When It Comes to Grace Kelly’s 1956 Wedding Gown, the Magic Is In the Exquisite Details

On this day 68 years ago, an Academy Award-winning American actress was preparing to marry a prince—yes, a literal prince—she had met just about one year prior. It all started as a publicity gimmick while she was in Europe attending the Cannes Film Festival that, somehow, turned into what would become a 26-year marriage—a meet cute if there ever was one. But before their three children, and before her work as Princess of Monaco, and before her tragic death at just 52 years old in a car accident in 1982, there was the dress—the dress Grace Kelly wore to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco, one of the most elegant, memorable, and famous wedding gowns of all time.

On her wedding day—she technically had two wedding days, but we’ll get into that in a moment—Grace was 26 years old and, two years prior, had starred in the film The Country Girl in 1954, which would go on to win her the Best Actress Oscar. Grace was arguably at the height of her Hollywood career when she met Rainier in April 1955, and by the end of the year, they were engaged; Rainier was already the monarch of the small principality of Monaco in the French Riviera, and had been on the throne since 1949. He was 32 years old when they married, and reportedly being pressured—as all who are on the throne or who will be on the throne are—to produce an heir to ensure the continuation of the monarchy.

THE CIVIL CEREMONY

As per Monegasque tradition, on April 18, 1956, Grace and Rainier were married in a civil ceremony in the throne room of the Royal Palace in front of just 80 guests. The ceremony was performed by Monaco’s Minister of Justice and was the precursor to the next day’s religious ceremony—that one watched by over 30 million viewers.

Helen Rose—the costume designer at Grace’s film studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, or MGM—designed both of Grace’s dresses, for the civil ceremony on April 18 and the religious ceremony on April 19. (MGM was well represented at Grace’s wedding—the studio’s hairstylist, Virginia Darcy, was also on hand to do Grace’s hair for her big day.) For the civil ceremony, Grace wore a pale pink taffeta dress, covered in cream-colored Alençon lace and paired with kid gloves and a Juliet cap. British Vogue describes this dress’ color as “somewhere between a champagne and pastel pink hue” and wrote that its bell-shaped skirt paired with a fitted bodice and a rounded collar jacket featuring silk brocade embroidery was “pitched perfectly for the occasion” and was “elegantly understated.” Tatler said of Grace’s civil ceremony look that it was “the perfect warmup to slipping into one of the most famous wedding dresses of all time,” and, while Grace and Rainier ended April 18 officially married, it was just a dress rehearsal, really, for the next day’s events, as the whole world watched a fairytale come to life. Brides reports that Grace actually donned two other dresses on April 18, the first one worn at a quick press conference—a tea-length dress—and then, for a gala the night before her wedding, yet another dress, this time a white silk Lanvin gown. 

THE RELIGIOUS CEREMONY

Grace’s $60,000 religious ceremony wedding dress was a gift from MGM to its star, and was a worthwhile investment: Brides writes that the Helen Rose creation has become “arguably one of the most iconic wedding dresses of all time.” The timeless look has gone on to inspire brides like Kate Middleton, whose 2011 Alexander McQueen gown bore a close resemblance to the gown worn by Grace, another royal bride that walked down the aisle 55 years before her. 

Grace’s dress “featured a high neckline, long sleeves, thousands of hand-sewn pearls, and 125-year-old lace from Brussels,” Brides writes. The dress featured a three-foot long train and took months to create—it used ivory faille and 100 yards of silk net and was born from the close relationship between Grace and Rose, who had worked with Grace on four of her films, including High Society, Grace’s final MGM film, released three months after the royal wedding. “The actress trusted her intrinsically,” Tatler writes. It was constructed with meticulous care, under strict security, and reportedly with 30 seamstresses.

“Under the lace bodice was a slip skirt support and under-bodice,” the outlet continues. “Then there was the foundation, ruffled and smoothing petticoats under the pleated silk faille skirt, plus a train insert and silk faille cummerbund which completed the outfit.” The dress ultimately broke down int0 10 parts, used over 400 yards of fabric, and had ample embellishment; Grace’s dress has inspired countless brides, but it is believed that, after combing through the MGM archives for ideas, Grace and Rose decided to use a dress from the 1952 film Invitation as their inspiration. Vanity Fair reports that Elizabeth Taylor’s high-collar neckline and long sleeves in 1950’s Father of the Bride might have also factored into the design of Grace’s gown; Rose designed both dresses, from Invitation and Father of the Bride, as well as Taylor’s real-life first wedding dress, which she wore to marry Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr. in 1950.

Grace’s dress “is probably one of the most timeless and iconic wedding gowns in history,” red carpet and wedding stylist Micaela Erlanger told Vanity Fair. “Not just because it was worn by Grace Kelly [as she became the] princess of Monaco, but because it really was just the most understated, yet elegant and unexpected gown choice that has really stood the test of time.”

ACCESSORIZING THE GOWN

A royal bride though she most certainly was, Grace eschewed wearing a tiara and instead wore a lace and pearl embellished Juliet cap, mirroring her headpiece from the day before. The Juliet cap featured a flower crown with a wreath of paper orange blossom, and held her veil in place. The veil, made of tulle, measured 90 yards and “the veil itself was chosen in a fabric that would keep her face as visible as possible to the 600 guests and millions watching live, and included two tiny lovebirds appliquéd around the edges,” Tatler writes.

In keeping with the trend of the time, rather than a large bridal bouquet, “many religious brides instead carried a Bible, as Grace Kelly did,” Tatler writes. “The book was a gift and was embellished with silk, lace, and pearls, and she carried it alongside a small bunch of lilies of the valley.” For her wedding shoes, Grace wore a small, 2.5-inch heel “so she wouldn’t tower over her husband, who wasn’t much taller than her,” Tatler reports. “The shoes were designed by David Evins with seed pearls, lace, and her name embossed into the left shoe (and Prince Rainier III’s into the right), with a copper penny for good luck.” The lucky penny wasn’t discovered until 2005—nearly 50 years after the ceremony—when the Philadelphia Museum of Art discovered it. (It now owns the dress after Grace donated it to her hometown’s art museum shortly after her wedding.)

THE WEDDING ITSELF

Grace and Rainier’s religious ceremony on April 19 was held at the St. Nicholas Cathedral, and the high mass was conducted by the bishop of Monaco. A mixture of high society and Hollywood stars gathered for the occasion, including Ava Gardner, Cary Grant, Gloria Swanson, Aristotle Onassis, Conrad Hilton, and Egypt’s former King Farouk. Tatler reports that “During the wedding breakfast, guests were treated to lobster, caviar, and a six-tier wedding cake by the Hotel de Paris’ pastry chefs, from which two live turtle doves were released after Rainier sliced through it with his sword.”

The couple left in a Rolls-Royce—a gift from their subjects—and sailed away on a seven-week honeymoon onboard Deo Juvante II, a gift from Onassis; by the time the newlyweds returned to Monaco, Grace was pregnant with her first child, Princess Caroline, who was born nine months and four days after her royal wedding in January 1957.