“Bogart and Bacall in Bucolic Bridal”

PM, May 22, 1945

“It Happened in the U.S.A.
Bogart and Bacall in Bucolic Bridal”
“Bromfield Adds Snapdragons and Rustic Setting
At Mansfield, O., Humphrey Bogart, the movie tough guy, and Lauren Bacall, known as The Look, were married at the home of Louis Bromfield, the farmer, in as quiet a ceremony as possible considering that there were Hollywood press agents all over the place. Arriving from Chicago with Miss Bacall’s mother, the couple got their license from Probate Judge S. H. Cramer, who pointed out that Ohio law required that at least one party to an Ohio marriage be an Ohio resident. This hurdle was crossed when Miss Bacall swore that she was a resident of Lucas, O., after which the party adjourned to the Bromfield manse, where Bogart grabbed a few Martinis to soothe his nerves. Municipal Judge H. H. Shettler performed the ceremony in a rustic setting in the entrance hall, decked with snapdragons and shrubs. He worked from a loose-leaf notebook, explaining that he had typed out an improvised service for this special occasion, “combining a little of everything.” Miss Bacall, born Betty Joan Perske in the Bronx, wore what was described as a simple doeskin beige dress adorned with a big orchid; Bogart, a plain gray suit and a dark maroon necktie.”