(2 of 5)
Clearly, the Fergusons were the key agents on the ground for this covert operation. On July 17, Mary Jo Ferguson wrote a note to the National Park Service requesting a permit to hold a "wedding ceremony" on Cumberland Island. The wedding would be held at the First African Baptist Church, near the northernmost point of the island. In the weeks leading up to that date, the Fergusons discreetly arranged all the supplies and staff for the dinner and the reception. Charlie Taylor, who owns a company on the mainland that provided some of the food, says he was "put on notice" several weeks ago that "a big party" was planned for Greyfield. He was impressed by the orchestration of the event, as he watched boats carry tents and tables over to Cumberland, but had no suspicion whom the party was for.
When the time came to get a marriage license, Mary Jo Ferguson was again given the mission. She contacted Martin Gillette, a probate judge near the town of St. Marys on the mainland. Ferguson asked if Gillette could arrange for a marriage license to be issued to someone famous, whose name she didn't mention. Gillette evidently allowed it wouldn't be a problem. About 10 days before the wedding, he spoke to chief probate clerk Shirley Wise about it. "He said there's going to be a marriage that needs to be confidential," Wise said.
On the Thursday before the wedding, Gillette told Wise to "pick up the blood-test lady"--Alice Hughes, a lab assistant--and drive to the St. Marys airport. Wise said she found the clandestine nature of the affair a bit frightening. "I'm not a person who takes risks," she said. Arriving at the airport, they met David Sayre, Janet Ferguson's husband, and he took them to a four-seater plane on the runway. They climbed in and were introduced to Carolyn Bessette, a name that didn't mean anything to Wise and Hughes. Wise began asking questions. She finally realized who the couple were when she asked Bessette what name she would use after the marriage. "Carolyn Bessette Kennedy," Bessette said. "That's when I knew what our assignment was," said Wise. "I'm sure my eyeballs got large." Bessette was very cordial, Wise said, and asked them not to tell anyone about the wedding. Then her plane took off for Cumberland.
When Kennedy arrived by plane, David Sayre brought him into the airport office, where the two women waited. Wise says, "TV doesn't do him justice." He was wearing jeans and sneakers and a baseball cap turned backward. "He was as nice a gentleman as you would want to meet," said Wise. (Mary Jo Ferguson paid for the license: $30.52.)
By Friday night, about 40 close friends and relatives had gathered for the rehearsal dinner on Greyfield's veranda. Senator Edward Kennedy gave a humorous toast at the dinner recalling John's childhood and quoted some poetry that sister Caroline had written about John when she was 10 or 12 years old. Caroline gave a toast that left many of the guests in tears. Finally, it was John's turn. He toasted his bride with the words, "I am the happiest man alive."