Elvis and Priscilla Presley were one of the most famous celebrity couples of the late ’60s and early ’70s. While the lead-up to their wedding was a long time coming, it became an intimate event for the ages.
Prior to the wedding, guests stayed at Elvis’ Palm Springs home, and after midnight, the wedding party boarded two private planes bound for McCarran airport. At 3:30 a.m., the group accompanied Elvis and Priscilla Presley to the county courthouse to get their marriage licenses. The events leading up to the wedding were recounted by Elvis’ longtime friend, George Klein, in the memoir “Elvis: My Best Man.”
Priscilla was 21 and Elvis was 32 when they finally tied the knot in 1967. The marriage took place during Priscilla’s birth month of May, on 1. sSortly after the wedding she turned 22 on May 24.. Their entire wedding was eight minutes long and included only 14 guests. The ceremony was followed by a press conference and a Champagne breakfast for 100 guests organized by Elvis’ former manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
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The wedding was recently portrayed in the Oscar-nominated biopic “Elvis,” which featured Austin Butler in the titular role and Olivia Debone as Priscilla. A new look at the event was included in “Priscilla,” a biopic directed by Sofia Coppola about Priscilla Presley based on her 1985 memoir, “Elvis and Me.” The film, which premiered Monday at the Venice Film Festival, stars Cailee Spaeny in the title role and Jacob Elordi as Elvis.
“It was really fun to work with someone new and see what they are capable of. She really anchors it,” Coppola said to WWD of Spaeny’s work and performance in the film. Coppola’s goal with the film was to capture Elvis and Priscilla’s torrid and unique romance. The movie will hit theaters on Oct. 27.
How did Elvis and Priscilla meet?
Elvis first met Priscilla in 1959, when he was 24 and she was 14. They were introduced to each other during a party Elvis held at a house rented in Germany, during his time serving in the army.
While the age gap between them is controversial, Priscilla has said that the two did not become physically involved until they were married. By the time Elvis left for the army, he had already achieved a high level of fame.
In 1960, Elvis left Germany and returned to the U.S. He kept in touch with Priscilla via telephone.
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In 1962, Priscilla’s parents agreed to let her spend two weeks with Elvis in Los Angeles. She was 17 at the time. Rather than travel to the pre-approved location of Los Angeles, the two ran off to Las Vegas.
After visiting Graceland in December 1962, Priscilla’s parents allowed her to move to Graceland, his palatial estate in Tennessee, after Elvis promised Priscilla’s father she’d finish high school, live with his parents first and he’d eventually marry her.
Despite his promise to marry her, Elvis would have a series of affairs between 1963 and their wedding in 1967. By 1966, he proposed to Priscilla with a 3.5-carat diamond engagement ring with 20 detachable diamonds. Elvis had a matching ring, and he hired Memphis jeweler Harry Levitch to find him and Priscilla rings to his specifications.
In an effort to keep the press and fans at bay, Elvis and Priscilla got married at 9 a.m. in the morning, an exceptionally early time for a wedding, even a small one. Priscilla’s sister, Michelle Beaulieu, served as the maid of honor for the ceremony.
Priscilla Presley’s wedding dress
For her nuptials, she wore a classic white floor-length wedding gown made from silk chiffon. The dress featured a beaded neckline and had seed pearl embellished sleeves. The dress was accompanied by a classic sheer veil. Per Elvis’ request, when he and Priscilla took their views, the word “obey” was omitted.
Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s wedding cake
One of the most notable aspects of the wedding was the $3,200 cake. The cake was a yellow sponge, and each layer was filled twice with apricot marmalade and Bavarian cream. All the layers were glazed with fondant icing and decorated with royal icing and marzipan roses. The care took 20 pounds of Crisco shortening to make. Other details of the cake included 48 2-inch sugar hearts and 478 silver sugared almonds. Adjusted for inflation, that cake would cost over $29,000 today.
Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s divorce
Despite their long road to marriage, the two divorced in 1973. They remained amicable and upon Elvis’ death at 42 years old in 1977, Priscilla was named the executor of his estate. Elvis never remarried, and to this day neither has Priscilla. Together they had their only child, Lisa-Marie Presley, who died in 2023 at the age of 54.