Hollywood wedding rings borrowed fumbled proxy

Hollywood Wedding Rings at the altar
Borrowed, Fumbled, Misunderstood
Proxy engagements, weddings

Prince Rainier takes ring for bride, Grace Kelly

When Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier the press and public misinterpreted some things that were done by tradition and/or protocol. 

It's common to read that the Prince fumbled with the ring as he placed it on her finger in 1956. Princess Grace would later explain what had happened.
 
"Everyone thought the Prince had trouble putting the ring on Grace's finger, but actually it was prearranged that she would help him -- to show her willingness to marry."

In 1929 when Lydell Peck slipped an engagement ring on the finger of actress Janet Gaynor she reportedly told him that she

Handmade Rhinestone Crystal
Flower Bridal Wedding Headband Tiara

wasn't a natural redhead. "You have the right to know..."

Orson Welles forgot to take wedding ring out of the box in 1943 when he was at the altar with bride Rita Hayworth. 

"After fumbling with it he was so nervous he couldn't get it on the proper Hayworth finger causing Judge Orlando H. Rhodes of Santa Monica superior court to suggest, 'hold her finger with your other hand.'" Actor Joseph Cotten was Welles' best man.

Engaged, Married by Proxy

Captain Blood poster
Errol Flynn Olivia De Havilland

During World War II there were multiple stories about couples, one of whom was in the military being engaged and married by proxy. They were unable to be together for the ceremony. Someone would stand in for the bride and groom.

Errol Flynn gave his bride-to-be, Patrice Wymore, a sapphire ring, the color of her eyes. "He did it by proxy since he was in bed with a cold. 

"The ring was a six carat sapphire of deep blue crusted with baguette diamonds. No one would say how much it cost. A representative of the jewelers gave Miss Wymore the ring in her hotel suite."  

Merle Oberon and film cameraman Lucien Ballard were married by proxy in 1945. She and Ballard were unable to leave work. Civil registrar in Mexico performed ceremony. Attorney JT Portillo took the role as bridegroom and

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Cake Tins Cake Pans 6" 8" 10" 12"

Alejandro Munox served as proxy bride.

Friend Cole Porter called it "the chicest thing I ever heard of."

Miss Oberon said, "We didn't want to be chic. We just wanted everything to be quiet and simple." There were also plans for a later wedding in the United States.

Borrowed Rings

In 1936 John Barrymore married Elaine Barrie. The groom lost her ring and had to borrow one from one of their witnesses.  

Madge Evans and Sidney Kingsley had to borrow a ring for their wedding in 1939. Their wedding was held shortly after Evans left the stage where she was appearing in a play in Ogunquit, Maine. The couple remained married for the rest of the bride's life, through 1981.

Lyle Talbot borrowed a ring for his wedding to dancer Tommye Adams (Abigail Adams) in 1942.

Misfits cast 1961 art print
Clark Gable Marylin Monroe w/Arthur Miller

The judge who married Marilyn Monroe and playwright Arthur Miller in 1956 said that "Miller mumbled something to the effect that the ring would be replaced later, indicating apparently that he had borrowed it for the occasion."
 

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Joan Crawford was married to Alfred Steele, head of Pepsi-Cola, in Las Vegas it was with a loaned wedding ring. She said they'd expected to be married ten days later. 

"We had ordered our wedding rings but at dinner we suddenly decided it would be a good idea to get married right away."

In 1970 When actress Patty Duke married William Tell, they  borrowed a plain gold band from a neighbor of the bridegroom's parents. 

Apparently the neighbor removed the ring and told the actress, "Here you can keep it." 

Joan Crawford classic
movie magazine cover Watch by Jakestuff

Related Pages of Interest:

Hollywood Stars and their Lost Wedding Rings

The Misfits, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe; Final Films

To Catch a Prince: Grace Kelly Wedding Collectible Barbie Doll


The Pittsburgh Press December 1936
The Daytona Beach Morning Journal June 1956
The Deseret News September 1950 
The Milwaukee Sentinel January 1942, May 1955  
The Spokesman-Review June 1970
The St. Petersburg Times October 1950
The Evening Independent July 1939, June 1945 
Modern Screen 1956