Elvis Presley had known Priscilla Presley for almost an entire decade by the time they decided to get married. On May 1, 1967, Elvis and Priscilla got hitched at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The grand affair had both the stars in their finery, surrounded by their loved ones and decked out in designer clothes and jewellery. But it almost didn’t happen once the press caught wind of what was going on.
Elvis’ best friend and road manager Joe Esposito was there for every step of the star’s life and recalled how it all went down on that fateful day. Speaking to Larry King, Joe remembered: “The wedding was great. It really was. I was very honoured to be one of the co-best men at his wedding. And we tried to keep it from the press.”
When Larry pressed Joe on whether he could keep it all a secret, he replied: “We did pretty well.”
But, inevitably, the news got out.
Elvis and Joe had a backup plan, however. Joe continued: “Because [gossip columnist] Rona Barrett was down in Palm Springs, we all went to Palm Springs to fake everybody off. But that evening at night we jumped over the back fence, got to the plane, drove to the airport.”
It is at this point that Elvis called on the help of legendary singer Frank Sinatra to aid in his marriage.
After Elvis, his bride-to-be, and his entourage “jumped the fence” in Palm Springs, he got in Sinatra’s parked jet and flew into Las Vegas overnight, losing the press in the process.
Joe revealed: “We flew into Las Vegas, went down to City Hall in Las Vegas, got the license, went right to the Aladdin Hotel and got married that morning, and the press was still in Palm Springs.” The road manager added: “Frank helped, oh, yes, very much so. We used his plane.”
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Joe explained how Colonel Tom knew the Aladdin Hotel owners, so they set it all up and kept it quiet from the mainstream media.
Years later, Priscilla looked back on her wedding, saying: “My wedding was very unusual. It was the people closest to us, and private, and that’s how we wanted it. We didn’t want a fan club. We didn’t want a circus.”
The loved-up couple then enjoyed a small champagne breakfast along with both of their parents and some friends.
Elvis and Priscilla welcomed 100 guests to join them in celebration. They ate from a buffet-style breakfast. After breakfast, they all chowed down on a six-tier wedding cake which was made from a yellow sponge and was filled with apricot marmalade. It was also decorated with royal icing and 1,600 marzipan roses.
Exactly nine months later, on February 1, 1968, Lisa Marie Presley was born.
Elvis and Priscilla remained together for almost six years. They officially filed for divorce on January 8, 1973.
