User:Iamthecheese44/Wedding of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly

The wedding of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly took place in April 1956. The civil ceremony was conducted on 18 April in the Prince's Palace of Monaco, and the religious ceremony was held the next day on 19 April in St. Nicholas Cathedral, Monaco.

Background and engagement
The groom, Rainier III, was the reigning Prince of Monaco at the time. He was the son of Princess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois, and Count Pierre de Polignac.

The bride, Grace Kelly, was a successful American actress. She was the third of four children born to Olympic rowing champion John B. Kelly Sr. and physical education instructor Margaret Katherine Majer.

The pair had met

Civil ceremony
The Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the rules of the Roman Catholic Church necessitated not just one but two ceremonies: one civil and one religious.

Venue
The religious ceremony was held at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Monaco-Ville. It is was a number of members of the Monegasque Princely family are interred.

Bridal party
Kelly chose her elder sister, Margaret "Peggy" Conlin, as her Matron of Honor.

Bride
Like the dress Kelly wore for her civil wedding ceremony, the wedding dress she wore for the religious ceremony was also designed by Helen Rose, and was a wedding gift from MGM.

Bridal attendants
The dresses worn by the bridesmaids were designed by Joe Allen Hong at Neiman Marcus.

Relatives of the Bride

 * John B. Kelly Sr. and Margaret Katherine Majer, the bride's parents
 * Margaret Conlin, the bride's sister
 * John B. Kelly Jr., the bride's brother
 * Elizabeth Kelly, the bride's sister

Religious figures

 * Aga Khan III

Celebrity and other notable guests

 * Ava Gardner
 * Cary Grant
 * Gloria Guinness
 * Conrad Hilton
 * David Niven and his wife Hjördis
 * Aristotle Onassis
 * Gloria Swanson