Eunice Kennedy Shriver marries wearing namesake grandmother's Dior wedding dress

The bride's 'something blue' was her grandmother's vintage car

Eunice Kennedy Shriver wore her namesake grandmother's wedding dress, 67 years after it was first worn. Getty Images 

The Kennedy family is deeply intertwined with American culture, with their every move followed and documented with a fervour normally reserved for royalty.

So when news broke that Eunice Kennedy Shriver had married her partner, Michael 'Mikey' Serafin Garcia, America took notice.

For her ‘something old’, the bride chose to wear the very same dress her namesake grandmother had worn for her own wedding in 1957.

Made by Christian Dior, the original dress had a boat neck, trimmed with small tiered ruffles that also covered the skirt. With long sleeves, a train and a long veil, it was elegant and sophisticated.

The senior Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the sister of President John F Kennedy, Attorney General Bobby Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy and diplomat Jean Kennedy. After her nuptials, she stored the dress away at the family home, where it remained for almost seven decades.

A renowned philanthropist, Shriver Kennedy, who died in 2009, founded the Special Olympics, and enjoyed a close relationship with her granddaughter, who was named in her honour. When the younger Shriver Kennedy announced her engagement, her father, Anthony Shriver, told her about the vintage Dior gown that was packed away.

Inevitably, the years had taken their toll on the gown, and only the skirt with train remained wearable. The bodice, sleeves and veil were too destroyed to salvage. Undeterred, the bride enlisted Miami bridal boutique Ever After to create a new bodice, in keeping with the old but now with a more modern feel.

Opting for a sweetheart-necked bodice and ivory veil, the company also made a matching short skirt for the bride to change into for the wedding party.

Speaking to US Vogue, the bride explained: "My grandmother wore it at her wedding to my grandfather on May 23, 1953, and 67 years later, I wore it to marry Mikey."

Declaring that she "didn't care" the fabric had aged to the colour of French vanilla, or that it had some holes, Kennedy Shriver Jr was happy to be able to wear it. "The dress was as delicate as tissue paper, so we had to handle it with great care. I was afraid to even sit.”

Although the wedding took place in October, only now are details being revealed. Originally planned as a lavish affair, the pandemic meant it had to be re-thought to a more modest occasion, with just 32 people at St Patrick Church, the church the bride's family has attended on Sundays throughout her life.

Another link to her grandmother, and perhaps her 'something blue', was the blue Lincoln Continental convertible used to ferry her to the ceremony, which was gifted by her grandfather to her grandmother in 1965.

Since their wedding, the couple have honeymooned in Moab, Utah, a US city known for its dramatic rocky scenery.

Garcia shared a photo of his new wife at the luxurious Amangiri hotel, where stays start at around $2,200 per night.