40 Amazing Vintage Photos of Celebrity Weddings From the 1950s
What a time to be a bride.
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While the marriages may not have always lasted (back then Hollywood stars were the exception to anti-divorce societal norms), the wedding photos were always glamorous and filled with cake. From jaw-dropping ceremonies to Las Vegas elopements, these vintage celebrity nuptials will remind you why the 1950s were considered the heyday of Old Hollywood.
1950: Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton
The same year that Elizabeth Taylor starred in Father of the Bride, the starlet wed hotel heir Conrad "Nicky" Hilton. The bill for the elegant nuptials in Beverly Hills was paid for by MGM Studios and the actress's dress was designed by the studio's costume designer, Helen Rose.
1950: Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini
Despite beginning in a scandalous affair, Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini were married on May 24, 1950. Ingrid's divorce proceedings were tied up in a custody battle, so she couple got divorced and married by proxy in Mexico.
1950: Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger
English actors Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger look enamored as they sign their marriage license in 1950. The couple got married in Tucson, Arizona, but sadly divorced in 1960.
1950: Bette Davis and Gary Merrill
Bette Davis wore an all-black satin skirt suit to her fourth and final marriage in 1950. The Hollywood starlet married her All About Eve costar, Gary Merrill, in a small ceremony in Juarez, Mexico.
1951: Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner tied the knot shortly after the singer's divorce was finalized from his first marriage in 1951. The elopement was Ava's third marriage and Frank's second.
1951: Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh sip from coups of celebratory champagne after their 1951 ceremony. The Hollywood stars were married in an intimate service in Greenwich, Connecticut.
1951: Doris Day and Marty Melcher
Doris Day and Marty Melcher opted for matching ensembles on their wedding day. Wearing a cream-colored menswear-inspired suit, the Pillow Talk actress made it official with the film producer at Burbank City Hall.
1951: Ronald and Nancy Reagan
When Ronald and Nancy Reagan said "I do," the couple were still a long way from the White House. The Hollywood stars had a small ceremony at the Little Brown Church in Los Angeles.
1952: Roger Vadim and Brigitte Bardot
After her on-screen debut in Le Trou Normand (Crazy for Love), Brigitte Bardot caught the eye of French director Roger Vadim. The couple waited until Brigitte turned 18 to marry in a ceremony in France.
1952: Pearl Bailey and Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson gives his fiancée, jazz musician Pearl Bailey, a diamond tennis bracelet before their wedding. The couple got married later that year and remained together until her death in 1990.
1952: Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Wilding
Elizabeth Taylor's second wedding was less grand than her first. Wearing a simple belted dress and flowers in her chignon, Elizabeth and Michael Wilding got married at Caxton Hall in London.
1952: Joan Collins and Maxwell Reed
In her first of five marriages, British actress Joan Collins married Maxwell Reed at Caxton Hall in London. The ceremony included friends and family and the bride wore a high collared brocade satin wedding gown.
1952: Tony Bennett and Patricia Beech
Tony Bennett and his bride, Patricia Beech, leave St. Patrick's Cathedral after their wedding. Tony and Patricia were married until 1971 and she was his first of three wives.
1953: Eunice Kennedy and Robert Sargent Shriver
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., steadies his bride, Eunice Kennedy, as she climbs onto a chair to cut the top of their wedding cake. The couple got in May 1953, a few months before her older brother, John F. Kennedy, tied the knot.
1953: Rita Hayworth and Dick Haymes
Fourth time's the charm? After divorcing Prince Aly Khan, Rita Hayworth wed fellow actor Dick Haymes at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Their union lasted two years and they divorced in 1955.
1953: John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier
Surrounded by the Kennedy clan, the newly wed Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy admire their wedding cake. The couple married earlier that day at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church and had an outdoor reception at the Jackie's Rhode Island estate.
1954: Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer
Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer managed to wed in secret at a lodge in Switzerland in 1954. The bride wore a tea length Balmain dress for the outdoor ceremony.
1954: Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio
After Joe DiMaggio proposed to Marilyn Monroe with a diamond eternity band, the couple had a no-frills wedding at the courthouse in San Francisco.
1954: Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens
Kirk Douglas had a reputation as a Hollywood playboy before meeting public relations expert Anne Buydens on a set in Italy. The couple got married a year later and were married for 66 years when Kirk passed away in 2020.
1954: Anne Bancroft and Marty May
Anne Bancroft tops her bridal look with a white silk headscarf and a flower corsage. The actress married Marty May in August in New York.
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