Singer-Songwriter Ashe Channeled Old Hollywood Glamour for Her Tennessee Wedding to John Clark Canada
When Ashlyn Rae Willson and John Clark Canada first met, the circumstances were already cinematic. “It was on my 2022 headline tour,” says the bride, who performs under the stage name Ashe. She: a singer-songwriter, music artist, and co-lead of The Favors with Finneas. He: also a music artist and drummer of his band, The Brook The Bluff. “They opened for me on that tour and I fell for the drummer,” Ashe says. She waited until the last night of the tour (“when power dynamics were no longer at play”) to leave him a note revealing her affections.
Two years later, in the summer of 2024, the two departed for a family vacation on Sea Island, Georgia where a surprise proposal ensued. “We were walking along the water at the Cloister when suddenly his family disappeared in the bushes and he got down on his knee,” she says. “It was private and quiet and precious.”
As visions for what the wedding day would look like began to manifest, the two realized they needed all the help they could get. “John was on tour and Finneas and I were in the middle of finishing and releasing our album,” she says. They enlisted Annie Bender and Rachel Cain (her “guardian angels”) from Elizabeth Events to bring everything to life. A timeless soiree reminiscent of an old film served as the groundwork for the wedding’s overall atmosphere, as did pops of bright scarlet red. On top of professional demands, from tour buses to press junkets, the two were also working tediously to bring their dream wedding day into focus. “Every tiny decision was made under the guise of, ‘Is this classic and timeless?’” Ashe explains. “And if it fell in the trendy category, it was an easy no.”
When the time came to choose a wedding ceremony dress, Ashe was on tour with Gracie Abrams in Australia, so she paid a visit to bridal designer Jessica Andreatta at her shop in Sydney. Ashe landed on J. Andreatta’s striking Bessette silhouette. “The dress felt sophisticated and unique but bridal, not red carpet, which I was adamant about,” she says. Andreatta customized the design for Ashe, rendering it strapless and adding a buttoned overskirt. “I wore the buttoned overskirt and veil during the ceremony, and replaced the skirt and veil with sheer Cornelia James opera gloves and a neck scarf for the reception,” Ashe explains. John opted for a tuxedo with an ivory jacket by Hive Colony and a red rose on his lapel.
The wedding took place on October 18, 2025, in Franklin, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville, where the couple lives. They chose Trinity View as their venue, set on a countryside estate overlooking rolling hills. As the day crept closer, a rain forecast eventually prompted the couple to put up a sailcloth tent at the last minute. “It didn’t rain. But it was whimsical and romantic and completely framed the ceremony space. We should have always had the tent,” she says. (After the wedding, Ashe discovered that her photographer Molly Peach paid an Etsy witch $15 for good weather on the day. “Iconic.”)
Guests arrived to Champagne as the couple prepared with their families and wedding parties. “I asked my bridesmaids to find the brightest scarlet red dress they could find,” Ashe recalls, adding that she wanted them to feel like bombshells. The groomsmen wore black tuxedos and matched John by fastening red roses onto their jackets.
Before heading down the aisle, Ashe put on the finishing touches: her grandmother’s diamond earrings, a vintage canary diamond engagement ring, and a Tiffany Co. gold wedding band. “Emily Gray Higgins did my Grace Kelly–inspired makeup and Paula Peralta—who happens to be one of my best friends, bridesmaid, and hair stylist—gave me soft, Golden Age pin curls,” she says.
A string quintet and harpist played Debussy’s “Clair De Lune” as Ashe’s grandfather walked her down the aisle. The ceremony was led by their therapist, Keith, and the two exchanged self-written vows. “We were entirely at ease. We both predictably cried at the beginning but found our footing,” she says. “There was no nervousness, just peace and real, well-grounded joy.”
After that, guests drifted toward the rhythms of Parisian Django-style jazz at cocktail hour, while Ashe and John took family photographs. “Our planner ran two essential espresso martinis to us,” she says, “so John and I sat in our empty sailcloth tent and took a breath for ourselves.” The aforementioned espresso martini was spilt on her dress at cocktail hour (“hugging Finneas, no less”), but it only added to the festive aura.
The couple danced to “Something Stupid” by Frank and Nancy Sinatra, while John’s mother-son dance was to “Mustang Sally.” Ashe and her grandfather chose “The Locomotion” for their spin around the dance floor. “The night raced by with dancing and photo booth strips and gelato and a very hidden yet popular hangout spot at the cigarette station,” she remembers. After a bit of dancing, Ashe changed into an Old Hollywood–inspired Maria Lucia Hohan dress to finish out the night in. The evening concluded at Amendment XVIII, an anti-prohibition speakeasy they rented for the afterparty. “We planned for 70 people to attend, and 90 joined. No one wanted the night to end,” she says.
As the two reflect back on their wedding day, every choice still feels like the right one. “It all went off without a hitch, although I did find out later the cake fell (or melted?) but no one would have ever known,” she laughs. But it’s these imperfect, perfect moments that fold into the greater narrative of their love story. “I plainly have a career in music because of a song I wrote about my divorce. It was a marriage that made me resent marriage and very unwilling to go near it again,” Ashe says. “Looking at our wedding photos, it’s heartbursting how grateful I am that he restored my faith in kindness and love and relationship.”
Photo: Molly Peach1/49The beginning. Our sailcloth tent was such a stunning last minute addition.
Photo: Molly Peach2/49My dress by J. Andreatta, designed in Sydney when I was on tour with Gracie Abrams.
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