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.
Lou Henry Hoover’s Unconventional Wedding Gown
Lou Henry was an extremely smart and interesting woman. In her free time, she enjoyed camping with her father, and collecting rocks and minerals. She was also a proficient taxidermist. She met future President Herbert Hoover at Stanford University where she graduated with a B.A. in Geology. An interesting fact about Lou is that she was fluent in Chinese and was the only First Lady who was able to speak the language.
In February of 1899 Lou and Herbert tied the knot at her parents’ home in Monterey, California. Just like the groom, she chose to become a Quaker, but interestingly enough, they were married by a Roman Catholic priest. Instead of wearing white or a lighter color, Lou chose to wear a dark-colored gown.
Lucy Hayes’ - A "Genuine Woman"
On December 30, 1852, Lucy Ware Webb married Rutherford Richard Hayes at her family’s home in Cincinnati, Ohio. You may not know this, but Lucy had several suitors before she finally settled down with Rutherford. Lucy had a strong moral character and came from a religious background which made her seem like the perfect match for Rutherford according to his mother.
In 1851 Rutherford wrote in his diary, “I guess I am a great deal in love with L(ucy)…Her low sweet voice…her soft rich eyes.” He also referred to her as a “genuine woman.” Together the couple had eight children and as you can tell from the photo above, the pair both wore dark clothing on their wedding day.
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.
Glover Cleveland's Courted Frances Folsom When She Was a Young Girl
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.