In Biltmore House there is a small exhibition of the weddings in the Vandrebilt family. There are some photos, documents and two wedding gowns. These two wedding gowns present 60 years of wedding tradition in this family.
The first wedding dress presented at the exhibition was worn by Cornelia, daughter of George Vanderbilt.
George Washington Vanderbilt was an art collector and member of the prominent Vanderbilt family, which accumulate a vast fortune through steamboats, railroads, and various businesses. He built a 250-room mansion, the largest private home in the United States, the Biltmore Estate.
The wedding of Cornelia and a British diplomat took place in at local church in Biltmore follow by reception at Biltmore House.
Wedding dress and veil worn in 1924 by Cornelia Vanderbilt.
Cornelia bouquet was created of orchids and lilies.
It is not original dress; the dress and veil have been recreated by Cosprop, the London-based company well-known costume designers for film, television and theater.
Photo from the wedding - Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt at the base of the Great Staircase of Biltmore House, 1924. Beneath her veil of heirloom lace, four yards of silk tulle.
Photo from the wedding - Cornelia Stuyvesant Vanderbilt at the base of the Great Staircase of Biltmore House, 1924. Beneath her veil of heirloom lace, four yards of silk tulle.
Cornelia continued the tradition started by her mother
and aunts, wearing an antique rose veil
lace; at this time the veil had previously passed through three
generations of brides.
Under this veil she wore a shorter veil and four yards
a train of delicate tulle that trailed behind her like an aura of mist.
She was wearing a fashionable hat on her head
which held in place by orange blossom flowers. This headdress became fashionable after the royal wedding of Albert Duke of York and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923.
Cornelia's dress had an ultra-modern silhouette that showed the tastes of many 1920s brides.
The dress was made of delicate floral lace over a simple satin underlay, sparkling sleeves, a round neckline and a short trimmed hemline.
Two Scottish sisters (Farquharson and Wheelock) designed her dress. They were famous dressmakers for rich people in New York and Washington.
These sisters were also the official dressmakers of the British court making wedding dresses.
Cornelia bought most of her trousseau from the same shop.
Cornelia carried a cascading of orchids and lilies of the valley with trailing ribbons. She honored the English tradition of tossing the bouquet to symbolically share her good fortune and determine the next bride to be.
Newspapers reported: "From a sufficient eminence the bride threw her bouquet to the bridesmaids, and it was caught by Miss Louise Todd
and Miss Alyne Reynolds. As Miss Reynolds is already engaged to be
married, Miss Todd kept the bouquet!"
and Miss Alyne Reynolds. As Miss Reynolds is already engaged to be
married, Miss Todd kept the bouquet!"
The original pair of Cornelia's silk wedding shoes. Selected from a New
York boutique, this style shoe was a classic choice for a 1920s bride. The flared heel is called a French heel or "Louis" heel after the French kings who wore such shoes at court.
York boutique, this style shoe was a classic choice for a 1920s bride. The flared heel is called a French heel or "Louis" heel after the French kings who wore such shoes at court.
The second wedding dress from the exhibition wore Mary "Mimi" Lee Ryan Cecil in 1957.
At her wedding day, Mary Lee wore her grandmother's lace veil.
At her wedding day, Mary Lee wore her grandmother's lace veil.
Her grandmother, Margaret Merritt Lee, wore this rose veil on her wedding day in 1903.
The Lee family lace veil is displayed for the first time. The brides
from the Lee family continue to were this 12-foot silk floral lace veil.
The same veil was worn four years earlier by her first cousin, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, when she married future U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1953.
The Ceciles married on October 5, 1957 at St.Vincent Ferrer's Roman Catholic Church in New York City. The bride wore a gown of white satin with a fitted bodice and full skirt forming a cathedral train and carried a bouquet of white roses, stephanotis, and English ivy.
Jacqueline Bouvier married U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy in Newport, Rhode Island on September 12, 1953. She is seen here with the Lee family veil billowing in the wind at Hammersmith Farm, her father's Newport home.
Jacqueline and Mini's grandmother, Margaret Merrit Lee, wore an exquisite rose point veil in 1903 when she married James Thomas Lee an American lawyer, banker, and real estate investor. They were the grandparents of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill.
