The wedding of President Grover Cleveland, who was 49 years old, and his bride Frances Folsom, who was 21 years old, took place on June 2, 1886, in the Blue Room of the White House. Cleveland was the sitting President of the United States and remains the only U.S. president to be married in the White House. The wedding was highly publicized, though only close associates of the bride and groom were permitted to attend the ceremony. A reception was held as a public event one week after the ceremony.
Background
Cleveland, born in 1837, was the law partner of Folsom's father, Oscar Folsom, and a close family friend. They first met when Folsom, born in 1864, was an infant while Cleveland was already an adult. In 1875, Folsom's father died in a buggy accident, and Cleveland was appointed the executor of his estate and became her unofficial guardian. He maintained a close relationship with her while she was in school while he became Governor of New York and then President of the United States. When Cleveland was inaugurated as president, he was still a bachelor. He had previously indicated a desire not to marry, and a White House wedding seemed unlikely. Media speculation was pervasive, and a Ms. Van Vechten was considered the most likely bride-to-be, though little else about her is known.
While in college, Folsom became engaged twice, though neither engagement resulted in marriage. She expressed to her mother her desire to marry an older man. Cleveland and Folsom began a courtship. He proposed to her shortly after, asking, "Would you put your life in my hands?" The engagement was kept secret from the press, and Folsom vacationed in Europe with her mother for several months. Rumors of their engagement were initially dismissed as gossip, for speculation of the president's love life was common. Popular gossip had considered Folsom's mother to be a more likely object of Cleveland's attentions. Cleveland found this frustrating, wondering why speculation paired him with "old ladies".
Folsom returned to New York City on May 27. Cleveland took a train to meet her on May 30. Cleveland participated in a Memorial Day parade while in New York, and the president's engagement was celebrated; the band played the "Wedding March", "He's Going to Marry Yum-Yum", and "Come Where My Love Lies Dreaming". As Folsom looked on the parade, Cleveland tipped his hat to her. She waved, much to the appreciation of the crowd. Both avoided further public attention in the days leading up to the wedding, with Cleveland staying at a country home and Folsom secluded in New York. On June 1, Folsom and her mother took a train to Washington, D.C. Newspapers covered the days leading up to the wedding in great detail, sometimes running multiple stories on the wedding every day, covering every detail of the wedding's preparation.
Ceremony
Cleveland had little interest in an elaborate wedding, but Folsom insisted on a grand event. He and his sister Rose Cleveland personally organized the event at the White House. The wedding was attended by close family and friends as well as members of the Cabinet of the United States. In total, only 31 people attended the ceremony itself. The press was expressly forbidden from attending the ceremony, though reporters were allowed to see the decorations before the area was closed off. Hundreds of spectators gathered around the White House as the guests arrived.
The Blue Room was redecorated to serve as the venue for the wedding ceremony. It was decorated with numerous flowers and other houseplants, including begonias, azaleas, camellias, pansies, ferns, roses, and palms. The wedding's date was inscribed in the flower bed, written out in an arrangement of white pansies, and the initials "CF" were written with white roses. The fireplace was filled with flowers in the colors of a fire. The phrase "e pluribus unum" was written on a scroll above the main doorway. The East Room was decorated with palms, ferns, azaleas, and hydrangeas.