Some wedding dresses are so iconic they don’t need an introduction: Grace Kelly’s high-necked lace number, Priscilla Presley’s babydoll mini and veil, and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s sleek, sophisticated Narciso Rodriguez slip dress. You’ve seen the picture: Carolyn and her father, John F. Kennedy, Jr., hand-in-hand as they enter the little, light temple on Cumberland Island in Georgia, beaming like the glowing brides they were. But it’s the dress that sticks in your brain long: It’s great in its simplicity, and, today, is often imitated by brides who want to channel Kennedy’s easy elegant. Away, take a look back at Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s bridal gown, which is still one for the age.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and JFK Jr.’s Connection and Marriage
In the early 1990s, Carolyn and JFK Jr. met, and the two began dating regularly starting in 1994. Due to JFK Jr.’s high profile home and job at the time (the former New York city attorney launched George publication in 1995), their marriage was the subject of a lot of news debate. The photographers followed them everywhere and would do so for the rest of their lives, allegedly causing conflict in their relationship.
The pair got engaged in 1996, JFK Jr. proposed with inspired by a band worn by his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The New York City-based pair married soon thereafter on September 21, 1996, in a top-secret ceremony on Cumberland Island in Georgia, exchanging vows in front of only 40 guests. JFK Jr.’s aunt Anthony Radziwill was best male and Caroline Kennedy was lady of honor, her kids Rose, Tatiana, and Jack Schlossberg were rose women and the ring bearer, both.
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s Wedding Dress Details
Before getting married to one of the most well-known men in the world, Carolyn spent years working in Calvin Klein’s public relations department, where she met Narciso Rodriguez, a designer. Before founding his namesake line in 1997, Rodriguez continued to work for the label Cerruti. In her friend Paul Rowland’s book CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy A Life in Fashion, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy said she “wanted the best for Rodriguez” and “always championed the underdog” and that choosing a designer for a future Kennedy was a huge opportunity.
The bride chose a pearl-colored silk crepe sleeveless slip dress cut on the bias with a subtle cowl neck, despite Rodriguez and his team designing three different dresses to give her various options. The minimalist masterpiece was created by Caroline using sheer white silk gloves, a silk tulle veil, and crystal Manolo Blahnik footwear. At the nape of her neck, she had her blonde hair pulled back in a traditional light makeup and a sheer red lipstick. She carried a bouquet of lilies-of-the-valley.
Rodriguez said, “It was a great moment in my career but also a beautiful moment in my personal life.” The most significant dress of a person’s life was requested by “someone I loved very much.” The bride attended several fittings in Paris to ensure a perfect fit, according to the book CBK, and Rodriguez ultimately purchased the dress for $40, 000. The gown was taken in again on her wedding day and “She was late to the wedding, perhaps in her nervousness of getting everything perfect”, JFK Jr.’s friend Sasha Chermayeff, who attended the wedding, shared in the book. “I always thought that it made everything perfect in a way because the evening, and then, the wedding was candlelit. It was beautiful.” Caroline Kennedy’s navy silk crepe matron of honor gown and her beaded rehearsal dress were both created by Rodriguez.
Carolyn’s slip dress made a splash, mainly because it was in stark contrast to wedding trends of the time, it wasn’t glittery, fluffy, or princess-inspired, but rather a testament to the fashion icon’s personal style. Sunita Kumar Nair, a writer for CBK, said, “It was bold because the silhouette was fundamentally different. It’s actually one of the best illustrations of Carolyn dressing as she went. She’s always worn slip dresses, but she’s now made the decision to wear them as part of her wedding dress.”
Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s Wedding Dress in Pop Culture
Naturally, Caroly n’s wedding dress was an immediate hit. The image of JFK Jr. and his bride went viral, and it still does so now, 33 years after their engagement and 25 years since their tragic passing in 1999.
Narcisco Rodriguez would go on to dress countless celebrities on the red carpet and aisle, making the dress a household name. Many of have drawn inspiration from Carolyn’s inimitable style, including Meghan Markle, whose simple, long-sleeved Givenchy wedding gown was by Caroly n’s slip dress. After the royal wedding, designer Clare Waight Keller told Vanity Fair, “Both of us also loved Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and the simplicity of what she wore for her]1996 wedding.“