A little less than three years before his tragic death, the Prince of Camelot quietly wed his princess in an intimate wedding that’s been described by a close friend and in-law as “one of the best-kept secrets of modern time.” At his rehearsal dinner, the groom gushed, “Carolyn has changed my life in a way that I never thought was possible, and just made me tonight the happiest man alive.” Take a look back at America’s secret royal wedding as today would have been their 25th wedding anniversary on Sept. 21, 2021.
When did JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette get married?
The couple got married on September 21, 1996.
Where did JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette get married?
The pair exchanged vows in a private ceremony at the First African Baptist Church on Cumberland Island off the coast of Georgia. The church had no electricity, just candles. Carole Radziwill, who was married to JFK Jr.’s cousin, revealed in an essay for the DailyMail.com that the wedding was so secretive that only the close friends and family who arrived for it knew. “Guests had to present a special Indian nickel upon landing on the island or they were quickly escorted off,” she shared.
Did JFK Jr.’s parents attend his and Carolyn Bessette’s wedding?
Neither of John Jr.’s parents were present for his big day. His father, former President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963 just a few days before John turned three. Meanwhile, his mother Jackie passed away in 1994. Although his mother wasn’t around to attend, JFK Jr. and Carolyn’s wedding photographer Denis Reggie believes the former first lady would have been very proud by the simplicity of the nuptials. “I worked for her for a number of occasions over the years, and she was in many things, to the world and to me, a woman of incredible elegance, but understated elegance. I thought to myself, the choice of the setting, the simplicity of the flowers, even the dress and the design—all of it— lovely, but none of it overstated. Jackie Kennedy Onassis was the queen of that sort of simplicity,” Reggie said in an interview with The Knot. He added, “I believe would have been so proud that her son had chosen, along with his fiancée, to have a wedding that was less about grandeur and more about the important love and commitment that they made. I think much of what I thought when I was working there those two or three days was how very proud she would have been.”
Who attended JFK. Jr and Carolyn Bessette’s wedding?
Not all of the Kennedys attended the secret wedding. In fact, only 35 guests, per Reggie, were in attendance, including JFK Jr.’s maternal first cousin Anthony Radziwiłl as well as his uncle Ted Kennedy. “There was one cousin from the Robert Kennedy’s, one from the Eunice Shriver’s, one from the Smith’s and so on,” Reggie revealed to The Knot. “It ended up being mostly those cousins who were closest to his age and it was very intimate.” Guests were flown in a private plane to Florida and then took a boat to Cumberland Island. “Carolyn and I owe all of you a great debt of gratitude,” the groom told his guests at the rehearsal dinner. “I realize that we imposed certain conditions upon this event.”
JFK Jr.’s tribute to his father President John F. Kennedy
The groom honored his late father on his wedding day by wearing JFK’s watch, which he teamed with his Gordon Henderson suit, per PEOPLE.
What dress did Carolyn Bessette wear on her wedding day?
The bride wore a white slip-like gown for her big day. The timeless dress was designed by Bessette’s friend Narciso Rodriguez, whom she met at work at Calvin Klein and had an “incredible friendship” with. “I made that wedding dress with so much love for the person that I loved most in the whole world and I never viewed it as a press event,” the designer confessed on PBS’s Finding Your Roots. “The next day after the wedding, you know, it was on the cover of every newspaper around the world, and I went from being a very kinda private person to being a very public person overnight.”
Who was JFK Jr.’s best man?
Anthony Radziwiłl, the son of Jackie Kennedy’s sister Lee Radziwill, served as his cousin’s best man.
Did Caroline Kennedy have a role in her brother JFK Jr.’s wedding?
According to E! News, at the groom’s request, his sister Caroline Kennedy was Bessette’s matron of honor.
Who were the flower girls and ring bearers at JFK. Jr and Carolyn Bessette’s wedding?
It’s been reported that Caroline’s son Jack Schlossberg was the ring bearer, while her daughters Rose and Tatiana Schlossberg were the flower girls at their uncle’s wedding.
Whose wedding was JFK. Jr and Carolyn Bessette going to attend before their plane crashed?
Three years later, in July 1999, the couple was going to attend the wedding of JFK Jr.’s cousin Rory Kennedy at the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Mass., but they never made it. The single-engine plane, piloted by JFK Jr., went down in the Atlantic Ocean. Next, The Kennedys in PARADE: A Look Back
