It’s not common to be able to see the First Ladies’ wedding dresses on display, but you can go see Jackie Kennedy’s! This is another dress that was designed by Ann Lowe and is now iconic for American brides. Jackie’s dress is probably one of the best-remembered gowns of all time.
Jackie kept it simple and wore very little jewelry with her dress. The bouquet she held had pink and white spray orchids and gardenias. If you want to go see Jackie’s dress, it’s on display at the Kennedy Library which is located in Boston, Massachusetts. You can also see many of her other popular outfits there.
Kennedy's Huge Wedding Party
Jackie and John F. Kennedy married on September 12, 1953, the entire Kennedy family turned out in Newport, Rhode Island. The two invited roughly 800 guests to attend the ocean-front wedding at Saint Mary’s Church. It sounds like an amazing wedding, we can’t imagine anyone not going to it.
Jackie had a total of ten bridesmaids, not including her maid of honor. All of them wore pink taffeta gowns to the ceremony. Her bridesmaids included her sister Lee, her stepsister Nina Auchincloss, John’s sister Jean, sister-in-law Ethel, and Jackie's former roommates, Nancy Tuckerman.
Jackie Kennedy and the Best Men
You’d assume that JFK would include his brothers in his bridal party, and he did! In this photo, Jackie is with the men of the family, including Robert and Edward Kennedy who are standing on either side of John.
At the time, JFK was a United States Senator, and his Senate colleague George Smathers, brother-in-law Sargent Shriver, cousin Joe Gargan, and brother-in-law Michael Canfield were all in his wedding party. In addition, so were a few of his friends, such as Lem Billings, Red Fay, and Robert Macdonald. And of course, Charles Bartlett stood close to the couple because he was the one who introduced the happy couple.
The Royal Wedding, American Style
There wasn’t a single person who didn’t want to attend the amazing Jackie and John wedding. Why? Because it was similar to a royal wedding. Life photographer Lisa Larson wrote, “Their wedding turned out to be the most impressive the old society stronghold had seen in 30 years.”
Their wedding was so special that even the pope blessed them. After two years of dating, JFK proposed to Jackie with a 2.9-carat ring with a matching emerald.
A Woman of Faith
Jackie and John shared the same similar Catholic beliefs, and she was the first Catholic woman to serve at the First Lady of the United States. She was baptized at a church in Manhattan called the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola.
In this picture, the two are kneeling together in the century-old church of St. Mary’s. It was the happiest day of their lives. It was 1953, before JFK’s successful campaign for the presidency, before the Vietnam War, and before Robert F. Kennedy was killed. Unfortunately, Jackie would become a widow about ten years later.