John and Jacqueline. Kennedy was a young newlywed couple with one notable difference from any other newlywed: by the time they got married, in a sense, they were already superstars.
Two months before their wedding, in July 1953, the couple appeared on the cover of Life magazine, sitting on the sloping deck of a sailing ship in Cape Cod, both smiling, windswept and emphasizing New England, next to the cheeky headline, "Senator Kennedy Goes courteous." They all came from prominent, wealthy, prestigious, influential families, and they were often published together or separately in the social pages of the major newspapers.
They married in Rhode Island on September 12, 1953, and became national news. LIFE magazine sent photographer Lisa Larsen, who was in her 20s at the time, to cover the much-publicized event. Her wedding photos document not only the before and after of the wedding, but also one of the most dramatic American weddings of the 20th century.
Life magazine reported the situation in a September 1963 article:
The marriage of Washington's best-looking young senator to Washington's prettiest photographer took place this month at the Newport R.I., and their wedding proved to be the most impressive in 30 years. When John F. Kennedy took Jacqueline Bouvier as his bride, 600 diplomats, senators, and social figures crowded into St. Mary's Church to listen to the Archbishop of Boston preside over the ceremony and read out the pope's special blessings. Outside, 2,000 fans, some of them came to Newport in chartered buses, cheering guests and newlyweds as they left the church. The reception was 900 guests, and the senator and Mrs. Kennedy spent two hours shaking hands. One enthusiastic guest said the whole event was "like a coronation".
The bride and groom finally sat down for lunch after a long and exhausting ordeal of the reception line.
Wedding of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier, September 12, 1953.
Wedding of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier, September 12, 1953.
Jacqueline Bouvier and her husband, Senator John F. Kennedy, stood in front of the church after the wedding
Patiently waiting to congratulate the couple's line of guests extended to the front lawn of the bride's mother's 300-acre Hammersmith Farm in Newport.
John and Jacqueline Kennedy were on their wedding day, September 12, 1953.
Jackie Kennedy was on her wedding day, September 12, 1953.
John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier at their wedding in Newport, Rhode Island, on September 12, 1953.
John and Jacqueline. Kennedy with ushers, bridesmaids and flower girls.
John and Jacqueline Kennedy with groomsmen and other guests on their wedding day, September 12, 1953
Joe Martin. The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives congratulates the bride and groom.
The bride's half-sister, Janet Ochincross, talks to Kennedy
The bride's half-sister, Janet Ochincross, talks to Kennedy while the bride looks out the window at the guests waiting through the reception line.
On September 12, 1953, newlywed John and Jacqueline Kennedy were cutting a wedding cake.
Jacqueline Kennedy at her wedding on September 12, 1953.
At the luncheon, The Flower Girl Janet offered the groom a wedding cake.
John and Jackie Kennedy on their wedding day, Newport, Rhode Island, September 12, 1953.
John and Jacqueline Kennedy at their wedding reception in Newport, Rhode Island, on September 12, 1953.
On September 12, 1953, Jacqueline Kennedy danced with her husband, John F. Kennedy, at a wedding reception.
Jacqueline Kennedy and Joseph P. Kennedy Dances Together.
Jacqueline Kennedy danced at her wedding feast.
On September 12, 1953, at the wedding of John and Jacqueline Kennedy, a girl with flowers, Newport, Rhode Island.
Jacqueline Kennedy at her wedding in Newport, Rhode Island, on September 12, 1953.
The bride and groom left the wedding feast in a shower of rose petals and confetti.