Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a beautiful bride in a truly meaningful gown.
On Saturday, the granddaughter of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy got married in an intimate ceremony in Miami. The 26-year-old bride and Michael "Mikey" Serafin Garcia were originally set to marry in front of 200 people. Like many couples tying the knot in 2020, they decided to scale their celebration back to immediate family only.
There were small touches of Eunice's grandmother throughout the wedding. Eunice rode in her grandmother's convertible, a gift from her grandfather, on the beautiful day. She also wore her grandmother's 67-year-old wedding dress.
The vintage Dior gown needed a little TLC, so Eunice worked with pros to restore it. Luckily, the size was perfect. Eunice happens to be the same height and have the same waist size her grandmother did on her wedding day in 1953. It was those little pieces of magic that made all the other weirdness of a wedding in 2020 float away for the happy couple.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver was one of many brides who had to adjust their visions for their weddings with the realization that the health crisis would be a longstanding issue. She originally planned to marry Michael "Mikey" Serafin Garcia in front of 200 guests. Eunice revealed that scaling back wasn't exactly easy.
"We both have large immediate families," she told Vogue.
"So siblings, their families, and our parents alone made for 32 guests," she continued.
"We were hoping things would have eased by October, but we came to the realization that [with] the way things were, it didn't feel right to ask guests to travel to Florida or do a larger event, especially if it wasn't going to be the way we envisioned."
Making changes was also tough because the regulations around the number of people permitted to gather kept changing in Miami.
"We were supposed to have our reception at another restaurant's private dining room, but then the capacity laws and regulations changed, so we had to find a new venue for the reception a month before the wedding," Eunice explained.
"For a few days, the restrictions for indoor seating at restaurants changed daily in Miami. The back-and-forth was difficult to keep up with. Even within the month of our wedding, there were a few major changes due to the regulations."
After a week of rain, Eunice awoke to blue skies on her wedding day, October 17. It was the perfect weather to ride in her grandmother's convertible with the top down. It had been gifted to the elder Eunice by her husband, Sargent Shriver. The 1965 Lincoln Continental was her something blue.
Not only did Eunice have her grandparents' convertible, but she wore her grandmother's 67-year-old Dior wedding dress.
"My grandmother wore it at her wedding to my grandfather on May 23, 1953, and 67 years later, I wore it to marry Mikey," Eunice gushed.
"The dress has aged into a French vanilla ivory, and there are a few holes in it, but I didn't care."
The dress fit perfectly, as Eunice is the same height and has the same-size waist that her grandmother did on her own wedding day. Eunice worked with experts to restore it and create a new matching bodice and ivory veil.
"The dress was as delicate as tissue paper," she said.
"So we had to handle it with great care. I was afraid to even sit!"
The two got married at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, the church Eunice has been attending her entire life.
"There was never a question as to where the ceremony would be," she said.
"We had a traditional Catholic wedding with a full mass. Our families only filled the first few pews, but the mostly empty church was filled with music."
The church had tight regulations to keep everyone safe.
"Although technically masks and social distancing are not required in places of worship in Florida, St. Patrick's is very safety conscious and placed distance markings down the aisle and only let our family take their masks off for the processional," Eunice noted.
"Red tape every six feet down the aisle wasn't exactly my vision, but it's part of having a wedding in 2020. The church clergy has been at the bedside of many patients in hospitals and take the pandemic quite seriously."
"It might have looked physically empty in the church with only 32 guests," Mikey said of their day.
"But the energy of that day filled the room. It was the best moment of my life.
"As I walked down the aisle with my mom and then watched Eunice walk in with her dad, it was tough to hold in my tears. She was the most beautiful bride ever. Throughout the ceremony, I made sure to soak in every moment with her until eventually walking out with a permanent smile for the rest of the evening."
The couple finished out the night with a family dinner at the Four Seasons Surf Club. There, Eunice had a surprise in store for Mikey.
"After our family dinner, I surprised Mikey by having a handful of our closest friends come to the Four Seasons Surf Club," she shared.
"Mikey is Mr. Social, and the small wedding was not his dream. I knew how much it would mean to him to see some of our closest friends to celebrate."
