Category Archives: Weddings

A British Royal Wedding – Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth

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This post will continue an ongoing series of British Royal Weddings; the first post was about the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  This  post will be about the wedding of her great- grandson Prince Albert George and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later to become King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother), they were the parents of the current Queen Elizabeth II.

Wedding of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth
Date and location: April 26, 1923 at Westminster Abbey in London, England

In July 1920, Prince Albert George (the second son of King George V and Queen Mary) reacquainted himself with Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (the youngest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore).  They had known each other since childhood and had a memorable meeting (at least for Prince Albert) at the Royal Air Force Ball which took place at the Ritz Hotel in London.  At that time, the Prince became instantly smitten with the vivacious Lady Elizabeth.  He proposed in 1921 but she respectfully declined because she was reluctant to marry the Prince because she felt it would be too restrictive to her carefree lifestyle.  Lady Elizabeth was the daughter of an English nobleman having grown up at Glamis Castle in Scotland and was currently spending time living in London and weekends at her parent’s country home in Hertfordshire.  In February 1922 the Prince proposed again after the wedding of his sister, Princess Mary, Lady Elizabeth had been a bridesmaid. She still had no interest in becoming a member of the royal family but the Prince was very persistent in his quest.

In January 1923 Prince Albert proposed for a third time while on a theater and dinner date at the Claridge’s.  A few days later, Lady Elizabeth finally accepted and the engagement was formally announced. She selected a platinum engagement ring with a large Kashmir sapphire that featured two diamonds on either side.  After the engagement, the people of Wales gave the Royal couple a large nugget of Welsh gold from which Lady Elizabeth’s wedding ring would be made.  Special Note: The same piece of Welsh gold had been traditionally used to make the wedding rings for several other British Royal brides; including the couple’s two daughters – Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in 1947 and Princess Margaret in 1960, also for Princess Diana who married Prince Charles (their grandson) in 1981 and most recently for Catherine Middleton who married Prince William (their great-grandson) in 2011.

Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth at the time of their engagement

Until this time British Royal weddings were considered strictly private events in which the bridal party would occasionally be seen by the public either coming or going from the ceremony or reception sites.  An exception to this rule happened in 1922 when Princess Mary and her husband, Viscount Lascelles became the first royal couple to make an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony to acknowledge the crowds that had gathered on the occasion of their wedding. So, it was unusual that the wedding of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth would be considered a public event to be held at Westminster Abbey instead one of the royal chapels, this decision was made to boost the morale of the country after World War I.  In addition, a request was made by the new British Broadcasting Company (BBC) to broadcast the wedding live on the radio which was declined by the couple and the Archbishop of Canterbury had been concerned about a sacred religious ceremony being listened to in public houses or pubs with men drinking.  The wedding was ultimately filmed and portions of the footage were shown later in theaters throughout the country which proved to be very popular with the general public.

    

Westminster Abbey – exterior and interior

On the morning of the wedding, Lady Elizabeth departed from the Bowes-Lyon family home located on Burton Street near Berkeley Square in London.  An enthusiastic crowd had gathered to get a glimpse of the bride and she emerged from the house wearing not a typical 1920s style but an unusual medieval style dress designed by Madame Handley Seymour.  The ivory chiffon moiré dress featured a square neckline with a bodice decorated with horizontal silver lame panels embroidered with silver thread and accented with pearl beads.  Lady Elizabeth wore an antique ivory veil made of Flanders lace and secured to her head with a wreath of myrtle leaves, white heather and white York roses; the veil was a gift from Queen Mary.  (For more detailed information about Lady Elizabeth’s wedding dress and other items worn on her wedding day, please click on the link to A Royal Bride – Lady Elizabeth)

Due to the inclement weather, the bride wore a fur coat trimmed with ermine to walk a few short steps to the maroon and gold State landau which would be pulled by four matched grey horses to take her to the Abbey.  As Lady Elizabeth, who was accompanied by her father the Earl of Strathmore, arrived at the site of the wedding ceremony, the sky magically cleared and the sun came out to beautifully shine its light through the Abbey’s lovely stained-glass windows.

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon leaving her family’s London home

Meanwhile, the wedding guests in attendence at Westminster Abbey included members of the Royal family; such as the groom’s sister Princess Mary and her husband Viscount Lascelles and the groom’s grandmother Queen Alexandra accompanied by her sister Marie, the Dowager Empress of Russia.  By precedence the last to arrive, aside from the bridal party, were the groom’s parents King George V and Queen Mary (he was dressed in an admiral uniform for him and she was dressed in a lovely silver and aquamarine gown).

Next, Prince Albert arrived with his brothers, Prince Edward and Prince Henry.  The groom wore his Royal Air Force Captain uniform while Prince Edward wore a Welsh Guard uniform and Prince Henry wore a Hussar uniform.  As the groom and his brothers reached the altar area, Queen Alexandra rose from her seat to embrace all three of her grandsons.

Finally, Lady Elizabeth and her father arrived at the Abbey and entered through the Great West Door.  As the bride and her eight bridesmaids assembled for the processional there was a slight delay.  In those few minutes, to honor her brother Fergus who had died in World War I, Lady Elizabeth spontaneously laid her bridal bouquet on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The wedding service started with the bridal processional as the Abbey’s boy choir sang “Lead Us, Heavenly Father”.  Upon the bride reaching the altar to join the groom, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York preceded with the wedding ceremony.  After the vows, the choir sang another musical selection, “Beloved, Let Us Love One Another”, which had originally been composed for the wedding of Princess Mary the year before.  Then, at the conclusion of the service the bridal couple moved down the long aisle of the Abbey to sounds Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March”.

Following the wedding ceremony, Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth returned to Buckingham Palace where formal wedding photographs were taken in the Throne Room.  Shown below are a series of photographs featuring Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth in the first one, the bridal couple with their parents in the second and then the couple with their  bridesmaids.

    

At Buckingham Palace, the invited guests attended a multi-course wedding breakfast at Buckingham Palace.  Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth  had fourteen wedding cakes for the wedding celebration and the main one featured a four-tier cake which reached almost 10 feet in height and weighted over 700 pounds, the cake was made by McVitie and Price with ingredients supplied by the Girls Guide of Australia.

The main wedding cake of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth

After the wedding reception, the bridal couple appeared briefly on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the King and Queen as well as other members of the Royal family.  Afterwards, the new Duke and Duchess of York changed from their wedding clothes for traveling to their honeymoon destination.  The Duchess wore another Madame Handley Seymour designed dress and matching embroidered coat of grey crepe which she accessorized with a fur stole and a small brown hat.   The couple left London by train to spend a few days in Surrey at Polesden Lacey, the home of Mrs. Ronald Greville.  Then the couple moved on to Scotland to stay at the ancestral home of the Strathmore family, Glamis Castle.  Unfortunately while there the Duchess came down with whooping cough.  After she recuperated the couple concluded their honeymoon at Frogmore House at Windsor.

Weddings of U.S. Presidents – Part Two

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In this two part series to honor President’s Day this month I thought it would be interesting to discuss the weddings of the Presidents of the United States.  For practical and logistical reasons I have selected just a few of the forty-five Presidents ranging from George Washington to John Kennedy in Part One (please click on the link for more information on that post)   Part Two will include information about the weddings of the most recent Presidents from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. 

Ronald Reagan – the 40th U.S. President (1981 to 1989)

Ronald Reagan was born on February 6, 1911 in Tampico, Illinois and the family eventually settled in Dixon, Illinois.  He attended Dixon High School and then to Eureka College graduating in 1932.  Reagan started his career as a sports radio announcer and while in Los Angeles covering a Cubs baseball game in 1937 he took a screen test with Warner Brothers and received a seven year contract with the motion picture studio.  Later Reagan would work in television as host and actor in the General Electric Theater show and he also starred in Death Valley Days show.

Reagan had been previously married to actress Jane Wyman; they were married in 1940 and divorced in 1949.  Wyman stated that one of the reasons for the divorce was because of their opposing views in politics (she was a Republican and he was a Democrat, he would later change his political party in the 1950s).  They had one daughter, Maureen born in 1941 and an adopted son Michael who was born in 1945.

Nancy Davis (born Anne Frances Robbins on July 6, 1921 in Manhattan) met Reagan in 1949.  At the time she was an actress and he was the president of the Screen Actors Guild.  After dating for several years, Reagan and Nancy were married on March 4, 1952 at the Little Brown Church located in the San Fernando Valley in California.  Fellow actor, William Holden, was their best man.  The couple went had two children, Patti born in 1952 and Ron born in 1958.    

Ronald and Nancy Reagan on their wedding day

Given his experience as SAG President, Reagan became very interested in politics.  He decided to run as a Republican candidate for Governor of California, he served two terms from 1967 to 1975.  Reagan went on to be elected President and served two terms in office from 1981 to 1989.

Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1994 and died in 2004.  He is buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.  Nancy died in 2016 and she is buried alongside her husband at the Reagan Library.       

Special Note: Ronald Reagan was the first President to be divorced.      

George W. Bush – the 41rd U.S. President (1989 to 1993)

George Herbert Walker Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts on June 12, 1924.  The Bush family would move to Greenwich, Connecticut, the family would often vacation in Kennebunkport, Maine.  Bush served in the United States Navy during World War II, then after graduating from Yale University he moved to Texas and established an oil company.  After an unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate he won a seat in the House of Representatives in 1966.  In 1971 he was appointed to be the U.S. Ambassador, in 1974 he served as the Chief of the Liaison Office to China and then in 1976 he became the Director of the Central Intelligence.  After Reagan won the Republican presidential nomination he selected Bush as his running mate, he served in that position from 1980 to 1988.  Then in 1989, Bush became President serving two terms from 1989 to 1993.

Barbara Pierce (born on June 8, 1925 in the New York City), met George Bush and after a year and a half of dating they became engaged.  When he returned on leave from the Navy, they were married on January 6, 1947 at the First Presbyterian Church in Rye, New York.  The couple had six children:  George W. born in 1946 (later the 43rd U.S. President), Pauline “Robin” born in 1949 died of leukemia in 1953, John “Jeb” born in 1953 (later governor of Florida), Neil born in 1955, Marvin born in 1956 and Dorothy “Doro” born in 1959.      

George and Barbara Bush on their wedding day

Barbara was diagnosed with Graves’ disease in 1988; she was also a heavy smoker for 25 years and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  Later she would be diagnosed with congestive heart failure and underwent an aortic valve replacement surgery in 2009.  Sadly by 2018, her health was failing and she died on April 17.  Her funeral was held at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston and she was buried at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.

Bush died on November 30, 2018 just seven months after his wife’s passing.  Bush lay in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. for 3 days and then the Bush casket was transferred to the Washington National Cathedral for a State funeral on December 5.  After the funeral, Bush’s casket was flown back to Texas to the George Bush Presidential Library and he was buried next to his wife, Barbara. 

Special Note: Barbara was one of only two women to be the wife of one U.S. President and the mother of another.  Abigail Adams was the other first lady; she was married to President John Adams and the mother of President John Quincy Adams.

William Clinton – the 42nd U.S. President (1993 to 2001)

Bill Clinton was born and raised in Arkansas, after high school he attended Georgetown University, University College at Oxford and Yale Law School.  It was while he was at Yale that he met a fellow student named Hillary Rodham (born on October 26, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois) in the school library and they began dating.  After Hillary graduated from law school, the pair took a trip to Europe and while in England Bill proposed.  Initially, she said no and he asked several more times until she finally said yes.  The small wedding took place in the living room of their new home on October 11, 1975, Hillary wore an off the rack Jessica McClintock lace dress.  Later a larger reception was held in the backyard and the couple spent their honeymoon in Acapulco, Mexico.  The couple had one daughter, Chelsea, born in 1980.

Bill and Hillary Clinton on their wedding day

Clinton would go on to serve as Arkansas attorney general from 1977 to 1979, then Arkansas governor from 1979 to 1981 and then 1983 to 1992.  Relatively unknown nationally, Clinton ran for President as a Democratic candidate.  He won and served two terms from 1993 to 2001, but in 1998 he was impeached by the House of Representatives.  At the time he was only the second U.S. President to be impeached, Andrew Jackson was the first.

Hillary would go on to be elected as the first female senator from New York in 2000, she was re-elected in 2006.  Then, from 2009 and 2013, she served as the U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama Administration. 

George W. Bush – the 43nd U.S. President (2001 to 2009)

George Walker Bush was born on July 6, 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut.  He was the eldest son of George and Barbara Bush, he holds the distinction of only two Presidents to be the son of a President (the other one was John Quincy Adams who was the son of John Adams).  The Bush family eventually moved to Texas and George attended the local schools and then went the Phillips Academy, a boarding school in Andover, MA for high school.  He attended Yale University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1968, after failing to get into the University of Texas School of Law, he went to Harvard Business School and graduated in 1975 with an MBA degree.

George met Laura Welch (born on November 4, 1946 in Midland Texas) at a friend’s backyard barbecue in July 1977, at the time Laura was a schoolteacher and librarian.  After dating for only a few months, Bush proposed to Laura in September and they were married on November 5, 1977 at the First United Methodist Church in Midland, they honeymooned in Cozumel, Mexico.  The couple have twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna born in 1981 (the girls were named after their maternal and paternal grandmothers)       

George and Laura Bush with his parents on their wedding day

After a failed attempt at a House of Representative seat in Texas, the family moved to Washington, D.C. and Bush Jr. went to work on his father’s Presidential campaign.  A few years later Bush Jr ran as a Republican candidate for the governor of Texas, he served from 1995 to 2000.. He became the first governor in Texas history to b elected to two consecutive four-year terms.  Bush Jr. ran for President and after a controversial win against Al Gore, he serve two terms in office from 2001 to 2009.    

After leaving office in 2009, Bush and his family returned to their ranch in Crawford, Texas and also bought another home in Dallas, Texas.  The Bush family would also spend time at Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport, Maine. 

Barack Obama – the 44th U.S. President (2009 to 2017)

Barrack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii (he is the first President to be born outside the continental United States).  After his parent’s divorce and his mother’s remarriage, he lived in Indonesia from the time he was six to ten years old.  In 1971, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents.  He attended Punahou School from fifth grade until he graduated in 1979.  He attended Columbia University and graduated in 1983, later he worked as a community organizer in Chicago, Illinois.  In 1988 he enrolled in Harvard Law School and after graduating he would return to Chicago to work as a civil rights attorney. 

In 1989, Barack interned at a Chicago law firm and met Michelle Robinson (born January 17, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois).  Although Barack was interested in Michelle, she resisted because she felt it was not appropriate for co-workers to date.  Eventually, Obama’s charm wore her down and the two began dating.  Barack proposed during a finishing the bar exam celebratory dinner in which the engagement ring was brought out on the dessert tray.

The wedding took place on October 3, 1992 at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a small reception followed at the South Shore Cultural Center.  Michelle wore an off the shoulder long sleeved wedding dress with a veil and drop pearl earrings.

Barack and Michelle Obama with their mothers on their wedding day

From 1992 to 2004, Barack taught constitutional law as the University of Chicago Law School.  Then, he decided to enter politics and served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, during that time he traveled back and forth to Springfield.  In 2004, Barack won a seat in the U.S. Senate; he served from 2005 to 2008.  He would go on to get national attention that same year when he gave well-received speech at the Democratic National Convention. 

In February 2007, Barack announced his run for President in a very symbolic place.  It was in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, IL where Abraham Lincoln had delivered the historic speech regarding a house divided cannot stand.  He ran on the theme of hope and change and won the 2008 election to become the 44th President of the United States serving two terms in office.  Nine months after his inauguration, Barack received the distinction of being named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. 

The couple have two daughters, Malia born in 1998 and Natasha (“Sasha”) in 2001.  Before moving their family to Washington D.C. for the duration of the presidency, the Obamas sought the advice from past first ladies regarding raising young children in the White House.  To aid in handling the transition Michelle’s mother, Marian Robinson, also moved into the White House to assist in taking care of Malia and Sasha.           

Donald Trump – the 45th U.S. President (2018 to current)

Donald Trump was born on June 14, 1946 in the Queens section of New York City.  He attended the coed college preparatory school Kew-Forest School from kindergarten to seventh grade.  He then attended the New York Military Academy, a private boarding school located 60 miles north of New York City.  After graduating from there, Trump attended Fordham University and then transferred to the Wharton school of the University of Pennsylvania, he graduated with a B.S. in economics in 1968.

During his time at Wharton, Trump was able to obtain student draft deferments and also a medical deferment for bone spurs and was eventually classified as 4-F, meaning he was permanently disqualified from military service.  Then, in 1971, Trump took over the family’s real estate business, which he renamed the Trump Organization.  He expanded the business from Queens to Brooklyn and Manhattan.

In 1977 Trump married Czech model Ivana Zelnickova and they had three children – Donald, Jr. born in 1977, Ivanka born in 1981 and Eric born in 1984.  The couple divorced in 1992 after Trump had an affair with actress Marla Maples.  Maples and Trump had a daughter, Tiffany, born in 1993.  Trump and Maples married in late 1993 and divorced in 1999.  (Trump is the only U.S. President to be twice divorced)

In 1998, while in the process of divorcing his second wife, Trump met Melania Knavs (born on April 26, 1970, her name was later Germanized to Melania Knauss).  Melania was a former Slovenian fashion model that would later relocate to the United States in 1996.      

Trump married Melania on January 22, 2005 at the Bethesda-by the Sea Episcopal church in Palm Beach, Florida with a lavish reception held afterwards at Trump’s nearby estate Mar-a-Lago.  Melania wore a very extravagant wedding dress designed by John Galliano of the House of Christian Dior.  It was made of white satin and featured a strapless bodice and a 13 foot train, the dress was heavily embroidered and accented with crystal and pearls.  Melania wore a 16 foot veil and accessorized her bridal ensemble with a diamond necklace and three diamond bracelets.  Since the dress weighed about 60 pounds, she would later change into a Vera Wang gown for the reception.  The couple have a son named Barron who was born in 2006. 

Donald and Melania Trump on their wedding day

Trump has the distinction of being the oldest elected U.S. President, the first without military or government service experience and also the only reality television personality elected President.           

A Coral Wedding – ideas and suggestions

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This post will be the second in the ongoing series about the annual Pantone color of the year.  The Pantone Color for 2019 is called Living Coral and it is a warm pinkish red-orange shade which is the color of a type of sea reef animal known as coral. 

The Pantone Living Coral color would be a great wedding color and in this post I will include ideas and suggestions for creating lovely coral wedding decorations for the ceremony and reception as well as bridal accessories including beautiful bridal bouquets and other coral items that could be incorporated into the wedding design.     

Ceremony decorations

The color coral would be a wonderful for either an indoor or outdoor wedding ceremony and would be especially pretty in the late summer or early fall.  Shown in the photos below are two ideas for chair decorations to use at a wedding ceremony.  The first one shows a floral arrangement of coral flowers and greenery attached to the chair; this would look very pretty for the end chairs bordering the aisle.  The second photo shows a coral chair wrap, this look would look great not only for a wedding ceremony but also for the chairs at a reception. 

Reception decorations

Coral reception decorations would beautifully contrast with guest tables set with crisp white tablecloths for an indoor or outdoor reception.  Shown below is a photo set with a low centerpiece of coral roses and greenery and coordinating coral napkins. 

The next photo shows a wonderful idea featuring a floral coral flower napkin ribbon which would be a lovely idea used with either white or coral napkins for the guest place settings at a wedding reception. 

In keeping with the coral color theme, shown below
is a simple white multi-tiered wedding cake featuring coral roses.

Below is a photo shown a beautiful floral embellish coral square tablecloth
layered on top of a simple white tablecloth and would be a great idea for a cake table.

Bridal accessories and other wedding items

As seen in the photo below, adding a coral ribbon sash
with a coral and white feather accent to a white wedding dress
is another great idea for a subtle touch of color. 

For just a pop of color coral shoes would also be a fun idea
for a bride to wear under her wedding dress

Coral roses can also be used for a bride’s bouquet and shown below are two variations of this idea.  The first features white and coral roses in a traditional style bouquet and the second features a bouquet created with all coral roses that could be used for a bridal bouquet or for the bridesmaids.

There was a lovely English tradition which dates back to the Regency period and the time of Jane Austen when the tradition was to give children coral necklaces to protect them.  So, shown below is a coral bead necklace that would be the perfect gift to give to a flower girl (or bridesmaids).       

Historical Note:  Princess Victoria (later to become Queen Victoria) had received a coral necklace as a child from her mother, the Duchess of Kent.  Later Queen Victoria continued the tradition with her own daughters.  Many years later, Princess Elizabeth (later to become Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) also received a coral necklace as a child from her parents and this necklace would eventually be given to her daughter, Princess Elizabeth (later to become the current Queen Elizabeth II).  

These last few items take the theme of a coral wedding literally, the first shows three different types of resin coral that would look wonderful placed around the room of a reception room or on the guest tables or for a unique cake topper.

Shown below is a beaded coral napkin ring which would look great on a quest table!

Shown below is an idea for a ring pillow that features a coral pattern

So, as you can see from the numerous examples given in this post there are is a large variety of items that can be used to create a beautiful coral wedding. 

Movie Wedding – Steel Magnolia

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As part of the ongoing Movie Wedding series, in this post I will discuss the memorable pink wedding in the 1989 film “Steel Magnolias”. (If you are looking for ideas and suggestions for a Pink Wedding please click on the link). I will also discuss the story behind the play written by Robert Harling that was the inspiration for the very successful movie directed by Herbert Ross and starring Sally Fields as the mother and Julia Roberts as the daughter. Then, to finish this post, I will take a quick tour of the town of Natchitoches, Louisiana where numerous scenes, such as the movie’s wedding ceremony and reception, were filmed.  

“A Blush and Bashful Wedding”

One of the highlights In the “Steel Magnolia” movie is the wedding of the characters of Shelby Eastenton and Jackson Latcherie. In the movie, the ceremony takes place in the local church and then a smaller reception is held at the home of Shelby’s parents. In the days leading up to the event, Shelby is asked by one of the ladies in Truby’s Beauty Salon what are her wedding colors and she answers “blush and bashful”.      

In the movie, the interior of the church is decorated with yards and yards of pink fabric hanging from the rafters, draped across the altar and from pew to pew down the main aisle.  The church is also decorated with an abundance of white and pink floral arrangements at the altar and at the end of each of the pews; also several pink wedding bells are strung at the front of the church.  Special note: Many of the extras sitting in the church during the wedding ceremony scene were people that lived in Natchitoches and had originally attended the wedding of Susan Harling Robinson, the inspiration for both the play and the movie. 

Shelby, played by Julia Roberts, is escorted down the church aisle by her father, played by Tom Skerritt.  She is wearing an elaborate wedding dress featuring an off the shoulder neckline with full skirt and decorated with a multitude of bows and fabric roses.  She wears a long veil with a pouf at the back and her curled hair is worn pulled back in a bouffant style with a crown of small artificial flowers placed at the top of her head.    

The groom, played by Dylan McDermott, is wearing a classic morning coat with a grey striped tie and a white rose boutonniere on his lapel.  Standing with him at the altar are the eight ushers wearing matching morning coats and eight bridesmaids wearing long pink dresses with a round neckline and large puffy sleeves, they are also wearing large brimmed hats.

Special note: Robert Harling, the writer of the “Steel Magnolias” play and screenwriter of the movie, plays the minister in the film.

After the church ceremony, the bridal party and invited guests go back to the home of the bride’s parents for an outdoor reception.  Typical of most Southern wedding, in the “Steel Magnolias” movie there is both a traditional multi-tiered wedding cake and a rather whimsical groom’s cake. The popular idea of a groom’s cake is usually something that the groom will choose and will often reference his college sports team or mascot, a favorite hobby like fishing or hunting and sometimes an animal like the family dog.  The cake that Jackson (the groom in the movie) chooses is an armadillo red velvet cake.  Special note: The memorable cake in the movie was actually made by a local Natchitoches resident.

The story behind “Steel Magnolias”

In 1987 Robert Harling was a Tulane University Law School graduate who had changed his career path and relocated to New York City to find work as an actor.  His sister, Susan Harling Robinson, had died two years earlier from diabetes complications leaving behind her husband and a young son.  Originally Robert intended to write about the life of his sister so that his nephew would understand her wonderful life that she had lived in a small southern town and also explain her struggles with diabetes that sadly ended with her tragic death from kidney failure.

Although Robert focused the story on the life and death of his sister, it also includes a group of strong women that surrounded his sister with love and support.  First is the mother who had such great compassion for her daughter’s struggles with her illness and a group of friends that offered their support to both the daughter and the mother.  For this reason the title of Robert’s eventual play became “Steel Magnolias” which by definition means a southern woman who has the strength of steel but yet the beauty of a magnolia bloom. 

The story was quickly made into an off-Broadway play that opened at the WPA Theatre in New York on March 28, 1987.  With the instant success of the play, in a very short time the story was adapted and made into a 1989 blockbuster movie, Robert wrote the screenplay for the film and expanded the story to include additional characters.  The film was directed by Herbert Ross, Sally Fields played the mother M’Lynn, Julia Robert played the daughter Shelby (she received an Academy Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the film), Shirley MacLaine played the cranky neighbor Ouiser, Olympia Dukakis played Clairee who was another family friend, Dolly Parton played Truby the beautician and Daryl Hannah played the shy and mysterious Annelle who recently started working at the beauty parlor.

Natchitoches, Louisiana

Robert Harling grew up in Natchitoches, Louisiana (although he was born in Dothan, Alabama in 1951).  When it came time to film the movie “Steel Magnolias” it was decided that many of the scenes would be filmed on location in Natchitoches, although the town is known as Chinquapin in the movie. 

From July to September 1988 a film production crew and the movie’s principal actors stayed in Natchitoches, including the movie director Herbert Ross, the producer Ray Stark and actors Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, Tom Skerritt and Dylan McDermott.

Since the “Steel Magnolias” movie was released in 1989, Natchitoches quickly became a tourist destination for people that loved the movie.  In fact, every fall there is a special event known as the “Blush and Bashful” Weekend which normally includes a showing of the film at the Parkway Cinema where the movie originally premiered, tours of some of the movie sites, an Armadillo Cake Bake-Off and a Character Look-Alike Contest.                

The Steel Magnolias House – This location was used for exterior scenes as the home of Drum and M’Lynn Eatenton, the parents of Shelby, in the film.  The real-life house was built before the Civil War and is situated along the Cane River.  It was a Bed & Breakfast Inn popular with tourist and fans of the movie that came to visit the town; it was recently put on the market for sale. For more information on the Steel Magnolias house, please check out an excellent post at https://hookedonhouses.net/2012/05/29/the-steel-magnolias-house-for-sale-in-louisiana/

St. Augustine Church and Cemetery – St. Augustine is a historic Catholic church located in Natchitoches was established in 1829 and is now part of the Cane River National Heritage Area, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The original structure was burned down in 1864 by Union Forces during the Civil War.  A second church was built but it also did not survive and the current church building was completed in 1917.  It is known as the first church in Louisiana to be built for free people of African descent and has become a cultural center of the historic Cane River Creoles community.     

As a writer, producer and director Robert Harling currently divides his time between New York and Louisiana.  After the success of both the “Steel Magnolias” play and movie he was able to purchase the Oaklawn Plantation in Natchitoches, it was a place he always wanted to own since his childhood.  The quintessential Southern three story house was built in the French creole style in 1830 and currently sits on 4 acres.  The house survived the Civil War and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.  At this time the house and surrounding grounds remain a private residence but will occasionally open to public tours during special events.

For information about other “Steel Magnolias” movie sites, please click on the link      https://www.natchitoches.com/listing/steel-magnolias-tour-filming-sites ) 

The Wedding of John Kennedy and Jaqueline Bouvier

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On September 12, 1953 John “Jack” Kennedy and Jaqueline “Jackie” Bouvier were married in a large ceremony held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island followed by a huge reception held at Hammersmith Farm, the stepfather of the bride’s oceanfront estate.  At the time of the wedding, the groom was a U.S. Senator and destined to become President of the United States.  The bride was a roving reporter/photographer and she was also destined to become the fashionable and, perhaps, the most famous First Lady.  Before I discuss the details of the wedding and the reception, let’s start with how the couple meet …

Most sources indicate that Jack and Jackie were introduced by a mutual friend, Charles Bartlett, in May 1951 at a small dinner party held in Georgetown located just outside of Washington, D.C.  (In his version of their first meeting he indicates that he “leaned across the table for the asparagus and asked her for a date”)  Another possible story of their first meeting happened several years earlier in 1949 when they met casually on a train traveling from New York to or from Washington, D.C.  (Her version and first impression on meeting him was that “he was charming and handsome but a hopeless flirt”)  In reality, throughout the years, Jack and Jackie casually dated and would sometimes have long periods of time without seeing each other.  Jack was busy in Washington, D.C. or campaigning in Massachusetts and Jackie was in Europe vacationing with her sister before going to London to cover the Queen’ Elizabeth II coronation.

It seems that absence could really make the heart grow fonder, and when Jackie returned from England Jack proposed on June 24, 1953 with a stunning Van Cleef & Arpels engagement ring.  The design of the ring was very unique and featured a 2.88 carat diamond and 2.84 carat emerald with several baguette diamond accents.  (Special Note: Jackie later had the ring redesigned and replaced the baguette diamond with marquis and round diamonds.  Later, after the death of her husband, Jackie had the ring reset to the original design for sentimental reasons)

Jackie's engagement ring

After the engagement was announced the wedding planning quickly started in earnest and everybody seemed to have an option from the mother of the bride, Janet Auchincloss, to the mother of the groom, Rose Kennedy.  The only thing not questioned was the type of ceremony, since both the bride and the groom were Catholic, the location selected was St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island.  The nuptial mass was officiated by Cardinal Richard Cushing, the Archbishop of Boston, and a special papal blessing was received from Pope Pius XII.

From the Kennedy perspective, the wedding would be seen as a political event with an extremely large guest list of Washington senators and congressmen and Massachusetts politicians. The invitation list would be approximately 800 guests for the church services and 1500 guests for the reception at Hammersmith Farm.  The bride’s sister Lee (who had recently married Michael Canfield a few months earlier in April 1953) would serve as matron of honor and her stepsister, Nina Auchincloss, was the maid of honor.  Ten additional bridesmaids were also the bride’s attendants and all were wearing pink taffeta dresses.  The groom’s brother, Bobby Kennedy, served as best man and his other brother Edward Kennedy, brother-in-law Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law Michael Canfield, Lem Billings, Red Fay, Charles Bartlett and several others served as ushers.

The bridal party

Every wedding has some problems and there was a major problem with Jackie’s father, “Black Jack” Bouvier.  Jackie’s parents had a bitter divorce back in 1940 amid adultery claims; Jack was a known womanizer as well as a heavy drinker and gambler.  Despite her father’s problems Jackie adored him and he was very proud her and very honored to be escorting her down the aisle.  But on the morning the wedding when someone went to get Jackie’s father he was found passed out drunk and it was clear that he would not be able to perform his duties, he was quietly and quickly sent out of town to avoid any embarrassment.  When Jackie arrived with her stepfather, Hugh Auchincloss, the reporters were told that Jack Bouvier had suddenly come down with a very bad cold and would be unable to attend the wedding.  Jackie was deeply disappointed about the situation with her father and she somehow blamed her mother for inadvertently causing it to happen.

 

Wedding ceremony - interior    Wedding ceremony - exterior

 

Almost 4 miles away from the church was the reception site, Hammersmith Farm which was the 300 acre estate of Hugh and Janet Auchincloss.  At the reception, the bridal couple spent three hours greeting guests on the receiving line, then after lunch the party continued with several speeches, dancing, cake cutting and the bridal bouquet toss.

 

Wedding reception - dancing    Wedding reception - cutting the cake  

 

After the wedding, the bridal couple went to New York and stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan before catching a flight to Acapulco, Mexico for their honeymoon.  They spent two weeks in Mexico and then stopped in California for a short stay at the San Ysidro Ranch in located in Montecito.

 

Honeymoon in Acapulco 1  Honeymoon in Santa Barbara

 

Historical Note: While on their honeymoon, Jack caught a large sailfish on a deep sea fishing trip and Jackie had the “trophy fish” stuffed and mounted.  Many years later after Jack became President of the United States; the “honeymoon fish” was hung in the White House.

 

Honeymoon Fish  Honeymoon Fish in the Roosevelt Room of the White House

 

Special Note: This post originally appeared on my other blog, theenchantedmanor.com

For more detailed information about the Jaqueline Kennedy’s bridal dress and other items worn on her wedding day, please click on the link to An American Bride – Jaqueline Bouvier Kennedy.

White House Weddings – Part One

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In this two part series on White House Weddings I will focus on eleven of the eighteen weddings that have been documented as taking place at the White House located in Washington, D.C., the Capitol of the United States.  The eleven weddings on the list include one President and the ten children of eight Presidents.  In Part One, I will discuss the weddings from 1820 to 1886 starting with Maria Monroe, John Adams II, Elizabeth Tyler, Nellie Grant and President Grover Cleveland, the only President to be married in the White House (more information on that later).   In Part Two, I will discuss the weddings from 1906 to 1971 that include Alice Roosevelt, the three daughters of President Woodrow Wilson, Lynda Johnson and Tricia Nixon.  (Special Note: The other seven weddings which have been recorded to take place in the White House included relatives or working associates of the President and will not be covered in this series)

March 9, 1820 – Maria Monroe and Samuel Gouverneur

The wedding of Maria Monroe and Samuel Gouverneur took place on March 9, 1820 but it would be overshadowed by controversy and an untimely death.  Maria was the seventeen year old daughter of President James Monroe (the fifth President) and Samuel was her twenty-one year old first cousin and also one of President Monroe’s White House secretaries.

At the time of the engagement the First Lady, Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, was unable to help with the wedding arrangements due to illness (the Monroe family rarely entertained during their time in Washington) and the job was taken over by Eliza Hays, the older sister of Maria.  According to White House records, the candlelight wedding ceremony for Maria and Samuel took place in the Elliptical Saloon, today the room is known as the Blue Room.  After the wedding ceremony there was a reception in the State Dining Room.  This small and intimate wedding outraged numerous political and diplomatic members of Washington D.C. society which had not been invited.  Perhaps to compensate for the error in judgement, several gala events were planned after the wedding day to honor the newlyweds.  But once again, unfortunate circumstances prevailed when the ball at the home of Commodore Stephen Decatur was marred by tragedy when days before the event he was killed in a duel.

Maria Monroe Gouverneur

Samuel and Maria Gouverneur eventually left Washington D.C. to live in New York where Samuel served as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1825 and then Postmaster of New York City from 1828 to 1836.  The couple had three children; James, Elizabeth and Samuel.  After the death of President James Monroe’s wife in 1830, the former President came to live at the Gouverneur’s home until his death in 1831.  In 1840, the Gouverneurs moved back to Washington D.C. and Samuel worked in the consular bureau of the US Department of State from 1844 to 1849.  Maria died on June 20, 1850, and a year later Samuel married Mary Digges Lee.  There is conflicting information as to when Samuel died, some obituaries state he died on September 29, 1865 while other sources say he lived until 1867.

February 25, 1828 – John Adams II and Mary Hellen

The wedding of John Adams II and Mary Hellen took place in the Blue Room of the White House on February 25, 1828.  John was the twenty-five year old son of President John Quincy Adams (the sixth President) and grandson of President John Adams (the second President) and Mary was the twenty-two year old niece of Louisa Adams, the wife of President John Quincy.  This lineage meant that John and Mary were first cousins.

Mary had come to live with John Quincy and Louisa Adams after the death of her parents.  Throughout her years living within the household, she became an outrageous flirt and tormented the three sons of Mr. and Mrs. Adams.  She first became romantically involved with Charles, the youngest brother, but when she quickly tired of him she turned her attention to George, the eldest brother.  But it was decided that George, a known alcoholic and womanizer, needed to focus on his studies at Harvard.  Ultimately with Charles away at college John, the middle brother, decided he would pursue Mary.  When they too became romantically involved Mrs. Adams, although she greatly disapproved of the match, decided that enough was enough and she quickly arranged their marriage.  Needless to say, Charles and George declined to attend the wedding.

John and Mary went on to have two daughters, Mary and Georgiana.  John attempted a career in business operating a Washington area flour mill which was owned by his father.  Eventually the business failure and John’s alcoholism lead to his death on October 23, 1834.  Mary lived with John Quincy and Louisa Adams and cared for them until their deaths in 1848 and 1852.  Mary died in Bethlehem, New Hampshire on August 31, 1870

January 31, 1842 – Elizabeth Tyler and William Waller

The wedding of Elizabeth Tyler and William Waller took place on January 31, 1842 in the East Room of the White House.  Elizabeth was the eighteen year old daughter of President John Tyler (the 10th President) and William was a young attorney and a family friend from Williamsburg, Virginia.

Elizabeth Tyler Waller

This White House wedding was a much larger occasion then the previous two weddings and necessitated the bigger East Room instead of the smaller Blue Room.  Since President Tyler had just recently been sworn in after the death of President William Harrison and because he was less than popular due to his political decisions Congress refused to appropriated funds to upkeep the White House and the event was more subdued.  The wedding of her daughter would mark the only public appearance by the ill First Lady Letitia Tyler and sadly she died later that same year.  Later, when President Tyler started courting the widow Julia Gardiner after a relatively short mourning period it caused a scandal in Washington.  In June 1844, the couple was married in New York.  (Special Note: As previously noted at the beginning of this post, President Grover Cleveland was the only President that was married in the White House.  This statement holds true because, although President Tyler married for a second time during his term in office, the wedding took place in New York)

Elizabeth and William later moved to Williamsburg, Virginia and they had four children.  Sadly Elizabeth died in childbirth in 1850 and William went on to marry twice more, he died in 1894.

May 21, 1874 – Nellie Grant and Algernon Sartoris

Nellie Grant and Algernon Sartoris married on May 21, 1874 in the East Room of the White House.  Nellie was the eightteen year-old daughter of President Ulysses S. Grant (the 18th President) and she was noted as being both beautiful and well educated.  She met the much older Algernon while onboard a ship in which she was returning from a grand tour of Europe.  She had fallen in love with the Englishman and despite objections her parents would eventually consented to the marriage.

Algernon Sartoris and Nellie Grant

At the time the White House was draped in black crepe on the doors, windows, mirrors and chandeliers in mourning for the death of President Millard Fillmore.  So, to prepare for the wedding these decorations were quickly removed.  In anticipated for the most grand event of the social season in Washington D.C, the East Room was redecorated with three new French chandeliers and freshly painted in white and gold leaf accents.  A special platform was built in front of the window; the four columns of the structure were decorated with patriotic red, white and blue.  A special bell-shaped floral arrangement of pink roses was suspended above the platform.  The curtains were closed and the room glowed with soft lighting and to complete the festive decorations palm trees and more floral arrangements were placed throughout the room.

The wedding ceremony of Algernon Sartoris and Nellie Grant

In other areas of the White House, the State Dining Room was set for a breakfast with specially invited guests and the room was decorated with pink and white roses and azaleas.  Since President Grant was a great Civil War general and admired by many people in the country, many expensive gifts had been sent to the White House in the weeks before the wedding, it was considered a custom to display these in one of the rooms of the White House.

The wedding gifts for Algernon Sartoris and Nellie Grant on display in the White House

Nellie wore a wedding dress of white satin with a six-foot train, she also wore a rose-point rose lace wedding veil attached to her head with a crown of white orchid and orange blossoms which were grown in the White House conservatory.  Nellie carried a bouquet of roses with a pearl fan attached; it was a gift from her parents.

Nellie and Algernon went on to have four children but it was not a happy marriage due to the fact that he was an alcoholic and a womanizer.  Algernon died in 1893 and Nellie remarried in 1912.  In 1914 she suffered a stroke which left her paralyzed, she died in 1922.

June 2, 1886 – President Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom

President Grover Cleveland served two separate terms; he was both the twenty–second (1885 to 1889) and the twenty-four (1893 to1897) President of the United States.  It was during his first term that President Cleveland married his ward, Frances Folsom, he was 49 and she was 21 years-old.  The wedding took place on June 2, 1886 in the Blue Room of the White House; he was the only President to be married within the executive mansion.

President Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom

Frances was the daughter of Grover’s law partner and friend, Oscar Folsom.  Grover had known Frances since her birth and when her father died in 1875 (she was eleven years-old at the time) Grover became executor of the Folsom estate and as a result Frances became his ward.  In the following years Grover supervised expenses and arrange her education and by the time Frances was a student at Wells College in New York she had grown into a beautiful young girl.  Then in 1885 things started to happen rather quickly and in March when he started his first term in office President Grover was still a bachelor.  He had fallen in love with Frances and with her mother’s permission Grover began to seriously court her.  In August, after her graduation from college, Grover proposed to Frances and the engagement was kept a secret until a few days before the wedding.

The White House was beautifully decorated for the summertime wedding.  In the East Room the fireplace and mantel were covered with flowers from the White House conservatory and large palm trees were set in porcelain vases throughout the room. The columns in the Cross Hall were draped with garlands and large patriotic shields were created from red and white roses and blue carnations.  The Red and Green Rooms were also decorated with floral arrangements.  The Blue Room fireplace was filled with red begonias to represent a fire, while on the mantel numerous pansies had been arranged to form the initials “C” and “F”, the chandelier was decorated with roses and palm trees were also placed throughout the room.  In the State Dining Room the large table was covered with a white damask tablecloth with the long Monroe plateau arranged with an abundance of flowers set with a special floral ship representing the bridal couple sailing toward blissful matrimony.

The wedding ceremony of President Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom

Frances wore a wedding dress of ivory satin trimmed with orange blossoms, later she had the dress altered to be worn at White House receptions and she also wore the dress in a formal portrait.  The President wore a classic tuxedo with a white bow tie on their wedding day.

   

Frances Folsom Cleveland on her wedding day

Despite this seemingly scandalous situation of a much older man marrying a young girl (keep in mind that Grover was 27 years older than Frances and she was previously his ward) the nation openly accepted the President and the new First Lady.  When he lost his re-election, Frances is quoted as telling the White House staff that they would soon be back.  Indeed four years later in 1893 when President Cleveland won a second nonconsecutive term they did return!

President Cleveland and Frances have a very happy marriage and had five children – Ruth, Esther, Marion, Richard and Francis.  After retirement the family had moved to the Cleveland estate, Westland Mansion, in Princeton, New Jersey.  President Cleveland died in 1908 and is buried in Princeton, New Jersey.  Five years after his death Frances married Thomas Preston and when she died in 1947 she choose to be buried alongside her first husband, President Cleveland.

Next, in Part Two of White House Weddings, I will discuss the weddings from 1906 to 1971 that include Alice Roosevelt, the three daughters of President Woodrow Wilson, Lynda Johnson and Tricia Nixon.

A British Royal Wedding – Prince George and Princess May of Teck

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In the ongoing series about British Royal Weddings this post will be about the grandson of Queen Victoria, Prince George and his wedding to Princess May of Teck.  For more information about the previous posts in the series, just click on the link to the first post in the series about the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Prince George (later King George V) to Princess May of Teck (later Queen Mary)
Date and location:  July 6, 1893 at the Chapel Royal, St. James Palace

Previously Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (known as “May” to her family) had been engaged to Prince Albert Victor, the eldest son of Prince Albert Edward (later King Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra, he was also the grandson of Queen Victoria.  Sadly, Prince Albert Victor died suddenly of pneumonia on January 14, 1892 six weeks after their engagement had been announced.  (Special Note: I know it seems very confusing with so many men of the British Royal family to be named Prince Albert but this is something that Queen Victoria insisted on as a way to honor her beloved husband, Prince Albert, who died in 1861!!)

Prince Albert Victor and Princess May of Teck

Queen Victoria was very concerned about the line of succession; Prince George who was the second son of Prince Albert Edward was previously the second in line to the British throne but with the death of his brother he now move up in the line of succession.  The Queen had grown very fond of Princess May and always felt that she would make the perfect wife of a future King.  So, after the required period of mourning the death of Prince Albert Victor, the Queen strongly encouraged Prince George to marry his deceased brother’s fiancé.  By the early part of 1893, Prince George had come to truly love Princess May and he duly proposed to her, needless to say this made Queen Victoria very happy!

Prince George and Princess May at the time of their engagement

On July 6, 1893, the day of the wedding day, the Royal procession started from Buckingham Palace through the streets of London to St. James Palace.  One carriage had the bridegroom Prince George and his supporters who were his father Prince Albert and his uncle the Duke of Edinburgh.  Another carriage had the bride Princess May, her father the Duke of Teck and her brother Prince Adolphus.  The final carriage in the procession carried Queen Victoria accompanied by the bride’s mother the Duchess of Teck and the Grand Duke of Hesse.

Upon arriving at St. James Palace, members of the Royal party proceeded to the State Apartment, walking down the Grand Staircase and into the Royal Chapel.  The path was covered with a crimson red carpet and decorated with palm trees and flowers from the Royal Gardens.  The Queen arrived dressed solemnly in a black satin dress with a blue ribbon sash across the bodice pinned with the Order of the Garter.  On her head she wore a small diamond crown with a white veil attached, it was the veil that she had worn on her own wedding day many years earlier.  With the aid of an ebony cane she walked down to her seat at the front of the Chapel to join the rest of the Royal family.

The bridegroom, Prince George, entered the Chapel shortly thereafter dressed in his Fleet Captain naval uniform pinned with his special military medals.  He was accompanied by his cousin, the Tsarevich Nicholas of Russia, as well as his father, Prince Albert Edward the Prince of Wales, and his uncle, the Duke of Edinburgh. “March in G,” composed by Smart was played for the groom’s procession.  (Special Note: Many guests were surprised by the remarkable resemblance between Prince George and Tsarevich Nicholas because they looked almost identical in both stature and appearance)

The procession of the groom, Prince George, into the Royal Chapel

The last to enter the Royal Chapel was the bride, Princess May, who was accompanied by her five bridesmaids and five more children attendants.  The bride, escorted by her father, slowly proceeded down the aisle to the music of Lohengrin to join the groom waiting at the front of the Chapel.  As with most important Royal religious services, the Archbishop of Canterbury performed the marriage ceremony.

Princess May with her bridesmaids and other attendants

Princess May wore an ivory silk satin dress with a long train; the dress was accented with Honiton lace and decorated with garlands of orange blossoms.  The fabric design incorporated roses, shamrocks and thistles embroidered in silver thread.  The Princess completed her bridal ensemble by wearing a small veil that had been worn by her mother, Princess Mary Adelaide the Duchess of Teck, on her wedding day.  For the wedding ceremony, the Princess carried a large bridal bouquet made entirely of white flowers which included “York” roses, orchids, lilies of the valley, carnations, orange blossoms and of course the traditional sprig of myrtle.  Special Note: There is a charming story that on the morning of their wedding Prince George had a glimpse of Princess Mary in the distance at the end on a long corridor in Buckingham Palace and the Prince had gallantly bowed to the Princess before continuing on his way. (For more information about Princess May’s bridal dress and other items worn on her wedding day, please click on the link to A Royal Bride – Princess May)

Guided by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the groom said his vows in a strong voice which could be heard throughout the Chapel while the bride quietly recited her vows that were barely heard beyond the first few rows of people.  To conclude the wedding ceremony, there was a short homily by the Archbishop, then a closing hymn of “Now Thank We All Our God” and a special prayer.  Before recessing from the Chapel to “Mendelssohn’s Wedding March”, Princess May first turned to kiss Queen Victoria and then the bridal couple received the congratulations from the groom’s parents, Prince and Princess of Wales and the bride’s parents, the Duke and Duchess of Teck.  After leaving the Chapel, the bridal couple and some of the Royal family went to the Throne Room in St. James Palace to sign the wedding registry.

Princess May kissing Queen Victoria after the wedding ceremony

Prince George and Princess May recessing from the Chapel Royal

After the wedding, the newly married couple and their invited guests traveled by carriages from St. James Palace to Buckingham Palace for a wedding breakfast.  After entering the Palace, Queen Victoria and Prince George and Princess May (now the new Duke and Duchess of York) along with the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Teck appeared on the balcony.  The large crowd which had formed in front of Palace began to cheer enthusiastically and the Queen was very pleased with the response.

Queen Victoria with Prince George and Princess May
on the Buckingham Palace balcony

Immediately after the balcony appearance, the wedding breakfast started and for almost two hours the guests were served wonderful food and toasts were given to honor the bridal couple, shown below is the wedding breakfast menu.

  
 
The wedding breakfast of the Duke and Duchess of York

As with most Royal wedding celebrations, there were several cakes made for the wedding of Prince George and Princess May.  The main wedding cake, shown on the left, measured almost seven feet high and it took the Royal confectioner over five weeks to make almost forty separate pieces of plaster used to create the figure molds.  The photo on the right shows the “second cake” which was smaller, measured four and a half feet tall and weighed almost 225 pounds.  The cake is decorated with symbols reflecting Prince George’s naval career.

  

At the conclusion of the wedding breakfast, Prince George and Princess May changed into their “going away” clothes, said good bye to the Queen and their parents, and took a carriage to the Liverpool Street Train Station for the journey to Norfolk and Sandringham, the Prince of Wales country estate, which was their honeymoon destination.

Prince George and Princess May leaving Buckingham Palace after the wedding breakfast traveling by carriage to the train station to board the train to Sandringham

For more information about the previous posts in the series, just click on the links to the first post in the series about the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the second post about the wedding of Prince Albert Edward to Princess Alexandra of Denmark and the third post about the wedding of Prince George to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

Buckingham Palace balcony

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One of the most iconic moments in a British Royal wedding, and the one that the public and the press patiently waits for in anticipation, is the scene on the Buckingham Palace balcony.  In 2011 Prince William and Kate Middleton (now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) were seen on the balcony after their wedding ceremony kissing not once but twice!!

Throughout the centuries many British Kings and Queens have appeared on the Buckingham balcony for special events such as Coronations, Jubilees, Royal weddings,  State occasions and sometimes even in the celebration of the end of war, such as World War I and World War II.  In this post I will discuss some of those events in chronological order.

The first recorded balcony appearance was by Queen Victoria in 1851 shortly after the opening of the Great Exhibition.  She took to the balcony to acknowledge the crowds that had gathered for the international event being held in the Crystal Palace.  The successful exhibition had been organized by Prince Albert to promote British manufacturing and goods.

The earliest photograph showing a Buckingham Palace balcony appearance was taken in 1893 on the occasion of the wedding of Prince George to Princess May (later King George V and Queen Mary).  The grainy photograph shows Queen Victoria standing in the center of the balcony with other wedding guests as below a carriage is seen with the bridal couple leaving for their honeymoon.

The photograph above shows Queen Victoria on the Buckingham Palace balcony on the occasion of the wedding of Prince George and Princess Mary in 1858

With the death of Queen Victoria in 1901 followed by the death of King Edward VII in 1910 the next in line to the British throne was King George V.  With his accession, the planning of his Coronation took almost a year and the event took place at Westminster Abbey on June 22, 1911.  Upon their return to Buckingham Palace King George and Queen Mary appeared on the balcony to acknowledge the good wishes of the public waiting below at the gates.

The photograph above shows King George and Queen Mary making an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the coronation in 1911

After the British and their Allies defeated Germany in World War I and when the Armistice was made official on November 11, 1918 crowds gathered at Buckingham Palace calling for the King to make an appearance.  King George came out on the Buckingham Palace balcony with Queen Mary and, with thunderous cheers, the crowds joyfully acknowledged their Sovereign and the end of the war.  This was the first time that a Royal appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony was recorded on film and the event was shown later in movie theaters across the country.

The photograph above shows the crowds greeting King George V and Queen Mary after the end of World War I in 1918

Following the Great War, England underwent many political and social changes.  The role of the monarchy changed with the Sovereign still the Head of State but now the elected Parliament would have the ability to determine legislation.  The Constitutional monarchy would developed with more ceremonial duties, such as Royal tours and State dinners for visiting dignitaries.  Now the once private Royal weddings would become grand public events with the famous British pomp and ceremony.

When the King and Queen’s only daughter Princess Mary married George Lascelles the Earl of Harewood in 1922 the precedence was set for future Royal weddings when the Royal couple became the first to make an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony as shown in the historical photograph below.  King George, Queen Mary and the Dowager Queen Alexandra, the bride’s grandmother, also joined the Royal couple on the balcony.  Sadly, a few short years later the Dowager would become a relative recluse at her home in Sandringham as her health declined and she died in 1925.  (Special Note: For more detailed information on this wedding, please click on the link to A Royal Wedding: Princess Mary and George Lascelles)

In the photograph above, from left to right – King George V, Princess Mary, the Earl of Harewood, the Dowager Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary

In 1923 there was another Royal wedding when the King and Queen’s second son Prince George married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth)  The vivacious Lady Elizabeth was the perfect choice to be the bride for the shy “Bertie” and in the years to come she would become a very formidable force within the British Royal family. After the ceremony the new Duke and Duchess of York appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony to acknowledge the cheering crowds that had gathered.  (Special Note: For more detailed information, please click on the links to A Royal Wedding: Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth and  A Royal Bride: Lady Elizabeth)

The Duke and Duchess of York
on the Buckingham Palace balcony on their wedding day in 1923

In 1936 after the death of his father King George V and the abdication of his brother King Edward VIII, King George VI ascended to the British throne and this period became known as “the Year of the Three Kings”.  The coronation of King George VI took place on May 12, 1937 at Westminster Abbey and afterwards the King and Queen Elizabeth appeared on the Buckingham Palace Balcony with their two young daughters, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret.  The Dowager Queen Mary set a Royal precedence when she attended the coronation of her son and she joined the Royal family on the balcony as the crowds gathered below cheered their approval.

The photograph above was taken at the Coronation of King George VI in 1937
from left to right – Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth, Queen Mary,
Princess Margaret and King George

In 1945, after the end of World War II, joyfull crowds once again gathered in front of Buckingham Palace cheering for the King to make an appearance.  On May 8, VE Day, King George and Queen Elizabeth were joined on the balcony by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret.  Also joining the Royal family was Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister.  (Special Note:  It has long been rumored that the young Princesses begged their parents to let them join the public in the celebration of the end of the war.  The King gave his permission reluctantly and Princess Elizabeth with Princess Margaret are said to have gone unnoticed walking among the crowds on the London streets.  It has also been reported that the Princesses stood at the gates of Buckingham Palace later in the day and joined the crowds cheering for the King and Queen!)

VE Day 1945 – from right to left
Princess Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth, Winston Churchill,
King George VI and Princess Margaret

Just a few years after the end of World War II Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were married on November 20 1947 at Westminster Abbey.  Although the cousins had known each other through the Royal family, the story goes that the Princess became smitten with the handsome Prince when she was a young girl and corresponded by letter with him during the war years and eventually the Prince proposed.  After the ceremony the Royal couple appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony to acknowledge the cheering crowds gathered at the gates.  (Special Note: For more detailed information, please click on the links to A Royal Wedding: Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip and A Royal Bride: Princess Elizabeth)

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip
on the Buckingham Palace balcony on their wedding day in 1947

Five years later, with the death of her father King George in 1952, Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne.  On June 2 1953 her Coronation took place at Westminster Abbey and Queen Elizabeth appeared on the Buckingham Palace balcony with her husband Prince Phillip and their two small children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne.  (For more detailed information, please click on the link to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II)

The photograph above was taken at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953
from left to right – Queen Elizabeth II, a young Prince Charles
and Princess Anne and Prince Philip

One of the most memorable moments to occur on the Buckingham Palace balcony took place on the occasion of the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on July 29 1981.  The ceremony was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral instead of Westminster Abbey which has been the traditional site for Royal weddings.  What makes the balcony appearance of Prince Charles and Princess Diana such an iconic moment was that it was the first time a Royal couple had kissed.  This romantic gesture was not a sign of a fairytale marriage and in 1992 the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales was announced and in 1996 the divorce was finalized.  Sadly, in 1997 Princess Diana died in a tragic car accident in Paris.

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
on the Buckingham Palace balcony on their wedding day in 1981

Thirty years later, the oldest son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Prince William married Catherine Middleton in a grand ceremony held at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.  After a procession through the streets of London the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony.  To the cheers of the crowd, the Royal couple kissed not once but twice!!

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
on the Buckingham Palace balcony on their wedding day in 2011

Throughout the years, there have been other Buckingham Palace balcony appearances.  On the occasion of her Jubilee celebrations Queen Elizabeth has made several balcony appearances – 1977 for her Silver Jubilee to mark 25 years, 2002 for her Golden Jubilee to mark 50 years, 2012 for her Diamond Jubilee to mark 60 years as Queen and 2017 for her Sapphire Jubilee.  (Special Note: Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-reigning British monarch on September 9 2015 when she surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. Most recently, on February 6  2017 Queen Elizabeth became the first British monarch to celebrate a Sapphire Jubilee, commemorating 65 years on the throne)

Queen Elizabeth II on the Buckingham Palace balcony
in celebration of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012
with Prince Charles and Prince William

Recently the engagement of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s second son, Prince Harry to Megan Markle was announced in November 2017: their wedding will take place in May 2018 at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.  Two months later, Princess Eugenie (the second daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, the Duchess of York) and Jack Brooksbank announced their engagement in January 2018; their wedding will also take place at St. George’s Chapel in October 2018.  Since both these weddings will be taking place at Windsor Castle which is located over 30 miles from Buckingham Palace in London do not expect the traditional balcony appearance for either Royal couple.

A British Royal Wedding – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

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As part of the ongoing British Royal Wedding series, in this post I will feature the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle that took place on May 19, 2018 at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, England. 

Prince Harry (Henry Charles Albert David) was born on September 1, 1984; he is the second son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Prince Harry followed in his older brother’s footsteps attending Wetherby School in London, Ludgrove School in Bershire and then Eton College located near Windsor Castle.

In the years following the death of Princess Diana in 1997, Prince Harry went through a period of rebellion but eventually he became a very responsible young man. After completing his education in England he spent a gap year in Australia and South Africa.  He then went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and earned a commission as a second lieutenant in the Blue and Royals. In 2007 to 2008 Prince Harry served 10 weeks in Afghanistan and then returned in 2012-2013 for a 20 week deployment with the Army Air Corps.  In 2014 he launched the Invictus Games which is an international sporting event for wounded or injured serviceman and veterans. In June 2015 Prince Harry officially left military service but remains a patron of the Invictus foundation.

In July 2016, through mutual friends, Prince Harry met an American actress named Meghan Markle.  The pair quietly began a long distance trans-Atlantic relationship with occasional visits to Toronto, Canada where Meghan was filming the television series “Suits” and also secret visits to London to visit Prince Harry.

Then on November 27, 2017, Clarence House officially announced the engagement of Prince Harry and Meghan.  Afterwards, the couple met with the international press for a photo opportunity at the sunken gardens at Kensington Palace and later an exclusive sit-down interview with the BBC news.  During the interview it was revealed that Prince Harry proposed to Meghan earlier in the month during a quiet evening spent at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace.  The custom engagement ring was made by Cleave & Company and featured a large diamond from Botswana in the center and two smaller diamonds that had once been a part of Princess Diana’s personal jewelry collection.   Special Note: Under the terms of the Succession to the Crown Act, the first six persons in the line of succession are required to obtain the consent of the Sovereign.  At the time, Prince Harry was fifth in line and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, gladly gave her consent to the engagement by official declaration to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.

Shortly after the engagement and in preparation for her life within the Royal family, Meghan was baptized and confirmed into the Church of England during a private ceremony at St. James Palace which was officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in March 2018.  Meghan also began the lengthy process to officially become a British citizen but it was unclear at the time as to whether she would retain her U.S. citizenship and request dual nationality.  

The date of May 19, 2018 was selected for the wedding and it was determined that the ceremony and reception would be very different then the wedding of his brother, Prince William to Catherine Middleton in 2011.  The venue chosen for the wedding service would be St. George’s Chapel situated on the grounds of Windsor Castle followed by two wedding receptions. The first reception would be a larger one hosted by Queen Elizabeth (the groom’s grandmother) and held at St. George’s Hall in Windsor Castle.  The second reception would be a smaller event held in the evening at Frogmore House located on the grounds of Windsor Home Park and would be hosted by Prince Charles the Prince of Wales (the groom’s father).

Prior to the wedding it was announced that Prince Harry had selected as his best man his older brother, Prince William.  It was speculated that Meghan’s best friend, Jessica Mulroney, would be the maid of honor but the bride had decided against having an attendant.  The bride and groom selected ten children that would be flowergirls and page boys.  The groom chose his nephew and niece, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, his godchildren Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren and Jasper Dyer.  The bride chose her godchildren Rylan and Remi Ritt and also the three children of her friend, Brian, John and Ivy Mulroney.

In March 2018, 600 wedding invitations printed by Barnard & Westwod had been sent.  It was noted that the invitations specified a dress code of dress uniform or morning coat for men and for women day dress and hat.  The wording on the invitation was very standard with the exception that instead of Miss the word Ms. was used to reflect the fact that Meghan had been previously married and divorced.

On the day of the wedding, Prince Harry accompanied by Prince William had walked from the nearby Windsor Castle arriving just minutes before his bride.  Special Note: On the morning of the wedding, Queen Elizabeth bestowed on Prince Harry the titles of Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.  Upon her marriage, Meghan would become known as the Duchess of Sussex.

Both brothers wore the frock coat uniform of the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons).  Prince Harry needed special permission from the Queen to keep his beard for the wedding ceremony, normally a man in uniform is required to be clean shaven.  On his uniform Prince Harry wore the rank of major with the star of the Royal Victorian Order and the ribbons of the Royal Victorian Order, Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan, Army Air corps wings, Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal as well as the Diamond Jubilee Medal for Queen Elizabeth II.    

A few days before the wedding Doria Ragland (the bride’s mother) had made the long journey from California to England, where she would spend the night before the ceremony with her daughter at the Cliveden House. Then, on the morning of the wedding, Meghan and her mother rode the short distance to St. George’s Chapel in a vintage Rolls-Royce Phantom IV. 

Once Meagan reached the Chapel, she gracefully ascended the stairs with her beautiful bridal veil floating behind her. Preceded her bridesmaids and page boys, the bride walked confidentially down the aisle unaccompanied to the musical composition “Eternal source of light Divine” by Handel.  When she reached the arched entrance to the quire of the Chapel Prince Charles joined her and escorted her the remaining distance to the altar where Prince Harry waited with Prince William.  (For more information about An American Bride – Meghan Markle, please click on the link)    

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, officiated the Anglican service for Holy Matrimony assisted by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner.  Baroness Jane Fellows, Prince Harry’s maternal aunt, read from the Song of Solomon.  The sermon was rousingly delivered by the Most Reverend Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church; the American bishop from North Carolina was personally invited by Prince Harry and Meghan.      

In keeping with the unusual choices for a Royal wedding, two drastically different choirs were selected to provide music for the service.  The first was the Choir of St. George’s Chapel accompanied by an orchestra, the chapel organ and trumpeters.  The second was the Kingdom Choir which is a British gospel choir from London which gave a wonderful and joyful rendition of the Ben E. King song “Stand by Me”.  An additional musical interlude was performed during the signing of the register by a young British cellist named Sheku Kanneh-Mason, he was the winner of the 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year.  He performed a musical selection of Sicilienne by Austrian composter Maria Theresia von Paradis and also an arrangement for cello and orchestra of Schubert’s Ave Maria.

The marriage vows and the wedding ring exchange were officiated by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  The wedding rings were produced by Cleave & Company and followed the British Royal tradition of by being made from Welsh gold while the ring for Prince Harry was made of platinum. 

Afterwards, the bridal couple recessed into a small area behind the altar with their witnesses to sign the register while more musical selections were played.  Once finished they emerged and the national anthem was played. Then, the couple stopped to bow and curtsy to the Queen before walking down the aisle followed by the members of the bridal party and their families.  As Prince Harry and Meghan came out of the Chapel they paused at the top of the steps to share a kiss.  They were greeted by the crowd gathered in the Chapel courtyard, most of those were the couple’s special invited guests from the public that were a select group of people, many young men and women, who had showed strong leadership within their communities.

As the bridal couple descended the stairs, they got into an Ascot Landau carriage for a procession from St. George’s Chapel through the streets of Windsor, into the Great Park and then returning to Windsor Castle.  The carriage was pulled by four Windsor Grey Horses and escorted by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

Upon returning to Windsor Castle from their carriage procession, the first of the two wedding receptions was held in the St. George’s Hall.  This reception was officially hosted by Queen Elizabeth and included mostly guests that had been invited to the wedding ceremony, speeches was given by the groom and Prince Charles and there was also entertainment by Elton John. The highlight of the luncheon was the wedding cake made by London based baker Claire Ptak of Violet Bakery.  Sitting upon several golden stands the layered Amalfi lemon and English elderflower cake was decorated with peonies in shades of white and cream.

Later in the evening a second reception was held at Frogmore House located in Windsor Home Park a short distance from Windsor Castle.  For the evening event Prince Harry changed into a classic black tuxedo and Meghan wore a halter neck, open back white dress by Stella McCartney, as a very sentimental gesture the Prince had given her an emerald cut Aquamarine ring that had previously belonged to Diana, the Princess of Wales.  The newlywed couple left from Windsor Castle and Prince Harry drove a silver blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero with a specially built left-hand drive.   

In a departure from Royal tradition, the bride gave a speech at the evening reception, Prince William also gave a best man’s speech.  To conclude the event there was a fireworks display over Frogmore House.

The couple did not leave for their honeymoon immediately following their wedding because there were previously scheduled public engagements in the week after the wedding.  Later the couple did leave for a honeymoon but the location was kept a secret. 

Shown below are the official wedding portraits

TV Weddings – “Friends”

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“Friends” was a very popular NBC TV comedy series that ran from September 1994 to May 2004.  The show had a talented cast featuring Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Courtney Cox (Monica Geller), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffany), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) and David Schwimmer (Ross Geller).  The basic premise of the show revolved around six “friends” living in New York City that spent a lot of time drinking coffee at the Central Perk coffee shop talking about their problems!  In this post I will discuss several episodes from the show’s ten seasons involving weddings and focusing only on those of the main characters with the exception of one wedding.

The first wedding actually took place prior to the start of the series when Ross and Carol Willick were married (the first of Ross’ infamous string of three weddings!)  As the first episode starts, we find out that Carol has moved out after revealing that she is a lesbian and is now currently involved with a woman named Susan Bunch (Jessica Hecht).  Special Note: The original actress that played Carol, Anita Barone was only in the pilot episode and afterwards the role was played by Jane Sibbett)

Season One

Pilot Episode –

In one of the opening scenes in the pilot episode (also known as “The First One” or “The One Where It All Began”), the “friends” are sitting in the Central Perk coffee shop one afternoon when Rachel comes rushing in wearing a white wedding dress.  She is a little soaked from the rain and extremely upset because she is escaping from her wedding to Barry Finkle (Mitchell Whitfield).  She is desperately trying to find her old high school friend, Monica, who is the only one in the city that she knows that was NOT invited to the wedding.  Special Note: In the pilot episode Barry’s last name is Finkle but when he appears in later episodes in the series his last name is changed to Farber.

  

Rachel’s wedding dress features a fitted beaded lace bodice with off the shoulder cap sleeves, deep v-neckline and a full skirt, she also seems to be wearing the customary debutante pearl necklace.  What makes it a typical 90s style wedding ensemble is the bridal veil with a pouf of tulle at the back and the beaded headpiece placed across the forehead with a dangling jewel.

Season Two

Season two – episode 11

In season two of the series episode 11, Ross’ ex-wife Carol gets married to Susan in one of the first same sex weddings shown on television; this was a very progressive idea for a 1990s situation comedy show.   The storyline of the episode, “The One with the Lesbian Wedding”, is that Carol’s parents have made the decision not to attend the wedding since they do not approve of the marriage and Ross steps up to “give the bride away”.  The two brides are wearing coordinating bridal outfits of (possibly vintage) ivory dresses and hats instead of veils.  The hats were a very questionable fashion choice and would seem much better suited to a Sunday church service in the South or perhaps a British wedding!

Season Four

Season four – episode 20

In the episode entitled, “The One With All The Wedding Dresses”, Ross has suddenly proposed to Emily Waltham (Helen Baxendale) a girl he just met that is visiting from England.  Since the wedding is being planned in haste and Emily has returned to England to prepare for the event, Ross asks Monica to pick up Emily’s bridal dress.  On hearing that Ross is getting married Rachel realizes that it is finally over between her and Ross (wait … weren’t they each others “lobster”, a reference from the season two 14th episode, “The One With The Prom Video”, when it is finally revealed that Ross has feelings for Rachel) So, Rachel spontaneously decides to make a play for Joshua Burgin (Tate Donovan), her handsome repeat customer from Bloomingdale’s, who does not seem interested at all!

Meanwhile, while at the bridal shop Monica can’t resist trying on Emily’s bridal dress because she thinks this is her only chance at wearing on.  She becomes obsessed and doesn’t want to take the dress off.  Then, hearing about the situation, a very pregnant Phoebe arrives at Monica’s apartment to join her in the moment also wearing a wedding dress.  Rachel returns to the apartment feeling a little depressed about being rejected by both Ross and Joshua and when she sees Monica and Phoebe wearing the bridal dresses and decides to join them and quickly puts on her old wedding dress (which seems that it has been slightly altered with a more modest neckline!).  Suddenly there is a knock on the door and Rachel goes to open the door to reveal Joshua and he becomes completely freaked out by the site of Rachel wearing a wedding dress and he suddenly leaves.

Season four – episode 23 & 24

The season four finale, “The One with Ross’s Wedding”, the storyline starts with Ross and his friends leaving for England for his wedding to Emily with the exception of Phoebe (because she is almost due to give birth to her brother’s triplets … it’s complicated so please don’t ask!) and obviously Rachel who is avoiding the event.

The group arrives in London for the final preparations and pre-wedding celebrations and to enjoy the sites of London (in this episode there are special cameos by Richard Branson and Sarah Ferguson).  Meanwhile, back in New York City, Rachel realizes that she loves Ross and decides to fly to England to stop the wedding (there is a special appearance by Hugh Laurie on the airplane).  Rachel arrives just before the ceremony is about to start and finds Ross and Emily sharing a kiss so she makes the decision to not ruin Ross’ happiness.  But during the vows Ross unexpectedly says Rachel’s name instead of Emily.  (Although they proceed with the ceremony and are officially married, later Ross and Emily eventually get divorced …so, if you are counting this would be Ross’ second marriage and second divorce!)

The wedding dress that Emily wears in this episode is similar to the one in the previous episode, “The One With All the Wedding Dresses”, that Monica becomes obsessed with.  The difference is that Emily is now wearing a matching jacket and instead of that horrible veil and beaded headpiece she had chosen to wear a lovely tiara.

In the wedding both Chandler and Joey serve as co-best men for Ross and Monica, being the sister of the groom, is a bridesmaid.  She and the other bridesmaid wear rather simple red gowns for the ceremony.

Special Note:  The episode, “The One With Ross’s Wedding”, is the first time Chandler and Monica become intimately involved (… how is that for putting it delicately!)  Later this adorable couple will secretly continue their relationship when they return to New York.

Season Five

Season five – episode 23

As previously mentioned, Chandler and Monica have initially keep their relationship a secret but eventually during season five everybody will find out.  So, in the season five finale, “The One in Vegas”, the friends have all gone to see Joey who is supposedly filming a movie there. While in Las Vegas, Chandler and Monica are discussing their relationship and decide that maybe it is time to get married.  So, a spontaneous wedding takes place but it is not the couple that you think!  At the end of the episode Chandler and Monica are waiting at the entrance of the wedding chapel for another ceremony to finish.  In the final scene of the episode, suddenly a very drunk Ross and Rachel burst through the doors of the chapel with Ross tossing rice into the air saying “Hello Mrs. Ross” and Rachel carrying a bridal bouquet saying “Hello Mr. Rachel”.  Special Note: Eventually in season six, Ross and Rachel realize their mistake but instead of an annulment they get a divorce.  So, if anyone is counting this makes Ross’ third marriage and his third divorce!

Obviously because of their unplanned and unexpected wedding ceremony, Ross and Rachel are casually dressed and not wearing traditional wedding clothes. Strangely, and perhaps due to their drunken condition, Ross has his name written across his forehead with a black permanent marker and Rachel had a mustache drawn on her face.

Season Seven

Season seven – episode 17

The episode entitled, “The One With the Cheap Wedding Dress”, the storyline centers on the fact that Chandler and Monica now officially engaged and as their wedding date gets closer it is now time for Monica to select her bridal dress.  In keeping with her highly organized and sometimes obsessive behavior, Monica has figured out that she can go to a high-priced bridal boutique to decide on the dress she wants and then go to a discount store that is having a sale and purchase the dress at a much reduced price.  (This is something that many budget-conscious brides do and is a great way to get the dress that you want but at a more affordable price!)

The wedding dress that Monica picks in this episode has a fitted beaded bodice with halter straps and a full skirt.  As seen in the photo Monica has taken Phoebe and Monica with her to pick out the dress at the high priced bridal shop and then at the discount bridal store Monica runs into some “competition” for the perfect dress!

Season seven – episodes 23 & 24

The season seven two part finale, entitled “The One With Chandler and Monica’s Wedding – Parts One and Two”, feature perhaps one of the most anticipated moments of the series.  On the morning of the wedding Chandler seems to be missing and we find out later that he has suddenly gotten “cold feet”!  Meanwhile, Monica is busy at her apartment getting ready for the wedding day with the help of Phoebe and Rachel and she has no idea her groom has disappeared.  While at the apartment Phoebe finds a pregnancy test and assumes Monica is expecting a baby!!

Ross arrives at the apartment looking for Chandler and warns Phoebe and Rachel to say nothing to Monica.  Meanwhile, Joey who has agreed to officiate the wedding is delayed on a movie set filming a World War II drama and might not make it to the ceremony.  Finally, Chandler is found but someone has told him Monica might be pregnant and he seems to be pleasantly surprised and the wedding will proceed as scheduled.  When Joey arrives late for the ceremony after coming directly from filming the movie he is still wearing his military uniform costume much to the annoyance of Monica.  In the end, as Chandler and Monica are pronounced man and wife, Chandler leans in and says he knows about the baby and Monica’s shocked response is that she’s not pregnant?  Special Note: We find out later that Rachel is the one expecting a baby and in season eight we learn that Ross is the father!

For her wedding, Monica wears a classic and simple wedding dress in a fit and flare style (meaning a fitted bodice and through the hips to a flared bottom) with a v-neckline and back.  The dress has no lace or beading and to complete the ensemble she wears a floor length veil and carries a bridal bouquet of red roses.  Chandler wears a classic black tuxedo with a black tie and gold stripped vest.

As previously mentioned, Joey, who is the officiant, is wearing a military uniform because he rushed over from the movie set.  Ross is Chandler’s best man and he is wearing a classic black tuxedo with a black tie.

Phoebe and Rachel are Monica’s bridesmaids and they wear fitted floor-length dresses featuring a rounded neckline and a tiered skirt.  The dresses are made in a beautiful off-white material with a gold embossed floral design; they carry simple bouquets of yellow and orange lilies.

Season Ten

Season ten – episode 12

The episode, “The One With Phoebe’s Wedding”, features the last wedding of the series.  The storyline centers on the final days leading up to the wedding of Phoebe and Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd).  Monica is the wedding planner and she is absolutely driving Phoebe crazy with her obsessive scheduling of the smallest details, Phoebe briefly fires her but quickly hires her back out of necessity.  On the morning of the wedding New York City is hit with a severe snowstorm and it looks like the ceremony is going to be canceled.  As the friends gather, the decision is made to proceed with the wedding and arrangements are quickly made for the ceremony to take place on the street outside of the Central Perk Coffee Shop.

Joey is once again called upon to officiate the wedding at the last minute, Ross is an usher who must suffer the indignity of carrying Mike’s dog Chappy and Chandler is asked to walk Phoebe down the aisle.  The groom, Mike, and Joey are wearing tuxedos with white bow ties while Chandler and Ross are wearing suits.  All four men are also wearing overcoats when they are outside for the ceremony.

Monica (as well as being the wedding planner) and Rachel are two of Phoebe’s three bridemaids, Mike’s sister is the third bridesmaid.  All three are wearing cream beaded lace sleeveless tops, tied with a satin bow and full skirt.  Rachel as maid of honor is wearing a blue skirt while Monica and Mike’s sister are wearing taupe skirts, for the ceremony winter coats are worn.  Each of the three bridesmaids carry wildflower bouquets.

Finally, Phoebe makes a beautiful bride wearing a two piece wedding dress featuring a fitted bodice with cap sleeves and a full skirt which is gathered on one side.  She wears her hair styled in long curls with a shoulder length veil attached to a simple jeweled tiara; she carries a simple bridal bouquet of wildflowers.