President Theodore Roosevelt and Daughter Alice Descend Grand Stairway
Date: February 17, 1906
Creator: New York Journal-American
Medium: Illustration
This illustration of President Theodore Roosevelt escorting Alice down the main staircase to the State Floor for the East Room ceremony was tinted by P. Hall Baglie. However, in her 1933 autobiography Crowded Hours, Alice reminisced about taking the elevator from the upstairs hall with her father instead before entering the East Room, a much different entrance than this illustration depicts. “I have heard people say that they do not like weddings and that they did not have a good time at their own,” she later reflected. “My wedding was one that I enjoyed anyway.”
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Wedding Portrait of Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Date: 1906
Creator: Frances Benjamin Johnston
Medium: Portrait Photograph
The rare old point lace that trimmed the neckline and elbow-length sleeves of her gown was Alice’s “something old.” The lace had been used on her mother Alice Hathaway Lee’s wedding dress when she married Theodore Roosevelt; tragically, Alice Lee died at age 22, only two days after their only daughter was born. Using the old Lee family lace from England was both a nod to her family heritage as well as a testament to her wealth as her ensemble incorporated handmade, European elements rather than the cheaper, machine-made versions of lace.
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East Room Decorated for the Roosevelt-Longworth Wedding
Date: Circa 1906
Creator: Harris & Ewing
Medium: Photograph
The East Room, elegantly decorated for the Roosevelt-Longworth wedding, held an estimated one thousand guests in attendance. Outside of the grounds, thousands of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the celebrity daughter of the president. The dais, pictured here, was set up along the large window on the east side of the room. Astilbe japonicas, palm fronds, Easter lilies, greenhouse smilax, asparagus vines, bride roses, and rhododendrons filled the room with a floral fragrance and white satin ribbons covered the ropes that created the aisle amongst all of the fortunate guests.
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President Roosevelt with Newlyweds Alice Roosevelt and Nicholas Longworth
Date: Circa March 22, 1906
Creator: C.L. Wasson
Medium: Stereograph
Representative Nicholas Longworth, Alice Roosevelt, and President Theodore Roosevelt pose for a wedding portrait surrounded by palms and lilies. The jewelry Alice chose for her wedding day were gifts from Nicholas, a choker made of diamonds stacked on top of a graduated diamond necklace, and from her father, a diamond brooch.
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Alice Roosevelt Longworth's Wedding Bouquet
Date: Circa March 9, 1906
Medium: Photograph
Alice’s wedding bouquet was composed of rare varieties of white orchids and maidenhair fern in a cascade fashion, a popular English style. The blossoms were tied together by the stem with white chiffon satin ribbon that extended into the floral cascade. After the ceremony, Alice gave flowers from the bouquet to some of her dear friends.
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Wedding Portrait of Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Date: Circa February 19, 1906
Creator: Edward S. Curtis
Medium: Portrait Photograph
Alice’s wedding gown was made of exclusively American materials: a pure white heavy satin foundation with corded satin along the seams. Rare old point lace trimmings on the bodice and sleeves were embellished by clusters of orange blossoms. A four-yard court train in white brocade satin in a lily pattern trailed behind the bride. In an attempt to make sure Alice’s gown could not be copied, the loom cards used to create the brocade weaving pattern were destroyed when the fabric was completed.
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About this Gallery
Alice Lee Roosevelt, eldest child of President Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, married Nicholas Longworth, member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio, on February 17, 1906.
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