice cream, with an extra emphasis on root beer floats.
And music, naturally, was woven throughout the evening.
For their first dance, Lizzie and Andrew chose “Bless the Telephone” by Labi Siffre. Rather than playing a recording, they asked Lizzie’s former college voice professor, Dr. Randal Rushing, to perform the song live.
“Randy performed such a sweet rendering that held a perfect tenderness for the evening,” Lizzie says. “It was magical, and there were not many dry eyes around the space.”
Lizzie danced with her father to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” while Andrew and his mother danced to Stevie Wonder’s “As.” He also shared a dance with his stepmother to Frank Sinatra’s “Love and Marriage.”
Lizzie’s Essence of Australia wedding gown was only the fifth dress she tried on, despite beginning the search with a very different vision. She had imagined a strapless ballgown or flare-style dress, but none of the first few felt quite right.
She knew she didn’t want lace. Instead, she wanted a dress made of beautiful material that could shine on its own.
The winner was made entirely of Mikado silk, a gorgeous but notoriously difficult fabric to alter. Her seamstress, Mallary Frassinelli of Sartedonne, spent hours researching the best way to work with the fabric before making the alterations. One particularly clever detail: The large bow on the back was made completely detachable, allowing Lizzie to remove the train for the reception while keeping the bow positioned just above the French bustle.
“I still have it hanging in my closet in our bedroom because I just love to look at it!” Lizzie says.
Lizzie also incorporated plenty of sentimental details. Her grandmother’s pearls and earrings checked off “something old,” while new shoes and her dress covered “something new.” She borrowed her sorority sisters’ pins to attach to her silk-flower bouquet from Something Borrowed Blooms, and her sapphire engagement ring served as her “something blue.”
The couple sprinkled plenty of personal touches throughout the reception, including a tattoo station. Andrew’s childhood friend Aaron Judah, who also happens to live just down the street from the couple, set up as their tattoo artist for the evening. Lizzie and Andrew already share nearly 20 tattoos between them, so adding another to the wedding celebration felt perfectly natural.
They weren’t the only ones interested. Aaron stayed well past the scheduled end of the reception as guests lined up to get inked.
Lizzie also arranged for an old-fashioned rotary phone to serve as a wedding guest book of sorts. Guests could pick up the phone and leave recorded messages for the newlyweds, who received a recording of all the calls afterward. They’ve decided to wait until their first anniversary to listen. Such a cool idea!
A photo booth provided another way for guests to capture the evening, while a slideshow of photos from Lizzie and Andrew’s lives played on the screens beside the Shell’s main stage.
And then there were Lizzie’s Alpha Delta Pi sorority sisters. The women in the group came from different chapters of her life — college, work, and beyond — and their performance became one of the evening’s most meaningful moments. The group sang “When You Love an Alpha Delta” and “Linger,” two songs that hold special meaning within their sisterhood.
Rather than a traditional sparkler exit, Lizzie and Andrew ended the night with light-up wands decorated with ribbon, lace, and bells. During the last dance, guests formed a giant conga line, wands in hand, creating one final burst of movement and music around the venue. For a couple whose wedding was so deeply rooted in music, Memphis, and community, it was a fitting way to end the night.
The celebration didn’t end there. Their honeymoon began with a trip to Chicago to see the opening night of Rush’s Fifty Something tour, followed by a week in Wells, England, where Lizzie’s choir held a residency at Wells Cathedral. Andrew joined her for the full experience, including seven services and more than 40 pieces of music, as well as day trips throughout Somerset. Then came Paris, where Andrew planned a week of museums, landmarks, leisurely walks, and a dinner inside the Eiffel Tower, plus a trip to Épernay, the heart of Champagne country.
“It was the trip of our lives,” Lizzie says. “I relive it literally every day.”
But back home in Memphis, the memories of their very own music-filled, food-truck-fueled, tattoo-and-conga-line wedding are likely to last just as long.
Congratulations, Lizzie and Andrew!
RESOURCES
Wedding Planner: Church Wedding Associate/Planner: Sidney Hickey
Overton Park Shell Day-of Coordinator: Janette McCall & Cyndelle Vann
Photographer: For The Lovebirds Photography
Venue: Wedding: Grace – St. Luke’s Episcopal Church; Reception: Overton Park Shell
Videographer: Content Creator Gabriela Toledo
Bride’s gown: Essence of Australia from Low’s Bridal in Brinkley, AR
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Azazie
Hair & Makeup: Hair: Emma Lewis of Pavo; Makeup: Anna Bearman of Levy Dermatology, and Maggie Bearden of Spectacular Skin
Groom’s formalwear: Milano Menswear
Groomsmen’s formalwear: Azazie
Invitations, programs & menu cards: Lizzie, with help from Truly Engaging
Flowers: Ceremony florals: The Garden District
Artificial and silk bouquets and boutonnieres: Something Borrowed Blooms
Catering: Food Trucks: Tops BBQ and Mister Softee; Bar: Traveling Taverns
Entertainment: The Scott Moore Band
Cake: Muddy’s Bake Shop
Rental rotary phone: After the Tone
Photobooth: Hot Shots
Tattoo artist: Aaron Judah Tattoo
STYLEBLUEPRINT RESOURCES:
Planning a wedding? Check out StyleBlueprint’s two Wedding Resource Guides. (More to come!):
- StyleBlueprint Nashville’s Wedding Resource Guide
- StyleBlueprint Birmingham’s Wedding Resource Guide
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Gaye Swan
As a professional writer of over 20 years, Gaye is an avid traveler and enjoys highlighting food, culture, and attractions around the South. While Gaye is passionate about life in Memphis, she grew up in Meridian and is still a Mississippi girl at heart.
