When John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953, their wedding was one of the most celebrated social events of the year. More than 1,200 guests gathered at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island, before heading to the Bouvier family’s Hammersmith Farm for the reception.
But more than seven decades later, there is still confusion over a surprisingly simple question:
Who actually made John F. Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier’s wedding cake?
The answer is more complicated than the name of a single bakery. Evidence and longstanding local histories indicate that two different cakes were associated with the wedding — one made by Plourde’s Bakery of Fall River, Massachusetts, and another made by Montilio’s Baking Company.
That distinction helps explain why different sources give different answers.
The Plourde’s Bakery Connection
The story of Plourde’s Bakery begins during JFK’s political career.
While campaigning for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts in 1952, Kennedy visited Fall River and became acquainted with the people behind Plourde’s Bakery. According to the bakery’s longstanding account, Kennedy promised that if he married, Plourde’s would make his wedding cake.
Kennedy kept that promise.
William Paul of Plourde’s Bakery is credited with creating the enormous, traditional white wedding-cake centerpiece associated with the Kennedy-Bouvier wedding. The towering cake was elaborately decorated and served as the spectacular centerpiece of the reception.
That connection has remained an important part of Fall River’s local history.
It also explains why many accounts simply identify Plourde’s Bakery as the maker of JFK’s wedding cake. In the context of the enormous ceremonial cake displayed at the reception — and particularly the cake seen in photographs of Kennedy and Jackie cutting the cake — Plourde’s has a strong claim.
But that isn’t necessarily the whole story.
The Montilio’s Cake
Another Massachusetts bakery, Montilio’s Baking Company, has a different connection to the wedding.
Montilio’s is credited with producing a cake that was actually served to the wedding guests. Unlike the enormous ceremonial centerpiece, this cake was an edible dessert intended for consumption.
The Montilio’s version is described as a vanilla sponge cake layered with raspberry preserves and buttercream. The bakery has maintained the recipe and today offers a recreation of the cake associated with JFK and Jackie’s wedding.
This is the source of much of the modern confusion.
When Montilio’s describes its product as “JFK’s Wedding Cake,” it isn’t necessarily contradicting the Plourde’s story. It is referring to the cake that Montilio’s says was prepared for and served at the wedding, while Plourde’s is associated with the enormous ceremonial/display cake.
Why Are There Two Stories?
The confusion comes largely from the fact that people tend to use the phrase “JFK’s wedding cake” to describe two different things.
One was the spectacular multi-tiered cake that served as the centerpiece of the reception.
The other was the cake actually distributed to and eaten by the wedding guests.
Those don’t have to be the same cake.
Large formal weddings have historically used elaborate cakes for ceremonial purposes while serving guests portions from additional cakes prepared for that purpose. In the Kennedy-Bouvier wedding, that distinction appears to have resulted in two bakeries becoming part of the cake’s history.
The Famous Cake-Cutting Photograph
The photographs of John and Jackie cutting their wedding cake have helped cement the idea that there must have been one definitive “Kennedy wedding cake.”
The cake shown in those photographs is the grand, highly decorated centerpiece, and this is the cake most strongly associated with Plourde’s Bakery.
That is why older local histories and accounts from Fall River emphasize Plourde’s.
At the same time, modern descriptions of the cake served to guests have brought renewed attention to Montilio’s, whose raspberry-filled vanilla sponge has become particularly well known.
Both stories can therefore be true without one bakery having to be “wrong.”
So, Who Really Made the Cake?
The most accurate answer is:
Plourde’s Bakery made the grand ceremonial wedding cake, while Montilio’s Baking Company is credited with making the edible cake served to the guests.
If the question is, “Who made the giant cake that JFK and Jackie cut in the famous wedding photographs?” the answer is Plourde’s Bakery of Fall River.
If the question is, “Who made the cake that was served to the wedding guests?” the answer is Montilio’s Baking Company.
That distinction resolves much of the apparent contradiction between modern sources.
A Wedding Cake With a Presidential History
The story is fittingly complicated for a wedding that became part of American political history.
John F. Kennedy was still a relatively young Massachusetts senator when he married Jacqueline Bouvier. Eight years later, he would become the 35th president of the United States.
The wedding cake has since taken on a life of its own. Plourde’s Bakery remains part of Fall River’s JFK lore because of Kennedy’s campaign promise and the spectacular cake created for the reception. Montilio’s, meanwhile, has preserved a recipe and tradition connected to the cake actually served to guests.
So the next time someone asks who made JFK and Jackie Kennedy’s wedding cake, the best answer isn’t simply Plourde’s or Montilio’s.
It is:
Both — but they made two different cakes.
And that is why the question has remained surprisingly difficult to answer for more than 70 years.
