The Many Wedding Dresses of Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor had her fair share of weddings and I've tried to collect photographs of her 9 (she had 2 ceremonies when she married Mike Todd) wedding dresses along with a brief summary of her 8 marriages. I'll take this opportunity to recommend a fairly new-ish book,"Elizabeth Taylor: Her Life in Style" by Susan Kelly. Her fashion sense was very much hit and miss, and this book gives a good overview. I really think that she was one of the best dressed women in the 50s. But anyway, back to her weddings, all will be revealed under the image-heavy cut.




Elizabeth Taylor and Nicky Hilton

In May 1950, 18 year old Elizabeth married 23 year old Conad 'Nicky' Hilton in an extravagant MGM staged wedding in Beverly Hills. Her dress was designed by Hollywood costume designer, Helen Rose, who also designed the wedding dress she wore in Father of the Bride, and later, Grace Kelly's wedding dress.

Elizabeth later said that the marriage lasted for 2 weeks on their honeymoon before Nicky proved himself to be a violent, abusive alcoholic with drug and gambling habits. Elizabeth filed for divorce in November 1950, citing 'extreme mental cruelty'.

 

photo credit:  defamer

photo credit: chicvintagebrides

Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Wilding

When Elizabeth was 19 years old she met British actor, Michael Wilding, during the filming of Ivanhoe in London. They married on the 21st of February 1952. Michael was 20 years her senior and offered stability for Elizabeth after her unhappy relationship with Nicky. She later blamed the failure of her marriage to Michael on her immaturity. They had 2 sons together, but divorced in 1957.

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photo credit: chicvintagebrides

photo credit: glamour

 Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd

Elizabeth married Broadway and movie producer, Mike Todd, on the 2nd of February 1957 and converted to Judaism for the marriage. The union was very happy and they had a daughter in August of the same year. Mike Todd indulged Elizabeth's love of jewellery, buying some of her most loved and beautiful pieces. After just 13 months together, Mike's private plane, the unfortunately named, 'Lucky Liz', crashed in New Mexico. Elizabeth was supposed to be on the flight with him, but Mike insisted that she stay at home as she was suffering from a cold. Elizabeth was widowed at just 26, and left utterly heartbroken.

 L-R: Mr and Mrs Francis Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Mike Todd, Howard Taylor (Liz's brother) and wife, 

This photo is from their civil (?) ceremony in Spain.

photo credit: glamour

Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher

After Mike Todd's death, Elizabeth turned to his best friend, Eddie Fisher, for comfort. Eddie Fisher was married to Debbie Reynolds, and when he and Elizabeth fell in love, Taylor was branded as a 'homewrecker' in the ensuing scandal. Debbie and Eddie divorced on the 12th of May 1959, and Eddie married Elizabeth on the same day in Las Vegas.  Elizabeth wore a green dress for the ceremony.

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photo credit: everyjew.com

photo credit:  everyjew.com

photo credit: Andrew Garth 

 Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton

During the filming of Cleopatra, Elizabeth met her Mark Antony, and the famous affair began. Richard beautifully described the first time he saw her:

"She was so extraordinarily beautiful that I nearly laughed out loud. She (was) famine, fire, destruction and plague... She was unquestionably gorgeous. She was lavish. She was a dark, unyielding largesse. She was, in short, too bloody much.  Those huge violet blue eyes... had an odd glint... Aeons passed, civilisations came and went while these cosmic headlights examined my flawed personality." 

Since they were both married to other people, their very public affair sparked condemnation from the Vatican, who accused them of 'erotic vagrancy'. Elizabeth and Fisher finalised their divorce in March 1964, and 9 days afterwards, Richard and Elizabeth married in Montreal.

Elizabeth wore a yellow chiffon dress, flowers in her hair, and an emerald brooch which Richard had bought her.

photo credit: Keurslijf Inspiratiebronnen

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 photo credit: keehuachee

photo credit: keehuachee

photo credit: keehuachee

photo credit: otro_rob

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (again)

After divorcing in 1974, Elizabeth and Richard remarried on the 10th of October 1975 in Botswana and Elizabeth wore a colourful Gina Fratini wedding dress. The underlying problems which ended their first marriage resumed though, and alcoholism destroyed their second attempt. Richard left Elizabeth for another woman after just 5 months, and they divorced for the final time in July 1976. When asked about why their relationship failed, Elizabeth said, "Perhaps we loved each other too much."

photo credit: chicvintagebrides

photo credit: ibitimes.co.uk

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Elizabeth Taylor and John Warner

Elizabeth's next husband was John Warner, the Republican senator, and they married in 1976. (I couldn't find a photo from their wedding but I've read that she wore a turban and fur stole with her dress. Let's just settle for the dress in the photo below and imagine a turban.) Though Elizabeth immersed herself in supporting her husband's political campaign, John was a workaholic and Elizabeth's loneliness showed itself in weight gain. They divorced in 1982.

Elizabeth Taylor Larry Fortensky

In 1991 Elizabeth married construction worker and carpenter, Larry Fortensky, at the Neverland ranch, after meeting at the Betty Ford Clinic in 1988. Their commitment to sobriety kept them together, but ultimately Larry's unease with the showbiz life and media interest which followed Elizabeth, strained the marriage, leading them to divorce in 1996.

photo credit: glamour

When asked by an interviewer why she had married so many times, Elizabeth replied, "I don't know, honey. It sure beats the hell out of me."