The wedding of Elvis and Priscilla Presley on May 1, 1967, lasted only eight minutes, but required a lot of careful planning to pull it off right.

“It was the best kept secret,” Priscilla said in a video interview for Elvis by the Presleys“Everything had to be carefully planned. … We didn’t want to make this public because we didn’t want it to become a … circus.”

With the help of Elvis’ manager Colonel Parker and their closest confidants, the couple managed to throw the paparazzi off their trail by moving at the last minute from Palm Springs, California, to Las Vegas to marry in a private suite at the Aladdin Hotel.

“It was like secrecy,” said Priscilla. “Actually, it was quite exciting.”

Although the bride remembered being nervous leading up to her “I do,” the big day went smoothly. “We were happy to be married, we were overjoyed that we made it, we were happy that our friends and family were here,” she said.

Although the couple divorced in 1972, Priscilla never remarried after their separation, even after Elvis’ early death in 1977. “I never wanted to remarry after him,” she said during a Q&A in 2023. “I never had any desire to. No one could hold a candle to him.”

Read on to find out all the details about Elvis and Priscilla Presley’s wedding.

Elvis and Priscilla were married where Planet Hollywood is today

Elvis and Priscilla married in Las Vegas in the private suite of Aladdin Hotel owner Milton Prell, who was friends with Elvis’ manager.

The hotel remained standing for another 30 years before being demolished in 1998. Although it has undergone several renovations since then, it is now the site of what is now Planet Hollywood Las Vegas.

Elvis demanded a change in their traditional vows

While Elvis was traditional in some ways, waiting until their wedding night to consummate his relationship with Priscilla, he reportedly requested a more unconventional change in the timing of the couple’s wedding vows.

The “Jailhouse Rock” singer is said to have asked that the word “obey” be removed from Priscilla’s vows.

Priscilla used a decoy groom when shopping for the wedding dress

According to Priscilla, the search for her dress was an adventure in which she needed the help of Elvis’ buddy Charlie Hodge to keep the matter secret.

As she remembered fashion: “I went into the dressing room, came out with a wedding dress and asked Charlie, ‘What do you think, darling, do you like it?’ People (thought) we were getting married.”

The trick worked: Priscilla found her dream dress – a white silk chiffon gown with a beaded yoke and empire waist embellished with seed pearls – while flying unnoticed at Westwood. “It wasn’t extravagant, it wasn’t extreme – it was simple and, to me, beautiful,” the bride once said of the dress.

In addition to the uncomplicated aesthetic, Priscilla was also taken with the airy feel of the dress fabric. “I liked it because it was very feminine, very light and not too heavy and went very well with Elvis’ suit,” she explained to fashion in 2023.

The dress was completed with a three-foot-long veil attached with a rhinestone crown.

Elvis needed a support wire to keep his pompadour upright

Priscilla was not the only one who paid special attention to her appearance on her wedding day. According to British VogueElvis went to great lengths to prevent his famous hairstyle from falling down and even wore a support wire to keep it in place.

He also went to great lengths when it came to suits. Elvis’ black silk brocade tuxedo with paisley pattern was tailored by MGM tailor Lambert Marks, who had previously worked with the singer on films such as Girl happy And Spin-offThe design comes from a sketch by Elvis’ buddy and co-best man Marty Lacker.

Finally, the singer rounded off his chic look with a platinum, diamond and sapphire watch and a pair of cowboy boots.

Elvis and Priscilla had a very special wedding guest

Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding was an extremely intimate affair. fashion Only about 14 participants were registered.

Sanford and Son Among those present were the couple’s closest friends and family, as well as actor Redd Foxx, who died in 1991.

Foxx said of the invitation: “This is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding celebration helped them deceive the press

Among those who supported the couple on their big day were the Blue Hawaii the actor’s co-bridesmen, Lacker and Joe Esposito, Priscilla’s sister Michelle Beaulieu, who served as the bride’s maid of honor, and her parents, Joseph Beaulieu and Anna Iversen, who the groom flew in as a wedding gift, according to the outlet.

As Elvis’ friend Esposito explained to Larry King, the wedding party went to great lengths to keep the press at bay. “We all went to Palm Springs to fool everyone,” he said.

According to Esposito, the group sneaked to the airport the night before the big day, where they boarded Frank Sinatra’s jet bound for Las Vegas.

From there, Esposito told King, they went straight to City Hall to get the marriage license for Elvis and Priscilla before arriving at the Aladdin Hotel for the couple’s ceremony. “(They) got married that morning,” he said, noting that the press was still in Palm Springs to attend the 9 a.m. wedding.

He added: “It was a great honor to be best man at (Elvis’) wedding.”

Elvis had a special gift made for the maid of honour

Michelle, who was just 13 years old at the time, did not learn that her big sister was getting married until she boarded the plane to be by her side. “I told my mother that no one should know,” Priscilla explained in a video interview for Elvis by the Presleys.

When her sister was born, Elvis gave her a special ring that he had made especially for her. “It was really sweet,” Michelle said on the special. “He said, ‘Here’s something… for you because you’re my maid of honor.’ He said, ‘I had it made especially for you.'”

According to Michelle, Elvis also shared his thoughts on the ring with her, saying, “I really like this. I think it’s a really unusual design. I think you’ll like it too.”

They danced their first dance to an Elvis song

After eating their first meal as husband and wife, which consisted of about $10,000 worth of suckling pig, Rockefeller oysters, lobster, Southern-style chicken, and of course champagne, the bride and groom danced their first dance to an Elvis song.

However, instead of settling on the ever-popular “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You,” the couple opted for 1956’s “Love Me Tender.”

Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding cake had six tiers

The wedding cake, designed by Aladdin Hotel pastry chef Denis Martig, was a six-tiered wonder.

Martig described the confectionery Memphis Magazine in 2013, which stated: “The cake itself was a yellow sponge cake. Each layer was filled twice with apricot jam and a Bavarian cherry cream. All layers were glazed with cherry fondant icing and decorated with icing and marzipan roses.”

They had a second wedding reception at Graceland

For guests who were unable to attend, the Graceland website revealed that the newlyweds held a second wedding reception much closer to home on May 29, 1967, in the trophy room of their Memphis, Tennessee, home.

Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding ensembles inspired a Barbie gift set

Elvis and Priscilla’s wedding ensembles left a lasting legacy.

In addition to the new edition for 2022 Elvis and 2023 PriscillaThe outfits were immortalized in a Barbie gift set for the couple by Mattel in 2008.

They did not renew their wedding vows in Hawaii

Although it was widely reported that Elvis and Priscilla renewed their vows in Hawaii in the early 1970s, Priscilla refuted the rumor on Facebook in December 2015. “We loved spending time in Hawaii. It was Elvis’ absolute favorite vacation spot. But no, we did not renew our vows there,” she wrote.

Priscilla added: “He went there to escape the limelight… not to make it.”