It’s 2’s day today! Tuesday, 2/22/22.

It’s also George Washington’s 290th birthday. In honor of our first President and Commander in Chief, let’s have a look at his legendary wedding.

But first, let me ask you, when you picture George and Martha Washington, what comes to mind? Gray hair? A little plump? Frumpy, maybe? Yeah, me too. But, truth is, they were both young and very fashionable once. High-end fashion, at that.

Below, we have a painting of Martha as a young woman, showing her elegant sense of style. (Her hair stylist must have had the day off here, though). The artist even captures the shimmer of the silk fabrics in his painting. There are also purchasing records, showing Martha’s orders of fine silk clothes and shoes, attesting further to her fashion sense. Not frumpy at all.

Yet, George and Martha were careful not to overdo. According to a letter by Abigail Adams (our first Second Lady as well as our second First Lady) to her sister, she found Martha Washington to be “modest and unassuming, dignified and feminine.”

At her wedding, on January 6, 1759, as noted by her family’s memoirs, Martha wore a yellow silk damask gown, trimmed with lace along the neckline and sleeve edge, over a cream colored silk petticoat, decorated with silver threads. The picture below is a reproduction of Martha’s wedding gown, based on this description, in the style that was common at the time, on display at the Mount Vernon museum.

Hmmm….yellow, for a wedding gown, you ask? Well, you see, the white wedding gown didn’t become tradition until Queen Victoria wore a white silk gown for her own wedding in 1840. Up until then, royal brides typically wore silver gowns. All other brides just wore their best gown, or purchased a new one, in any color, quite often black, which helped to hide the wear and tear. This was also Martha’s second wedding, as she was widowed in 1757. While still young, she may have chosen to be a bit more reserved.

Did you get a look at the reproduction wedding shoes in the photograph? Those were silk, too. Purple silk. With sequins. Whoa, Martha, you rock! The ruby slippers have nothing on you. This requires a closer look.

Below are the actual shoes Martha wore at her wedding. She would have had them buckled with a stylish faux diamond buckle in front, to keep the lappets securely closed. These belong to the Mount Vernon museum, though they are too delicate to remain on permanent display.

According to Ruth Ashby in her book, George and Martha Washington, George wore a “blue suit with a white satin waistcoat and blue buckles on his shoes.” In the lithograph below, we see a different depiction of George’s wedding suit. Martha’s gown and shoes are quite different as well.

It appears very few people knew or remembered the couple’s wedding ensembles, yet several people tried to memorialize the big day the best they knew how. Even if not completely accurate, they do give us an idea of what wedding styles were like back in the 1750’s.

George and Martha were married at her home in New Kent County, Virginia, coincidentally named, White House. (Ironic, then, that they would never occupy The White House, though George did select its building site.) The auspicious wedding date of Epiphany was purposefully chosen, as Twelfth Night is typically a time of celebration. They were married 40 happy years, until George’s death in December, 1799.

Cheers on your 290th birthday President Washington, and thank you, for everything you did for our country!

♦
Faith is the Senior Fashion Writer and Editor for legendary weddings at LLTM. Hire her to enchant your readers and get them talking!