The Perfect Wedding For This Tumultuous Relationship
In this colorized photograph from September 12, 1953, we see the fairytale wedding of John F. Kennedy, then a senator from Massachusetts, and his beautiful and sophisticated bride, Jacqueline Bouvier. The ceremony marked the end of a whirlwind romance and the start of the Camelot era. As this colorized photo shows us, the young couple was the very image of class, culture, and charm.
A colorized photo from John and Jackie Kennedy's wedding day. (https://www.reddit.com/r/ColorizedHistory/comments/533f10/senator_john_f_kennedy_and_jacqueline_bouvier/)
Let’s look at how John and Jackie’s love story unfolded, from the time they met, through the challenges of making the relationship itself, right up to the wedding that created Camelot.
Washington, D.C., 1952
A young Jackie Bouvier worked as a photojournalist. (pinterest.com)
In 1952, the handsome, well-connected John Kennedy was a congressman who was campaigning for a seat in the senate. Jackie Bouvier, a recent college graduate, worked as a photojournalist for the Washington Times Herald. Bouvier’s job was that of “camera girl”. She stopped random people on the street and got their responses to the question of the day. She also took their photographs to accompany their answers. Bouvier’s family hobnobbed with politicians, sparking her interest in politics. Her questions of the day were increasingly more political in nature.
Set Up By Matchmakers
JFK later purchased the Georgetown home where he first met Jackie. (nypost.com)
In the spring of 1952, Charles Bartlett, a journalist, and his wife Martha discussed Bartlett’s charming and pretty co-worker, Jackie Bouvier, and how perfect she would be their friend, John Kennedy, who they called Jack. Unbeknownst to John Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier, the Bartletts set a plan in motion to introduce the two. They decided to host a dinner party at their home in Georgetown. They sent invitations to Kennedy and to Bouvier. Both accepted.
Flirty Charades
Jackie and John were attracted to each other. (omnihotels.com)
The Bartlett’s dinner party began with cocktails and then a meal of chicken casserole. Afterwards, the partygoers moved to the living room for a lively game of charades. During the game, Bouvier and Kennedy flirted with each other and, in general, enjoyed a wonderful evening. When the party was over, Kennedy reportedly told Bouvier that the night was still young and invited her to join him for a drink. Bouvier declined, but left the door open when she said, “Perhaps another time.”
An Instant Connection
Like John, Jackie was raised a Catholic. (nytimes.com)
After arranging the introduction, the Bartletts didn’t have to do anymore work. Kennedy and Bouvier hit it off immediately. They had a lot in common. They both enjoyed similar privileged upbringings. Bouvier’s father was a wealthy stockbroker and, even though her parents divorced, she still attended the best private school, became an accomplished horseback rider, and was well-read. Kennedy, of course, was from a prominent political family. The other thing the young couple shared was their religious faith. Both were devoted Catholics. A friend of the Bouvier family, Molly Thayer, later said that Jackie “knew instantly that he would have a profound influence on her life.” Ted Kennedy, the youngest brother of John Kennedy, also remembered the impact Jackie had made on John. He once noted, “My brother really was smitten with her right from the very beginning when he first met her at dinner.”
There Was One Problem
Jackie's engagement announcement to John Husted. (twitter.com)
The romance between John Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier may have taken off right from the start, but there was one problem. Jackie was engaged to someone else. She had fallen head over heels in love with a young stockbroker named John Husted. Jackie confided in a friend, “I KNOW I will marry this boy.” Husted and Bouvier announced their engagement in the New York Times, but just three months later, Bouvier was disillusioned by her fiancé. Once she got to know him better, she found him to be dull, immature, and not very intellectual. She called off the engagement, then waited an appropriate amount of time before her courtship with Kennedy became public knowledge.
A Quick Engagement
The Kennedy's wedding party. (brides.com)
Things between Kennedy and Bouvier turned serious very quickly. By the summer of 1953, John Kennedy presented Jackie Bouvier with a diamond and emerald engagement ring. Plans for an autumn wedding began. On September 12, 1953, the young, beautiful, and influential couple said their vows before more than 800 guests in a lavish ceremony at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island. The reception, attended by about 1,200 guests, took place at Hammersmith Farm, the 300-acre, oceanfront estate belonging to Bouvier’s stepfather, Hugh Auchincloss.
About That Dress
The happy couple on their wedding day. (omnihotels.com)
As you can see from this colorized photograph of their wedding day, the new Mrs. John F. Kennedy wore a stunning silk bridal gown with a fitted bodice and portrait neckline. The bouffant skirt was adorned with more than 50 yards of ruffled flounces. The veil that Jackie wore at her wedding belonged to her grandmother. It was a rose point lace veil that was more than six feet long and draped from a lace tiara. John Kennedy was equally dashing in his pin striped trousers and tuxedo tails. The society pages gushed at the elegance of the Kennedys wedding. Even today, the style of Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress is often imitated.
On To The White House
The Kennedys brought a youthful freshness to the White House. (insider.com)
As we know, John and Jackie Kennedy had two children and soon moved into the White House. While the Kennedy’s marriage was often tumultuous, the couple reflected many of the values that Americans were searching for in the early 1960s – class, prosperity, culture, sophistication, hope, and modernity. It is no wonder that all of these adjectives can also be applied to their wedding ceremony, as we can tell in this colorized photograph from that day.
