The Tamesis
Where will you get married when you are one of the most famous couples in the world, relentlessly hounded by the media, and trying to keep your big day a secret? For John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Bassett, the answer was Cumberland Island.
“I thought it should be a romantic, remote, rustic place. It should feel like we were the only two people there. To make that happen, we just had to avoid every reporter in the country,” Bessette, played by Sarah Pidgeon, says in episode six. love story. Cumberland Island, a barrier island just slightly larger than Manhattan off the coast of Georgia, fits that bill.
The island is known for its unparalleled natural beauty and isolation. Perfect for seeking refuge from it all. As Kennedy said on the show: “There’s no commercial airport, one hotel, a population of about 20 people. No paved roads, no towns, just century-old oak trees and wild horses on the beach.”
Photo: Getty Images
Thirty years after Kennedy and Bessette married in 1996, many of those traits remain. The island still has oak trees covered with Spanish moss, unpaved roads, undeveloped beaches and marshes. There is only one hotel: The Greyfield Inn. Some campers are allowed to pitch tents at campgrounds on the island. The population today is said to be only 30 to 40 people, with 150 to 200 wild horses. Much of the island is designated by the government as a National Seashore, a protected area that preserves unspoiled natural beauty and wildlife such as sea turtles, armadillos, and alligators.
Cumberland Island, accessible only by ferry or private boat, has long been a vacation spot for some of America’s wealthiest families, including the Rockefellers, the Candlers (whose ancestors founded Coca-Cola) and the Carnegies. During the show, Kennedy Jr. said he had visited Cumberland Island with his ex-girlfriend Christina Hager, which was also mentioned in Hager’s memoir, come to the edge.
Photo: Getty Images
