Store-bought fashion: the story of Priscilla Presley’s ill-fated wedding dress

Elvis Presley was married only once, and this was his longest relationship, although there were never passionate feelings. In 1959, the 24-year-old singer met Priscilla Bewley, the daughter of a US Air Force officer, who was only 14 at the time. Young people liked each other (or maybe their parents wanted it) and continued to communicate – at a distance, because Priscilla lived in Germany, and Elvis lived in the USA.

In March 1963, Bewley’s parents let their 17-year-old daughter go to America, to Presley’s Graceland estate, under one condition: Priscilla could live with Presley if she attended a private Catholic school. They agreed on that.

So another four years passed before the lazy romance (despite the fact that Presley practically did not change his single lifestyle) got sick of the girl’s parents and insisted on the wedding. Under their pressure, in late 1966 Elvis proposed to Priscilla.

The wedding took place on May 1, 1967 in a room at the Aladdin Hotel in front of 14 guests. The ceremony lasted only 8 minutes, yet it made history – thanks in large part to the newlyweds.

The 21-year-old bride was radiant in a long-sleeved white gown encrusted with pearls, her head adorned with a tiara and a three-tiered veil. The discreet image reflected the main trends of the 60s – true simplicity with a hint of classic glamor of those years.

Initially, the media wrote that Bewley designed the wedding dress herself, but this is not true. Only after a while did the truth become apparent. It turns out that for some reason Priscilla didn’t have time to find just the right dress, so in a blonde wig and posing as Mrs. Hodge, she ran around a few stores shortly before the party. The search ended at the Westwood department store. “It was simple and, in my opinion, beautiful. There was no time to look any further. I even only had one fitting,” Priscilla recalled.

Family life went well, but only at first. Almost immediately after the wedding, Priscilla became pregnant: on February 1, 1968, she gave birth to a daughter, Lisa-Marie. From then on, the couple began to drift apart, and Elvis quickly returned to his usual single lifestyle.

Priscilla’s patience lasted a year and a half: in 1971 she announced that she was leaving her husband for her karate instructor (how corny). Elvis tried to save the family, but nothing came of it, and in July 1972 the couple broke up. The divorce was finalized on October 9, 1973, when Elvis and Priscilla walked out of the courtroom holding hands.

Photo: Legion media