In Today’s world, the union between Frances Folsom’s marriage to Glover Cleveland would not be socially acceptable. Grover met Frances when he was 27 and she was just a small child. He had his eyes on her from a very early age and he bought her several gifts to woo her. Frances’s father passed away when she was only 11 in 1875.
He didn’t have a will set in place, so Grover became the administrator of his estate. It was when Frances was in college the two became involved. In 1886, the two married when she was 21 and he was 49. At her wedding, she wore a white dress with orange blossoms and laurel leaves.
Nancy Reagan Tried to Hide Her Baby Bump
Nancy Davis was a well-known actress in the 1940s and 1950s. Prior to meeting Ronald Reagan, she dated a man named Clark Gable. Nancy met Ronald in 1949 which was when he was the president of the Screen Actors Guild. Ronald was not someone who was big on marriage to begin with, but especially not after his divorce from Jane Wyman.
However, after three years of dating, Ronald and Nancy married in 1952. To avoid running into any issues with the press, their wedding was very last minute, and the only people who attended were the best man and matron of honor. The ceremony took place at the Little Brown Church located in Los Angeles. Nancy was also pregnant at their wedding so she wore a very simple, no-frills dress in an effort to conceal her bump.
Laura Bush Chose a Simple Tan Dress for Her Special Day
George Bush and Laura Lane Welch met at a backyard barbecue in July and got engaged just three months later. The two met on November 5, 1977, at her childhood church in Midland, Texas. The new couple took pictures with the future president’s parents, Geroge H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush.
Laura’s mother wore a fancy, traditional gown but she chose to wear a very simple tan dress she bought off the rack to her wedding. Bush was the Governor of Texas from 1995-2000 and became the President of the United States the following year.
Betty Ford Didn’t Wear White At Her Second Time Around
Elizabeth Anne “Betty” Bloomer married Gerald R. Ford in Grand Rapids, MI, in 1948 at the Grace Episcopal Church. Although most brides choose to wear white on their wedding day, Elizabeth did not. She looked absolutely beautiful in a shiny dress with a pair of pumps to match. Prior to her marriage to Gerald, she was married to a man named Willian G. Warren, but due to his alcoholism, they divorced in 1947.
The two of them delayed their marriage initially because he was running for the U.S. House of Representatives. According to the New York Times, “Jerry was running for Congress and wasn’t sure how voters might feel about his marrying a divorced ex-dancer.”
Helen Louise Herron Taft’s Got Married in the Comfort of Her Home
Helen Louise Herron “Nellie” Taft and William Howard Taft married on June 19, 1886. The wedding ceremony took place at Nellie’s parents’ home in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her dress was a short-sleeved gown with her hair styled into a beautiful up-do with a decorative accent that matched her dress. While on their honeymoon, the two visited New York City and Sea Bright, New Jersey. Following that, they traveled to Europe for a total of three months.
Helen had become the First Lady of the United States when Cleveland took office as the president in 1909 and served through 1913.