The wedding of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. on Cumberland Island, Georgia in 1996 was originally intended to be a private affair. However, photos and low-resolution camcorder videos from their intimate nuptials have become iconic and influential in the bridal industry. Bessette Kennedy’s wedding look, designed by Narciso Rodriguez, is particularly legendary for its simplicity and elegance.
The costume designer for the FX anthology series “Love Story,” Rudy Mance, took great care to recreate Bessette Kennedy’s wedding dress for Episode 6. He meticulously studied photographs and videos from the event, including the documentary “JFK Jr. and Carolyn’s Wedding: The Lost Tapes,” to ensure accuracy.
Both Bessette Kennedy’s rehearsal and ceremony dresses were custom-designed for the show. Mance worked with a couturier to bring these looks to life, using a combination of fabrics and beading to recreate the shimmer and shine of the original dresses.
The tulle veil, sheer elbow gloves, and Manolo Blahnik shoes worn by the actress portraying Bessette Kennedy were also authentic pieces sourced or remade from the original designs. Mance even found the exact fabric used by Rodriguez for the original gown, which had been purchased 30 years earlier at B&J Fabrics in New York.
While some moments in the episode allowed for creative liberties, such as Bessette Kennedy’s private moments before the ceremony, Mance still paid attention to historical details. For example, he dressed the actress in a vintage Calvin Klein slip dress as a nod to Bessette Kennedy’s time at the company.
Overall, it took Mance and his team over three weeks to costume the actors for the wedding scene, with sourcing and preparation starting even earlier for the rest of the guests. The attention to detail and dedication to accuracy in recreating this iconic wedding look from the ’90s showcases the lasting impact of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s fashion choices. The wedding dress worn by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in the FX series “Impeachment: American Crime Story” has become one of the most iconic and photographed wedding dresses of all time. Costume designer Dana Covarrubias Mance faced the challenge of recreating this legendary dress for the show, paying homage to the original designer Narciso Rodriguez.
Mance described dressing Kelly for the show’s public fight scene with JFK Jr. as a difficult task, but it was the wedding dress that posed the greatest challenge. She wanted to do justice to Rodriguez’s beautiful work and ensure that the dress looked authentic on screen.
Watching the entire wedding scene come together was Mance’s favorite part of the episode. Just like in real life, where Bessette Kennedy was famously late for her ceremony due to last-minute dress alterations, the crew on set was running behind schedule. They had limited time to capture the candle-lit wedding ceremony before the sun set.
The shooting conditions were less than ideal, with hot weather and muddy terrain in upstate New York. The crew had constructed a beautiful church for the scene, adding to the pressure of getting the shot right. Despite the challenges, Mance recalled the moment when Bessette Kennedy rolled up in the Jeep, and they captured the scene in just 20 minutes, creating movie magic on screen.
The recreated wedding dress and ceremony in “Impeachment: American Crime Story” pay tribute to the real-life events and the iconic fashion moment. Mance’s attention to detail and dedication to honoring Rodriguez’s design shines through in the episode, capturing the essence of that unforgettable day in history.
