Designing a wedding dress for a future First Lady is a career-defining moment for any designer, and Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress remains one of the best-remembered gowns in modern history, even if she doesn’t remember it very fondly herself.
Jackie and Senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy tied the knot on September 12, 1953, and her wedding day style would go on to be coveted by brides for decades to come. But little did they know about the flood and the interfering father-in-law that almost scuppered her wedding look.
She dazzled in an Ann Lowe gown crafted from 50 yards of silk taffeta and it featured a portrait neckline, a pleated bodice and a bouffant skirt with a scalloped hem and large rosettes. Small wax orange blossoms were attached to each rosette, which was a Lowe signature.
Her ‘something borrowed’ was a rosepoint lace veil with orange blossoms originally worn by her grandmother and she also accessorised with a pearl necklace and a diamond bracelet from her soon-to-be husband.
Jackie Kennedy’s Wedding Dress Drama
While Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress was breathtaking, instantly iconic and was emulated by brides-to-be all around the world, it was not the gown that she imagined wearing. In fact, she is said to have compared it to a lampshade! While she was one of the most famous women in the world, her story is all about the politics of wedding dress shopping that so many brides will be able to glean advice from.
800 guests attended their ceremony at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island. It is said 3,000 people lined the streets outside just to try and get a glimpse of the beautiful bride. She also carried a pink and white bouquet with spray orchids and gardenias.
Before she was a Kennedy and before she was a First Lady, young Jacqueline Lee Bouvier who came from a well-connected New York family was working as a photojournalist for the Washington Times-Herald. She had gotten engaged to the stockbroker John G W Huster Jr. after a month of dating, but called it off after three months because she apparently found him ‘immature and boring’.
A life-changing meet-cute came in 1952 when she was introduced to Congressman John F Kennedy at a dinner party by one of her friends, and the politician was instantly smitten by her. JFK scored success as he was elected the senator of Massachusetts in November of that year, which he celebrated soon after by proposing to Jackie with a 2.88-carat diamond and 2.84-carat emerald Van Cleef & Arpels ring, Vogue notes.
After working with Jackie’s mum Janet Lee Bouvier for years, African-American couturier Ann Lowe was commissioned to create her iconic wedding dress. A biographer of the designer told Elle that Ann had previously created gowns for Jackie so she was attuned to her taste.
For 35 years, Ann was a hidden force on the American fashion scene who crafted one-of-a-kind pieces for the upper echelons of society such as the Roosevelts and the Rockefellers.
Inspired by a recent trip to Paris, Jackie wanted a simple, low-key gown for her nuptials. It was her soon-to-be father-in-law Joseph Kennedy who had the final say on her bridal look and he overruled her decision.
But one does have to wonder whether the universe was trying to intervene on her behalf as disaster struck just 10 days before the wedding.
Jackie’s wedding dress took two months to make, but a pipe burst in the designer’s studio destroying the original wedding dress and taking nine out of the 15 of the bridesmaids dresses with it too.
Ann hired extra help and the team worked day-and-night to remake the intricate elements to have the bride and her bridal party looking picture-perfect for the big day. It carried a big loss for the studio, at what would have amounted to about $21,000 today, Vogue writes.
The designer also never allegedly told Jackie or her mother what had happened either, protecting them from the worry of the mishap.
Jackie and Ann went on to have a close working relationship through the years. When the designer began to lose her eyesight and her business was impacted an ‘anonymous friend’ stepped in to clear thousands of dollars of her debt. Lowe is said to have suspected that it had been none other than Jackie.
Jackie Kennedy’s bridal style story perfectly illustrates how wedding dress shopping can be a source of tension for members of the wedding party. When it comes to saying ‘yes to the dress’ it can be natural for there to be differing opinions and tastes, and that’s before you throw in factors such as the season and venue.
At the end of the day, a bride should have the final say on what she wears, and never feel pressured to settle for anything less than the dress that makes her feel her most confident on her special day.
Want more celebrity wedding dress drama? Keira Knightley’s Friend Destroyed Her ‘Something Old’ Chanel Gown!
