John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier were married on this day in history, September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island, with more than 800 guests in attendance.
The bride, introduced by her stepfather, Hugh D. Auchincloss, wore an ivory silk gown with a portrait neckline, fitted bodice and a puffed skirt trimmed with more than 50 yards of ruffles, according to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
Bourvier's veil, first worn by her grandmother, consisted of a lace tiara and orange blossoms, and she also wore a pearl choker and diamond bracelet that were gifts from Kennedy.
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“The bride's bouquet was made up of pink and white orchids and gardenias,” said the same source.
The wedding ceremony was presided over by Kennedy family friend Archbishop Cushing and attended by four other priests, including the former president of Notre Dame. A special blessing from Pope Pius XII was read before the Mass, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum said.
At a dinner party in Georgetown, Jacqueline Bouvier met an attractive senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy. The couple dated for the next two years. In May 1953, Kennedy proposed to her. (AP Agency)
The reception took place on the terrace of Auchincloss's 300-acre seafront estate, Hammersmith Farm, for more than 1,200 guests, sources said.
The couple had their first dance to “I Married an Angel” and cut a wedding cake that was four feet tall, according to Biography.com.
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Life magazine published photos of the wedding a few weeks after the wedding, and one guest said the event was “like a coronation,” the same source said.
One guest said the wedding was “like a coronation.”
“In some ways, this person was right: the wedding was the first step on the road that led Jackie and John to the White House,” Biography.com said.
On June 24, 1953, Bouvier and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy publicly announced their engagement.
John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier were married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island. (Getty Images)
Kennedy became the 35th president and Jackie became one of the most popular first ladies to grace the White House, according to multiple sources.
Bouvier Kennedy was born into a prominent New York family in 1929 and in 1951, after graduating from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
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That fall, she returned to the U.S. and began her first job as an “inquisitive camera girl” for the Washington Times-Herald.
“His job was to walk the streets of Washington, D.C., ask questions of strangers on the street and then take pictures of them to publish,” History.com said.
The first official White House photograph of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Washington, DC, 1961. (Mark Shaw/Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
Shortly thereafter, at a dinner in Georgetown, she met an attractive Massachusetts senator, John F. Kennedy, with whom she maintained a relationship for the next two years.
In May 1953, Kennedy proposed to Jackie and gave her a 2.88-carat Van Cleef and Arpels diamond and emerald ring, according to the same source.
After their wedding in 1953, the Kennedys settled in Washington, D.C., where Kennedy continued his political career. Seven years later, he defeated Richard M. Nixon in the presidential election, according to History.com.
John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier cutting the wedding cake after their wedding in Newport, Rhode Island. John Kennedy was then a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts. Robert Kennedy on the left. (Getty Images)
John and Jackie Kennedy welcomed their first child, Caroline, in 1957; John Jr. was born two weeks after his father won the presidency.
A third son, Patrick, died two days after his birth in August 1963, according to the University of Virginia's Miller Center.
Shortly after noon on November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas.
President and Mrs. Kennedy appear on the White House lawn as they watch part of a performance by the Royal Highland Black Watch Regiment. The Kennedys had invited 1,700 children from child care agencies to watch the show. (Getty Images)
The first lady rarely accompanied her husband on political outings, but she was by his side, along with Texas Gov. John Connally and his wife, during a 10-mile motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas, according to History.com.
As his vehicle passed the Texas School Book Depository Building at 12:30 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired three shots from the sixth floor, fatally wounding President Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor Connally. Kennedy was pronounced dead 30 minutes later at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, the same source said.
The president was 46 years old.
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In the fall of 1963, President John F. Kennedy and his political advisers were preparing for the next presidential campaign.
Although he had not formally announced his candidacy, it was clear Kennedy was going to run and he seemed confident of his re-election chances, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum said.
The first lady wanted her husband's grave to be widely accessible to the American public.
When JFK died, there was another image that would prove indelible: Mrs. Kennedy whispering to John Jr. to be sure to salute as the casket carrying the president passed, according to the University of Virginia's Miller Center.
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JFK was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
At the time of Kennedy's death, it was thought that he would be buried in Brookline, Massachusetts, where he was born and raised.
Eternal Flame burning at the gravesite of assassinated President John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. (Lee Lockwood/Getty Images)
However, the first lady wanted her husband's grave to be widely accessible to the American public, according to Arlington National Cemetery.
The original site was located on a sloping hillside between Arlington House and the Lincoln Memorial.
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Because of the large crowds, cemetery officials and some members of the Kennedy family decided that a more suitable site should be built, and the new site was completed on July 20, 1967.
An eternal flame, lit by Mrs. Kennedy, burns in the center of a five-foot circular granite stone at the head of the grave, the source said.
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Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was buried next to President Kennedy on May 23, 1994.
