14 Rare Photos From JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s Secret Wedding

When John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy tied the knot on September 21, 1996, they did so in a secret wedding. Just 40 of their closest family and friends joined them for the ceremony in a one-room church on Cumberland Island in Georgia. Due to the secrecy surrounding the celebration, few photos have ever been released of the festivities. However, recently, 14 images taken by Carole Radziwill, a guest at the nuptials and the groom’s cousin’s wife, were shared by CNN. “It’s almost like they eloped with 30 of their closest friends. It was very much like that,” she told the outlet. “You didn’t get the sense that anything was overly planned. They just let things happen the way they happened. And there was something so beautiful about that.”

The intimate and pared-back nuptials were successfully kept a secret from the outside world. “It became apparent pretty quickly that nobody in the world knew we were there or why we were there,” Carole told the outlet. “That in itself was magical, because we were just like, ‘Oh, my God, they pulled it off.’ Mostly Carolyn pulled it off, because she was determined to be married privately.” In one of the rare photos shared by CNN, the newlyweds are seen cutting into their three-tier white wedding cake, which was decorated with an assortment of florals.

A number of the pictures released by the outlet provide a look at the couple’s rehearsal dinner. For the occasion, in which the two mingled with family and friends, the publicist donned a V-neck slip dress in a neutral shade. In other images, the groom is seen getting ready for the big day, speaking with Senator Ted Kennedy and John Perry Barlow before the ceremony, and sharing a laugh with his best man and cousin, Anthony Radziwill, who was Carole’s husband.

Carole also provided more details about the bride’s arrival at the intimate ceremony to CNN. “It was already dark by that point, so they were lighting the inside of the church with candles,” she told the outlet. “It was very impromptu. I just remember the doors opening in the back of the chapel and her walking in. She just looked so beautiful. And the light was insane. It was like a movie.” However, even though the space may have felt magical, the darkened setting wasn’t an intentional choice. Due to an issue with Carolyn’s gown, the two were forced to push their ceremony back a few hours. To avoid saying “I do” in complete darkness, they decided to fill the room with candles, transforming it into something showstopping.

While none of the rare photos show the duo exchanging vows, one picture depicts the reception space, in which a number of dinner tables were positioned under a white canopy tent with tea candles and hydrangeas. In one image, the bride and groom share a dance at the post-nuptial celebration—with her wearing his suit jacket to stay warm on the fall evening.