Before she became a style icon and much-loved First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy O’Nassis was Jacqueline Bouvier, a George Washington University graduate, and inquiring photographer.

The course of her life changed when she met then-Congressman John F Kennedy and fell in love. The pair married in a lavish Newport, Rhode Island wedding. For her big day, the future First Lady was a vision in a buffant ivory silk-taffeta gown, which has gone down in history as one of the most iconic wedding dresses.

Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding dress has a surprising history and was created by Black seamstress Ann Lowe. Lowe was an incredibly talented designer who opened the door for many other independent designers of colour. As one of the first known black designers, however, she faced constant discrimination as she fought to become one of the most sought-after couturiers for the American elite. Among her customers were famed American families like the du Ponts, the Roosevelts, the Rockefellers, and the Kennedys.

Lowe was well acquainted with the Bouvier family and was thus commissioned to design Kennedy’s wedding dress in 1953. Julia Faye Smith, author of Ann Lowe’s biography Something to Prove, says it took Lowe and her team of seamstresses two months to complete the ornate creation that utilised over 50 yards of silk taffeta.

However, a mere 10 days before the big day, everything went wrong. Lowe’s studio was flooded by a broken waterline, which ruined not only the wedding dress but also the bridesmaids’ dresses.

A disaster like this could destroy Lowe’s reputation. So, she swallowed her sadness, purchased more fabric, hired extra help, and completely recreated the gown within a matter of days.

The dress was completed and stunned everyone. However, Lowe came out of the deal losing $2,000 instead of making a profit on what was her biggest wedding gown to date. She never told the family what happened. To make matters even sadder, Lowe never received proper credit for her hard work. When asked who made her famous dress, Kennedy told reporters, “a colored dressmaker did it.”

Lowe and Kennedy continued to work together on a number of occasions after the wedding. Smith explains that the women developed a mutual respect for one another. When she began losing her eyesight and her business, Lowe was financially saved by a mysterious benefactor. Lowe believed it was the First Lady who secretly stepped in to save her business.

Lowe died at age 82, with her business never truly reaching the degree of fame it should have.

“We need to remember Ann as a woman who, in the face of some of great adversity, persevered,” says Smith to Elle. “She knew what she was capable of doing, and she worked throughout her life to achieve it. From the Jim Crow South to the skyscrapers of New York, there were obstacles placed before her, but she proved that a designer of her race, or of any race, could become a major designer.”

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One of the most famous pop stars in the world, Britney Spears, has been entertaining us for decades. From her catchy tunes to her interesting personal life and unique Instagram posts, Britney spears will go down in history as one the most iconic pop stars to ever exist.

Spears has been married twice in her life, both of which happened in one year. Her weddings were very different, and has changed her outlook on marriage. Here are the two men who drove her crazy, she just couldn’t sleep.

Husband 1: Jason Alexander

The iconic star’s first marriage might also be the shortest celebrity marriage to exist. On 3 January 2004, she married childhood best friend Jason Alexander on a whim while in Las Vegas.

Their wedding seemingly came out of nowhere. They had been in Vegas for a few days to party over New Years and randomly decided to tie the knot.

“It was just so crazy, man,” Alexander later told Access Hollywood. “We were just looking at each other and said, ‘Let’s do something wild, crazy. Let’s go get married, just for the hell of it.’”

Spears wore a baseball cap and torn jeans to say ‘I do’. The pair tied the knot at the Little White Chapel in Las Vegas, a venue quite popular among celebs. Judy Garland married her fourth husband Mark Herron at this famous chapel in 1965. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore tied the knot here in 1987, as well as Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow in 1966.

Like many other things in Vegas, Spears and Alexander’s inebriated decision was a mistake. The pair quickly had their marriage annulled a mere 55 hours later. The reason for the annulment cited in the papers read that Spears “lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage.”

What happens in Vegas…

Husband 2: Kevin Federline

Hot on the heels of her first wedding, Spears married back-up dancer Kevin Federline in July 2004. The pair had met at a Hollywood club, and their romance quickly became serious. So much so that Spears popped the question while on a private plane from Ireland to New York after a few months of dating.

“I’d finished the European part of my tour and I was going home. I was ready to get back to the States. I was really happy. Kevin was with me, so I’d had a lot of fun on the tour,” she told People back in 2004.

“We were a couple hours into the flight, and we’d been talking the whole time, stuff about life, wanting to have kids, the future and everything like that. It was an intimate conversation. And we’d always talked about how some people don’t have to get married when they’re in love. Then all of a sudden I said, ‘What if you want to get married?’ And I kind of went from there to asking him if he would marry me. I asked him… He said no because he thought it wasn’t the right way to do it,” she said.

Federline initially turned the proposal down, then asked Spears to marry him a few minutes later.

After their initial planning was highly publicized, the pair instead decided to secretly tie the knot on October 18 at their home.

“I just thought it would be too much if we had done it when we were supposed to,” Britney told People.

“It became this huge thing and I was like, ‘What are we waiting for? We know this is the real thing, why not just do it now?’ That’s why I wanted to sneak and do it our little way.”

They surprised 30 of their closest friends and family with a wedding at their Studio City home. Spears wore a strapless Monique Lhullier gown and accessorized with lace half-gloves and a lengthy tulle veil.

It was an emotional event. “As she was standing there, tears were falling. When her daddy lifted up her veil and kissed her on the cheek and shook hands with Kevin, it was so sweet. That started all the tears,” longtime assistant and bridesmaid, Felicia Culotta, told People.

For their backyard reception, she changed into a mini lace dress also by Monique Lhullier. Federline removed Spears’ garter with his teeth, to the entertainment of the crowd.

Guests feasted on fried chicken fingers, crab cakes, ribs and mashed potatoes.

The newlyweds and their guests, wearing matching sweatsuits with ‘Pimps’ and ‘Maids’ emblazoned on the back in diamantés, ended the evening at Los Angeles hotspot XES.

The couple went on to have two children and a reality show before calling it quits in 2007. In an interview, Spears said she doesn’t see herself walking down the aisle again.

“I think [I won’t] ever do the whole men thing anymore, or get married. I’m just done with men — I may French kiss someone, but I won’t ever get married.”

Feature image: Pinterest

Sometimes, things are better left off social media. Unfortunately, this groom-to-be did not know this, and ended up losing his fiancée over comments he posted on Reddit.

Taking to Reddit, an unnamed man asked fellow users if he is wrong for feeling his fiancée’s wedding dress was too extravagant and for suggesting cheaper alternatives. The couple, who were scheduled to marry in July, were both saving money for the wedding. However, the man is concerned about what the bride wants to spend the money on.

“We jointly put aside 10 k each for the wedding, everything is paid and we have 6 k left over which i think could go towards the honeymoon on top of the honeymoon fund we already had,” writes the groom. “We aren’t the extravagant type at all, then comes the time for Emma to pick her dress. I know everything is more expensive when it has the term wedding attached to it what i wasn’t expecting was an $950 dress plus $120 veil!”

The groom searched for dresses online and was able to find cheaper dupes, but his bride was not interested.

“I tried to show her some dresses i found on a recommended app called wish and others on website’s but she was having none of it…It turned nasty unfortunately because i said i refuse to drop such a large amount of money on a dress and she argued that she is using her own money for the dress. Which isn’t strictly true as we are about to marry and our finances will be joined.”

“I thought she would be ecstatic to learn there are identical dresses for a fraction of the cost but she was really angry and upset,” the groom continues. “Is there something I am seriously missing because after we argued about the dress Emma has been Extremely cold towards me. Then yestersay she said if i want her to cheap out on her wedding dress on her wedding day that she needs to really consider if we are a good match for marriage.”

Following their argument, Emma left the couples home to stay with her parents. She then found this Reddit thread and cancelled the wedding.

Hopefully this groom learns that its best not to air personal grievances online where anyone can read them.

Feature image: Unsplash