Marriage and Movies: The Real-Life Romance That Promoted “Father of the Bride” 

Released in 1950, Father of the Bride starring Elizabeth Taylor captivated audiences with its delightful portrayal of a father-daughter relationship, but it also made headlines with an unexpected real-world twist. On May 6, 1950, at the age of 18, Elizabeth Taylor married 24-year-old Conrad “Nicky” Hilton. The wedding, held just blocks from her childhood home, was a spectacle. As so often happened in Elizabeth’s career, the line between fact and fiction began to blur with her real-life wedding to Nicky Hilton and her fictional wedding on film.

Elizabeth, extremely sheltered due to her upbringing within the studio system and therefore innocent in ways different from other young women her age, wore a wedding dress designed by MGM costume designer Helen Rose — the same designer behind Grace Kelly’s iconic wedding gown. The entire wedding, including the dress, was a gift from MGM Studios, showing just how in control they were over Elizabeth's image and personal life. They also played a role in selecting Elizabeth’s bridesmaids (Betty Sulivan and Jane Powell among them), who were all under contract with MGM, and considering her life revolved around the studio, these were women she knew well.

Directed by Vincente Minelli, Father of the Bride tells the story of a father, played by Spencer Tracy, who is overwhelmed by the complexities and expenses of his daughter’s (Elizabeth Taylor) extravagant wedding. Elizabeth, on her rise to becoming Hollywood’s favorite celebrity, was cast in the role of the bride in both the movie and real life. MGM saw Elizabeth’s impending nuptials to the heir to the Hilton hotel empire as an opportunity to blend her personal life with the film’s narrative, transforming her wedding into a publicity event tied to the movie’s release. 

Though short-lived, the nuptials between Elizabeth and Nicky elevated her higher into Hollywood royalty and further propelled the film into cinematic legend. Revisiting films like Father of the Bride opens viewers to the enduring appeal of classic cinema and offers a glimpse into the fascinating behind-the-scenes stories that shaped Elizabeth’s career and Hollywood’s golden age.