Henrietta Tiarks, the Duchess of Bedford, Wedding Day (1961)

Society beauty Henrietta Tiarks (b. 19 ) was a leading debutantes of her day.  She married the then Marquess of Tavistock, Robin Russell, on 20 June 1961 at St Clement Danes in London, thereby becoming the Marchioness of Tavistock.

He succeeded his father, becoming the 14th Duke of Bedford, on 25 October 2002, at which point Henrietta, became Duchess of Bedford.

Henrietta Tiarks wedding Day, 1961 via

Henrietta Tiarks wedding Day, 1961 via

Henrietta Tiarks wedding Day, 1961 via

Henrietta Tiarks wedding Day, 1961 via

Henrietta Tiarks wedding Day, 1961 via

Henrietta Tiarks wedding Day, 1961 via

Henrietta Tiarks wedding Day, 1961 via

Henrietta Tiarks wedding Day, 1961 via

Queen Victorias Wedding 10th of February 1840

Queen Victoria first met her German cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1836, and they became engaged during his second visit to England in 1839. Their wedding ceremony took place on 10 February 1840 at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace.

Queen Victoria chose to marry Prince Albert in a white silk satin gown featuring Honiton lace, an unusual color choice for bridal gowns at the time; she started the white wedding gown tradition that remains today. On her wedding morning, Queen Victoria wrote in her journal:

Dressed….I wore a white satin gown with a very deep flounce of Honiton, imitation of old. I wore my Turkish diamond necklace and earrings, and Albert’s beautiful sapphire brooch.

She also wore a wreath of orange blossoms (symbolising purity) and myrtle (symbolising love and domestic happiness), and these became the most common flowers carried and worn in Victorian weddings.

Their wedding day itself was inauspicious, a heavy rain falling; but immense multitudes assembled to gaze upon the processions. The bridal procession from Buckingham Palace to St. James’s begun to move through the triumphal arch at 12 o’clock. It was the first wedding of a reigning Queen in England since 1554.

Queen Victoria spent the evening after her wedding lying down with a headache, but wrote ecstatically in her diary:

I NEVER, NEVER spent such an evening!!! MY DEAREST DEAREST DEAR Albert … his excessive love & affection gave me feelings of heavenly love & happiness I never could have hoped to have felt before! He clasped me in his arms, & we kissed each other again & again! His beauty, his sweetness & gentleness – really how can I ever be thankful enough to have such a Husband! … to be called by names of tenderness, I have never yet heard used to me before – was bliss beyond belief! Oh! This was the happiest day of my life!

Her marriage to Prince Albert brought nine children between 1840 and 1857. Most of her children married into other Royal families of Europe.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert on their return from the marriage service at St James’s Palace, London, 10th February 1840. Engraved by S Reynolds after F Lock via

A middle aged Victoria and Albert recreate their wedding day. Photo by Roger Fenton 1854 via

Jane Fonda and Roger Vadim at their wedding in Las Vegas (1965)

Jane Fonda married her first husband, French film director Roger Vadim, on August 14, 1965, at the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. During their marriage Vadim would accompany her back to the US periodically while she made movies there. The couple had a daughter, Vanessa, born on September 28, 1968, in Paris, France, and named after the actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave.

Roger Vadim and Jane Fonda wedding, 1965 via

Jane Fonda and Roger Vadim at their wedding in Las Vegas by Dennis Hopper, 1965 via

Roger Vadim and Jane Fonda wedding, 1965 via

Jane Fonda and Roger Vadim at their wedding in Las Vegas by Dennis Hopper, 1965 via

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) 1923 Wedding Photo

The wedding of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother by Bassano Ltd
bromide print, 26 April 1923. © National Portrait Gallery, London via

The wedding of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother by Bassano Ltd
sepia-toned platinotype on original card mount, 26 April 1923. © National Portrait Gallery, London via

Raquel Welch & Patrick Curtis 1967 Paris Wedding

For her second marriage (she was married to James Welch from 1959 to 1964), US actress  Raquel Welch wore a sexy crochet dress for her wedding to Hollywood producer Patrick Curtis. She teamed her dress with a three-quarter length white fur coat.

They married at the City Hall of Paris 8th district 14 February 1967.

They divorced in 1972. In 1980, she began a 10-year marriage to André Weinfeld. Welch wed Richard Palmer in 1999 but then separated from him in 2008. Welch has stated that she doesn’t intend to marry again.

Raquel Welch wearing a crochet dress to her 1967 marriage to Patrick Curtis via

Raquel Welch wearing a crochet dress to her marriage to Patrick Curtis, 1967 via

Raquel Welch  walking the streets of Paris wearing a crochet dress after her marriage to Patrick Curtis, 1967 via

Wedding of Jackie Bouvier & John F. Kennedy by Lisa Larsen (1953)

Lisa Larsen (1925-1959) was one of LIFE’s poioneering female photojournalists. Born in Germany, she moved to the United States as a teenager. She started out as a picture file clerk at Black Star, but soon became a freelance photographer for many publications, including Vogue, The New York Times, Parade, Glamour, Charm, Holiday, and LIFE.

After 1948, the bulk of Larsen’s photojournalism was contract work for LIFE. In the beginning of her career at the influential magazine, she was assigned mainly entertainment and fashion stories, such as photographing the Vanderbilts, Kennedys, Bing Crosby, and the Duke of Windsor as well as the Greenbriar Hotel (source).

Bouvier and Kennedy were married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island, in a Mass celebrated by Boston’s Archbishop Richard Cushing. The wedding was considered the social event of the season with an estimated 700 guests at the ceremony and 1,200 at the reception that followed at Hammersmith Farm. The wedding dress, now housed in the Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts, and the dresses of her attendants were created by designer Ann Lowe of New York City.

Lisa Larsen, Wedding of Jackie Bouvier & John F. Kennedy, September 1953 via

Lisa Larsen, Wedding of Jackie Bouvier & John F. Kennedy, September 1953 via

Lisa Larsen, Wedding of Jackie Bouvier & John F. Kennedy, September 1953 via

Lisa Larsen, John and Jacqueline Kennedy at Their Wedding Reception, September 1953 via

Vintage Photos of Ava Gardner & Frank Sinatra Wedding (1951)

Ava Gardner married Frank Sinatra on Nov. 7, 1951, at a friend’s home. Sinatra had left his wife, Nancy, for Gardner. Sinatra was blasted by gossip columnists Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons, the Hollywood establishment, the Roman Catholic Church, and by his fans for leaving his wife for a noted femme fatale.

The marriage was turbulent, with many well-publicized fights and altercations. During their marriage Gardner became pregnant twice, but aborted both pregnancies, the reason being that MGM had all sorts of penalty clauses about their stars having babies. Years later she said:

“We couldn’t even take care of ourselves. How were we going to take care of a baby?”

The couple formally announced their separation on October 29, 1953, through MGM. Gardner filed for divorce in June 1954, at a time when she was dating matador Luis Miguel Dominguín, but the divorce was not settled until 1957. It was Gardner’s third and final marriage.  She would later say in her autobiography that Sinatra was the love of her life. Sinatra continued to feel very strongly for her, and they remained friends for life. He was still dealing with her finances in 1976.

Frank and Ava at their wedding in 1951. (Photo Credit: Getty Images) via

Frank and Ava at their wedding in 1951 via

Frank and Ava at their wedding in 1951 via

 

Brigitte Bardot and Roger Vadim’s wedding (1952)

On 21 December 1952, aged 18, Brigitte Bardot married director Roger Vadim in Paris. The couple met after the bourgeois Bardot appeared on the cover of a magazine and the director Marc Allégret, who Vadim was assisting, invited her to do a screen test. When her family forbade the teen from seeing the much older Vadim, she attempted suicide.

In the sixties, Bardot paved the way for the off-the-rack, no-fuss, leg-exposing bride. On her weddding to Vadim she wore a high-collared, bustled dress accessorized with muff and veil. According to the groom:

“Brigitte designed and chose the material for the white, handsewn wedding dress from Madame Ogive, the dressmaker on the Rue de Passy.” (source)

The couple divorced in 1957, but remained friends and collaborated in later work.

Brigitte Bardot and Roger Vadim’s wedding, 1952 via

Brigitte Bardot and Roger Vadim’s wedding, 1952 via

Brigitte Bardot and Roger Vadim’s wedding, 1952 via

Brigitte Bardot and Roger Vadim’s wedding, 1952 via

Brigitte Bardot and Roger Vadim’s wedding, 1952 via

Brigitte Bardot’s Wedding to Actor Jacques Charrier (1959)

On 18 June 1959 Brigitte Bardot married fellow actor Jacques Charrier, her costar in Babette Goes to War.

The wedding took place in Louveciennes, France. The bride wore a coquettish pink gingham shirtwaist by Jacques Esterel as her wedding dress. When the actual marriage was to take place photographers burst into the registry office and formally asked Brigitte for permission to photograph the ceremony. Brigitte allegedly stamped her foot and shouted ‘Non, non, non.’ Then buried her face in her hands and burst into sobs.

Bardot and Charrier divorced in 1962. They had one son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, Bardot´s only child, born in 1960. Nicolas was raised in the Charrier family and did not maintain close contact with Bardot until his adulthood.

Brigitte Bardot’s wedding to actor Jacques Charrier, Louveciennes, France, 1959 via

Brigitte Bardot’s wedding to actor Jacques Charrier, Louveciennes, France, 1959 via

Brigitte Bardot’s wedding to actor Jacques Charrier, Louveciennes, France, 1959 via

Amazing Photos of Rita Hayworth & Prince Aly Khan Wedding (1948)

In 1948, at the height of her fame, Hollywood actress Rita Hayworth left her film career to marry Prince Aly Khan, a son of Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, the leader of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. Because Hayworth was already one of the most well-known celebrities in the world, the courtship and the wedding received enormous press coverage around the world.

They were married on May 27, 1949. Rita Hayworth wore a Jacques Fath dress as her wedding dress. The wedding marked the first time a Hollywood actress became a princess.

On December 28, 1949, Hayworth gave birth to the couple’s only daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan.

Though Hayworth was anxious to start a new life abroad, away from Hollywood, Aly Khan’s flamboyant lifestyle and duties proved too difficult for Hayworth. She struggled to fit in with his friends, and found it difficult to learn French. Aly Khan was also known in circles as a playboy, and it was suspected that he had been unfaithful to Hayworth during the marriage. In 1951, Hayworth set sail with her two daughters for New York. Although the couple did reconcile for a short time, they officially divorced by 1953.

Rita Hayworth on her wedding day, 1948 via

 Rita Hayworth wore a Jacques Fath dress for her wedding to Prince Aly Khan via

Rita Hayworth riding in a car with her husband Ali Khan after their wedding at Vallauris to the reception at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman via

Prince Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth cutting into their wedding cake at Khan’s Riviera Chateau de L’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

Rita Hayworth at Chateau de l’Horizon with Prince Aga Khan and his fourth wife, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

During the wedding reception of Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via

During the wedding reception of Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan at Chateau de l’Horizon their initials float in the pool, May 27, 1949. Photo by Nat Farbman  via