The Kennedys on Their Wedding Day

JFK and Jackie were married at St. Mary's Church (in Newport, Rhode Island) on the morning of September 12, 1953.  More than 750 people witnessed the forty-minute ceremony.  Twelve hundred guests attended the reception at Hammersmith Farm.

The Kennedy Library and Museum describes what the bride wore. "Jacqueline Bouvier’s ivory silk wedding gown required 50 yards of ivory silk taffeta and took more than two months to make. It was the creation of Ann Lowe, an African-American dress-maker born in Grayton, Alabama, who had designed gowns for the matrons of high society families including the du Pont, Lodge, and Auchincloss families. Ms. Lowe was 54 when she designed the Bouvier wedding dress, which featured a portrait neckline and bouffant skirt decorated with interwoven bands of tucking and tiny wax flowers. She also designed the pink faille silk gowns and matching Tudor caps worn by the bridal attendants.

"The bride wore her grandmother’s heirloom rosepoint lace veil, attached to her hair with a small tiara of lace and traditional orange blossoms."

Credits

JFK Library and Museum.