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Two-time Olympic Gold Medallists Pierre Brunet and Andrée Joly at their 1929 wedding
Figure skating lovers tend to think more about people being thrown in the air than bouquets, but who doesn't love a bouquet toss at a wedding?
Get the tissues ready! Today, we will glide through skating history and look back at a handful of memorable weddings from years past.
On July 4, 1940, twenty-seven-year-old Sonja Henie married New York sportsman and tin plate heir Daniel Reid Topping in a surprise wedding before Sonja's mother and siblings and a few close friends at the Chicago apartment of her manager, Arthur M. Wirtz. It was Henie's first wedding and Topping's third. He was previously married to New York socialite Theodora Boettger and film star Arline Judge. The marriage was presided over by Reverend Joshua Oden, pastor of the Irving Park Lutheran Church. Henie told reporters, "Marriage is important and sacred to me. I want it to be built on complete understanding and faith and friendship as well as love." The couple separated in January 1945 and divorced in February 1946.
Virginia Wilson, a Canadian medallist in women's singles, the Waltz, Tenstep and fours skating married Jack Edward Lines Hauseman in Toronto on June 19, 1948. Her wedding was a virtual who's who of Canadian figure skating. Suzanne Morrow and Eleanor O'Meara were bridesmaids; Barbara Ann Scott attended with her mother. Wilson wore a petal white tulle and satin long-waisted gown with a full circular train and ful-llength veil. Fittingly, the reception was held at the Granite Club.
Three time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie walked down the aisle again on September 15, 1949. This time her groom was aviation executive Winthrop Gardiner, Jr. The wedding took place at Park Avenue Methodist Church in New York City. It was Henie's second marriage; Gardiner's fourth. When Sonja arrived at the church, children crawled under the canopy to greet her.
Only sixty people attended the wedding but over three hundred people, including photographers and reporters, were gathered outside the church to catch a glimpse of Henie in her ice-blue gown designed by Carrie Munn. At Sonja's request, the word "obey" was removed from the vows. At the reception at the Park Plaza Hotel, the newlyweds danced to "I Love You Truly" in front of four hundred guests. Raymond Strait's book "Queen Of Ice, Queen Of Shadows" recalled, "Winnie Gardner broke tradition at their wedding reception. While the men were lined up to kiss his bride, he formed his own line of women and gave them a sample of what Sonja was going to receive. Ethel Merman went through his kissing line twice."
On September 17, 1955, Olympic Gold Medallist Barbara Ann Scott married Tommy King, publicity director for Chicago Stadium Sports Enterprises at Rosedale Presbyterian Church in central Toronto. The wedding was announced at a potted palm and champagne hotel reception by Barbara Ann's mother just over a month before the wedding. Efforts were made to keep the details from being spread to the press, so that the inevitable looky-loos wouldn't turn up and invade Canada's sweetheart's privacy on her special day. Barbara Ann's maid of honour was Margaret McGuinness, a friend who accompanied her to the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. Her dress was a white artibello original in French silk brocade with a portrait neckline and bell skirt. The happy couple honeymooned in Mexico.
Proving that sometimes the third time is the charm, Sonja Henie married her childhood sweetheart, shipping magnate Niels Onstad in his swanky New York City apartment in June of 1956. The service was presided over by a Norwegian Lutheran minister and much like her first wedding, it was a very small, private wedding with only a few friends in attendance. Following the wedding, the couple hosted a wedding breakfast in Miami, Florida.
After announcing their engagement in London on April 17, 1954, Olympic Gold Medallist Jeannette Altwegg and Marc Wirtz had a civil wedding in Bern, Switzerland in late September of that year, followed by a formal ceremony in the British church in Zürich on October 5, 1954. She cut her wedding cake with a skate blade made of English steel.
On April 30, 1960, Olympic Gold Medallists Carol Heiss and Hayes Alan Jenkins walked down the aisle at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City.
On New Year's Eve, 1961, it was another Olympic Gold Medallist from America's turn. Tenley Albright married attorney Tudor Gardiner, the son of former Maine governor William Tudor Gardiner in a small, family-only ceremony at King's Chapel in Boston.
Now for the darlings of American figure skating in the sixties, seventies and eighties! On June 13, 1970, Olympic Gold Medallist Peggy Fleming became Mrs. Greg Jenkins. Her white wedding gown - decided after fifty-seven visits to bridal shops - was designed by William Cahill and was made of Venetian lace with a high neck and short sleeves. Five years later on October 18, 1975, Olympic Bronze Medallist Janet Lynn married psychology grad Rick Solomon at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Rockford, Illinois. At the small, private combined Lutheran and Jewish ceremony, Lynn wore a candlestick silk de chine gown designed by her mother. She also wore a lace mantilla with a headpiece that was converted from her very first skating dress. From the private to the lavish... On January 8, 1982, Dorothy Hamill married Lieutenant Dean Paul Martin, the son of singer Dean Martin, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, California. Some three hundred and fifty guests attended the wedding, including actor Desi Arnaz Jr. The reception was held at the Bel Air Country Club.
Irina Rodnina and Aleksandr Zaitsev's wedding in 1975 wasn't without incident. First, Irina's grandmother had a fall while she was examining her dress. Then Irina, walking the stairs to the church, didn't have time to pick up the bottom of her dress. She ended up stepping on it and taking a tumble of her own - coincidentally one of her very few falls! The couple's cake had an ornament in the shape of the Olympic rings. They went on to win two Olympic gold medals together but later divorced.
It was a marriage of European Champions in Moscow on June 8, 1983, when the 1981 Champion in men's singles, Igor Bobrin, tied the knot with the reigning Champion in ice dance, Natalia Bestemianova. Natalia and her on-ice partner Andrei Bukin's coach Tatiana Tarasova was a witness at their wedding. Many casual fans of the sport were surprised to learn that both Bestemianova and Bukin were married during their competitive career - just not to each other.
Two-time Olympic Gold Medallists Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov loved each other so much they married twice. They first tied the knot in a state wedding on April 20, 1991. Eight days later, they confirmed their love again in a church wedding. In her book "My Sergei: A Love Story", Gordeeva recalled, "I wore a silk, off-white dress that I'd bought in Toronto and I was wearing flowers in my hair. It rained all morning and most of the day, which was considered good luck. It doesn't seem like it now. But I was happy that it rained. After saying our vows, we drank champagne in the church, and Father Nikolai sang to our happiness." After Sergei's tragic death, Gordeeva married two more Olympic Gold Medallists - Ilia Kulik and David Pelletier.
On Valentine's Day, 1997, twenty-eight couples said "I do" in Philadelphia in a group marriage service on an outdoor skating rink performed by Mayor Edward G. Rendell. About half of the couples got married wearing skates. It was raining and freezing cold, yet many of the brides wore full-length wedding gowns, some covered by raincoats. Dinah Schuster, who organized the wedding on ice, had only one explanation for the affair: "People are nuts."
Sonja Henie and Dan Topping on their wedding day. Photo courtesy National Archives of Poland.
On July 4, 1940, twenty-seven-year-old Sonja Henie married New York sportsman and tin plate heir Daniel Reid Topping in a surprise wedding before Sonja's mother and siblings and a few close friends at the Chicago apartment of her manager, Arthur M. Wirtz. It was Henie's first wedding and Topping's third. He was previously married to New York socialite Theodora Boettger and film star Arline Judge. The marriage was presided over by Reverend Joshua Oden, pastor of the Irving Park Lutheran Church. Henie told reporters, "Marriage is important and sacred to me. I want it to be built on complete understanding and faith and friendship as well as love." The couple separated in January 1945 and divorced in February 1946.
Olympic Gold Medallists Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier tie the knot
Virginia Wilson, a Canadian medallist in women's singles, the Waltz, Tenstep and fours skating married Jack Edward Lines Hauseman in Toronto on June 19, 1948. Her wedding was a virtual who's who of Canadian figure skating. Suzanne Morrow and Eleanor O'Meara were bridesmaids; Barbara Ann Scott attended with her mother. Wilson wore a petal white tulle and satin long-waisted gown with a full circular train and ful-llength veil. Fittingly, the reception was held at the Granite Club.
Sonja Henie's wedding to Winthrop Gardiner, Jr.
Three time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie walked down the aisle again on September 15, 1949. This time her groom was aviation executive Winthrop Gardiner, Jr. The wedding took place at Park Avenue Methodist Church in New York City. It was Henie's second marriage; Gardiner's fourth. When Sonja arrived at the church, children crawled under the canopy to greet her.
Sonja Henie's wedding to Winthrop Gardiner, Jr. Photo courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell.
Only sixty people attended the wedding but over three hundred people, including photographers and reporters, were gathered outside the church to catch a glimpse of Henie in her ice-blue gown designed by Carrie Munn. At Sonja's request, the word "obey" was removed from the vows. At the reception at the Park Plaza Hotel, the newlyweds danced to "I Love You Truly" in front of four hundred guests. Raymond Strait's book "Queen Of Ice, Queen Of Shadows" recalled, "Winnie Gardner broke tradition at their wedding reception. While the men were lined up to kiss his bride, he formed his own line of women and gave them a sample of what Sonja was going to receive. Ethel Merman went through his kissing line twice."
Barbara Ann Scott and Tommy King's wedding
On September 17, 1955, Olympic Gold Medallist Barbara Ann Scott married Tommy King, publicity director for Chicago Stadium Sports Enterprises at Rosedale Presbyterian Church in central Toronto. The wedding was announced at a potted palm and champagne hotel reception by Barbara Ann's mother just over a month before the wedding. Efforts were made to keep the details from being spread to the press, so that the inevitable looky-loos wouldn't turn up and invade Canada's sweetheart's privacy on her special day. Barbara Ann's maid of honour was Margaret McGuinness, a friend who accompanied her to the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. Her dress was a white artibello original in French silk brocade with a portrait neckline and bell skirt. The happy couple honeymooned in Mexico.
Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad
Proving that sometimes the third time is the charm, Sonja Henie married her childhood sweetheart, shipping magnate Niels Onstad in his swanky New York City apartment in June of 1956. The service was presided over by a Norwegian Lutheran minister and much like her first wedding, it was a very small, private wedding with only a few friends in attendance. Following the wedding, the couple hosted a wedding breakfast in Miami, Florida.
Marc Wirz and Jeannette Altwegg
After announcing their engagement in London on April 17, 1954, Olympic Gold Medallist Jeannette Altwegg and Marc Wirtz had a civil wedding in Bern, Switzerland in late September of that year, followed by a formal ceremony in the British church in Zürich on October 5, 1954. She cut her wedding cake with a skate blade made of English steel.
Hayes Alan Jenkins and his blushing bride Carol Heiss
On April 30, 1960, Olympic Gold Medallists Carol Heiss and Hayes Alan Jenkins walked down the aisle at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City.
Tenley Albright and Tudor Gardiner. Photo courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell.
On New Year's Eve, 1961, it was another Olympic Gold Medallist from America's turn. Tenley Albright married attorney Tudor Gardiner, the son of former Maine governor William Tudor Gardiner in a small, family-only ceremony at King's Chapel in Boston.
Left: Dorothy Hamill and Dean Paul Martin. Right: Paul Martini and Elizabeth Wallace. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library, from Toronto Star Photographic Archive. Reproduced for educational purposes under license permission.
Now for the darlings of American figure skating in the sixties, seventies and eighties! On June 13, 1970, Olympic Gold Medallist Peggy Fleming became Mrs. Greg Jenkins. Her white wedding gown - decided after fifty-seven visits to bridal shops - was designed by William Cahill and was made of Venetian lace with a high neck and short sleeves. Five years later on October 18, 1975, Olympic Bronze Medallist Janet Lynn married psychology grad Rick Solomon at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Rockford, Illinois. At the small, private combined Lutheran and Jewish ceremony, Lynn wore a candlestick silk de chine gown designed by her mother. She also wore a lace mantilla with a headpiece that was converted from her very first skating dress. From the private to the lavish... On January 8, 1982, Dorothy Hamill married Lieutenant Dean Paul Martin, the son of singer Dean Martin, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, California. Some three hundred and fifty guests attended the wedding, including actor Desi Arnaz Jr. The reception was held at the Bel Air Country Club.
Irina Rodnina and Aleksandr Zaitsev's wedding
Natalia Bestemianova and Igor Bobrin's wedding
It was a marriage of European Champions in Moscow on June 8, 1983, when the 1981 Champion in men's singles, Igor Bobrin, tied the knot with the reigning Champion in ice dance, Natalia Bestemianova. Natalia and her on-ice partner Andrei Bukin's coach Tatiana Tarasova was a witness at their wedding. Many casual fans of the sport were surprised to learn that both Bestemianova and Bukin were married during their competitive career - just not to each other.
Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov
Two-time Olympic Gold Medallists Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov loved each other so much they married twice. They first tied the knot in a state wedding on April 20, 1991. Eight days later, they confirmed their love again in a church wedding. In her book "My Sergei: A Love Story", Gordeeva recalled, "I wore a silk, off-white dress that I'd bought in Toronto and I was wearing flowers in my hair. It rained all morning and most of the day, which was considered good luck. It doesn't seem like it now. But I was happy that it rained. After saying our vows, we drank champagne in the church, and Father Nikolai sang to our happiness." After Sergei's tragic death, Gordeeva married two more Olympic Gold Medallists - Ilia Kulik and David Pelletier.
The wedding of Olympic Gold Medallists Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov
Timothy Goebel and Thomas Luciano. Photo courtesy "International Figure Skating" magazine
In 2001, The Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage and in 2005, same-sex marriage was officially legalized in Canada after Parliament passed The Civil Marriage Act. In the years that followed, many other countries followed suit. These long-overdue legal changes gave dozens of elite figure skaters the right to marry.
As we glide to the end of our journey through the wonderful world of figure skating weddings, it’s clear that love on ice knows no bounds. May everyone find their perfect skating partner for life!
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Bluesky, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering one of six fascinating books highlighting the history of figure skating: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
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