Postcard from Jiles
Canton, Ohio • Home of the National First Ladies Library & Museum • DoubleTree by Hilton
1 May 2023
Bonjour Jet Setters!
The Jackie Kennedy exhibit at the First Ladies Museum is opening. And we got tickets! Beyond Camelot: The Life & Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Exhibition was donated by Monte Durham of Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta & Le Créateur of Salon Monte in Old Town, Alx (where I get my hair done!).
We’re in our room at the DoubleTree by Hilton, right across from the museum. Warming up a bit from the bone chilling rain outside. Relaxing after the the early afternoon press event, and before tonight’s champagne reception. I’m on the bed, with doggie and blanky, and the heat on in the room.
I thought I’d break from pondering how to do my hair in this bone chilling rain (talk about pressure — it’s my hairdresser’s event!), and pop on and write a postcard to let y’all know what was going on. Give you a little behind the scenes, so to speak . . .
The first time I went to Salon Monte, the salon’s namesake told me all about his love for Jackie, his prolific collection, and how he was donating his all of his Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis artifacts to the First Ladies Museum in Canton, Ohio.
Did you know one of those artifacts is an exact replica of Jackie’s wedding dress to JFK? I’ve seen it in so many photographs, but it was so special to see it replicated, up close. So beautiful with such a story!
This is the only replica of the iconic dress in the world. Monte went to great lengths to have it recreated. There’s a whole story. And to hear it, you’ll have to wait for our “official” content on the exhibit. This is just some behind the scenes stuff!
I actually got a little emotional seeing everything on display. I have my suspicions as to why the emotions. I think it’s connected to beauty, luxury, leisure, intentional living, and creating conscious memories. Which I’ll muse about in a later post.
I’m actually sensing a lot of content from this tiny sojourn to the heartland. In addition to our Jet Set Jiles platforms, we’re excited that we’re doing a piece for the next Zebra (June 2023)! Mary Wadland, the “Good News in Alexandria Newspaper” publisher, wants us to really dive into a sold story about the exhibit and dig into Monte’s passion for collecting Jackie memorabilia.
So it’ll be exciting to see our byline in black and white (and read all over!). Miles & Jennifer — husband – wife – photographer – reporter duo. With their little side kick, Chou Chou (a French term of affection pronounced Shoe Shoe). lol.
Doing Zebra stuff is gonna be some new memory making for us. And, as I say all the time, conscious memory making is so important! It enriches your life and nourishes your soul.
Check it out, we even got Zebra press passes! Which made us giggle . . .
The media event was really cool. And you didn’t feel super self-conscious and like a weird-o taking pictures and videos because that’s the purpose of the event! Everybody was doing it! It was really nice to have the camaraderie of “fellow reporters” to help you out. lol.
I joke, but seriously, people were swapping cameras to get the shots for other people. A reporter went up to Miles to say hi and that he thought that they worked together before. Miles said, he was from DC, here for the Zebra Press in Alexandira, Virginia. lol. One guy asked me to go take my pictures again of the fireplace and portrait so he could video it for his station.
Here’s my picture of him doing the same thing he asked me to do! lol.
The whole experience was really neat!
And Monte, well, he’s just a gem. A true southern gentleman making everyone feel at home among his treasured collection. And making sure everyone got their info and their photos. He is the master selfie taker!
You think this is a picture of Monte taking selfies with these ladies. And he is. But what you don’t know is I thought it would be a good picture. So I asked Monte to take the pictures again so I could “get the shot”. lol.
Monte gave a talk at the press event. One of the things he was touching on was Jack and Jackie’s wedding. And how Joe Kennedy really jumped into the planning (and the paying for) the wedding. Pushing Jackie to look “bride”, versus the clean lines she craved.
I’d say that sounds sooo familiar — parents jumping into the planning of your big day – their wants, wishes, and wardrobe – but with the political agenda surrounding her wedding this was a whole other level!
Anyhow, in addition to the dress, Joe also went around to all the neighbors at Hammersmith Farm and asked them to have their livestock out grazing in the background of the festivities. Talk about picture perfect!
Monte then wrapped the story concluding how Jackie had the original chic farm wedding! (And we just left one, at Miles’ Grandmother’s farm!)
Ok folks, it sure was fun giving you a little behind the scenes. So many cute stories are going to come out of this trip. We can’t wait to share them with you!
But for now. Off to do my hair, and put on a little Dolce for Beyond Camelot’s Champagne reception!
A bientôt!
Kisses,
Jennifer & Miles & The Furry Princess
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