What’s most surprising is the contrast with the wardrobe for which Parton would become famous in the years to come. Crystals, fringes, bright colors, exaggerated silhouettes, and sequins haven’t made an appearance here yet. In 1966, she was 20 years old, and the image we now recognize at first glance had yet to take shape.
The bridal look, after all, was perfectly in keeping with the wedding: small, intimate, and decidedly un-Hollywood.
A wedding away from the spotlight
There was a reason for the dress’s simplicity. When Parton and Dean decided to get married in 1966, she was 20 years old, and her music career was just getting started. Her manager, Fred Foster, advised her to postpone the wedding, fearing that marriage might interfere with the promotion of a young, up-and-coming artist.
Parton therefore gave up on the big ceremony, but not on her groom. On May 30, she traveled with Dean to Ringgold, Georgia, where the two were married in a small Baptist church in the presence of very few people. No star-studded wedding—and a modest wedding dress.
