She was the woman who on May 1, 1967, married the world’s most eligible bachelor. Unless you’re under the age of ten or have lived in a cave the last 50 years, you know who I’m talking about. The groom maybe more so than bride but she’s still alive and kicking…. and he isn’t. What famous couple could this be? Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu, of course.
We all know the story. He was relatively young. She even more so. There’s lots of speculation about their courtship and if he wanted to marry her or not. But here are a few facts about them and their nuptials that you may not be aware of. Like for starters, it was the the first wedding for them both and the only wedding for the King. However, a very young Elvis did fill out a marriage license, scribbling in the name of his then-girlfriend Magdalene Morgan in pencil, in September of 1948. He was about to move across the state and and sadly she was unaware of the document until decades later.
The King and his bride were married at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas in a in a civil ceremony arranged by Elvis’ manager. The ceremony itself only lasted eight minutes (just long enough to play Heartbreak Hotel four times) and Elvis requested that the word “obey” be removed from the vows. And if you’re wanting to go recreate the blessed event on your own, you’re out of luck, as the hotel was destroyed in 1998. The two did renew their vows, however, in Hawaii several years later, in a scene that was an almost exact replica of the wedding scene in Blue Hawaii, a hit movie for Elvis. We all know how both sets of vows ended though, right?
With a wedding comes wedding cake. Did you know that the couple’s six-tier wedding cake cost a reported $3,200 ($22,000 in today’s dollars), which was more than the price tag of an average Chevrolet in 1967? It was yellow sponge cake and, “Each layer was filled twice with apricot marmalade and a kirsch [liqueur] flavored Bavarian cream … glazed with fondant icing and decorated with royal icing and marzipan roses,” according to the hotel pastry chef, Denis Martig. And since the ceremony was held at 9am (who has a wedding at 9am???), there was of course a lavish wedding brunch buffet (it is Vegas, after all), consisting of roast suckling pig, oysters Rockefeller, lobster, champagne and Southern fried chicken…. to the tune of $10,000.
Elvis did not wear a costume to his wedding (no rhinestone jumpsuits were in attendance), instead choosing an extravagant tuxedo. And believe it or not, the only celebrity in attendance was Redd Fox (really????). After the wedding, the newlyweds honeymooned for a month at a home in Palm Springs, for which they had signed a year lease just before the ceremony. It’s now dubbed the Honeymoon Hideaway and lucky you…. at the time this post is being written, it’s for sale!
Their match may not have lasted, but their story has more than survived the test of time. Were you an Elvis and Priscilla fan? Tell us in the comments below.
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2 Responses
I thought her Parents were Certifiable ! Who sends their Teenage Daughter to live with a Man ? She says that they slept together but no sex. He was in love with Ann Margaret and wanted to marry her. Pricilla said that once she got pregnant, he never touched her again. He had Mommy Issues. I will NEVER understand, how someone with his talent, ended up the way he did. He was before my time, however, I loved him. Gorgeous Man ❤️
I guess all we can say is that maybe they were caught up in his spell too. He wasn’t of my time either but I do remember the day he died. It was my dad’s birthday.