No American couple has ever captivated the world quite like John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. Nearly 30 years after their tragic deaths, the couple’s undeniable chemistry and whirlwind courtship is being reintroduced to the world in Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, a new limited series by FX that peels back the veil on one of the 20th century’s most iconic couples.
So far, the show has succeeded in making everyone extremely nostalgic for ’90s New York City, and the undeniable chemistry between actors Paul Anthony Kelly and Sarah Pidgeon has everyone rooting for this couple—even though we know their story ends in tragedy.
Love Story also does a great job of conveying the gravitational pull of the Kennedy family and the media circus that surrounded them. Given this, one might imagine the nuptials of such American royalty would be televised and well documented, but JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette’s wedding was the opposite. After being hounded by paparazzi for their entire courtship, the duo managed to pull off a secret wedding, away from prying eyes, on a secluded island in Georgia. It was just them, 40 of their closest friends, and a little old chapel. Episode six of the nine part series—airing tonight—gives viewers a rare glimpse into the occasion.
In the decades before and after JFK Jr. and CBK, the world has seen many more members of the Kennedy family tie the knot, beginning in 1914 with the couple that started it all—Joe and Rose. Read on as we share an inside look at some of the most iconic weddings in the political dynasty’s history.
Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald, 1914
Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy on their wedding day
Photo: Getty Images
It was when Rose Fitzgerald, the daughter of a congressman turned mayor of Boston, married Joseph P. Kennedy, an American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and politician, that the Kennedy legacy really began. The future couple first met at Old Orchard Beach in Maine, where they vacationed as children. Joseph and Rose wed in a chapel in Boston on October 7, 1914, and later had nine children: Joseph Patrick Jr, John “Jack” Fitzgerald, Rosemary, Kathleen or “Kick,” Eunice, Patricia, Robert or “Bobby,” Jean Ann, and Edward Moore.
Kathleen Agnes Kennedy and William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, 1944
Kathleen Kennedy and William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, on their wedding day in London
Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images