Why Dolly Parton and Carl Dean’s Honeymoon Was Only Two Hours Long

Dolly Parton and husband Carl Dean had a rushed wedding ceremony and an even more rushed honeymoon. Here’s why the couple had such limited time together during and after their special day. 

Dolly Parton and Carl Dean’s wedding 

The “Two Doors Down” singer and Dean decided they wanted to get married because they lived too far apart from each other. Being a traditional man, Dean didn’t want to move in with Parton until they were married. But Parton’s record label told her not to tie the knot. They thought it’d affect her image. Even so, Parton and Dean were set on getting married. So they snuck off to Ringgold, Georgia, a town famous for their hasty weddings. 

The couple, plus Parton’s mother Avie Lee, arrived in Ringgold on a Friday. But as they began the small ceremony at city hall, Parton realized she wanted to be married in a church, not a government building. The city hall employee told them they’d have to come back on Monday to be married in a church. So that’s what they did. Before leaving, though, the small party drove around town to find the perfect church. They landed on Ringgold Baptist Church and headed home, where Parton spent the next two days entertaining her mother rather than spending time alone with her new husband. 

“Monday came on the back of a snail,” Parton wrote in her 1994 memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business.

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When Monday arrived, the three drove back to Georgia for their intimate ceremony at Ringgold Baptist Church. Parton wore a white dress and wispy veil, both made by Avie Lee. 

The couple’s rushed honeymoon

“Because of the Monday rule, we were now pressed for time,” Parton wrote. “Carl had to be at work the next morning, and I had agreed to do The Ralph Emery Show, which was done live at that ungodly hour. I would have to get up at three o’clock the next morning to prepare.”

The plan was to drive Parton’s mother to Chattanooga, where she’d catch a bus back to Sevierville. Then the couple would head to Nashville to spend the evening together as a married couple. But just as the three of them were about to pull into Chattanooga, Parton’s mother realized she’d left her handbag at the church, so they had to turn back.   

“I’m afraid Carl was a lot more generous with his new mother-in-law than I felt like being at that moment,” wrote the “Down From Dover” singer. 

After retrieving the purse, the three retraced their tire tracks once again back to Chattanooga. 

“By the time we got to Nashville and our bed(!!!), there was only a little while left before I was due on The Ralph Emery Show,” wrote Parton. “I guess you could say our honeymoon was about two hours long. We made the most of those two hours, though, and to his credit I will say that for a man who had had trouble telling me he loved me, he left no doubt about it that night.”