A Bone-a-fide Wedding In Paris?

In January 1897, several newspapers reported the story of Béatrice de Rothschild’s poodle, Diane, getting married La Petite Major – her father’s dog, also a poodle. An excerpt from the Washington DC Morning Times said:

“There is a new fad among the rich – dog marriages.  And the creator of this fad is none other than Madame Ephrussi, daughter of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild and wife of Maurice Ephrussi. It is well known that Madame Ephrussi is a dog lover, a trait inherited from her mother. She went searching for a new form of amusement and the dog wedding is the result. At the home of Monsieur and Madame Ephrussi  on Avenue du Bois de Boulogne in Paris.”

The report stated that the bride wore a white satin lace-trimmed gown, white kid shoes, and a veil decorated with orange blossoms, while the dashing groom was attired thusly;

“Full evening dress, swallow-tail coat, vest, trousers (not creased, because it is not fashionable to crease the trousers at weddings), patent leather shoes and gloves. On the buttonhole of Monsieur Major’s coat was a dainty orchid.”

Apparently, although the groom was able to support himself on his hind legs, as were the bridesmaids (all poodles) the bride had to rely on the arm of her mistress as she walked down the aisle.

“Then came the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the former wearing white silk dresses, and long veils; the latter in full dress and adorned with embroidered white satin coats. All these advanced upon their hind legs. At the end of the ballroom the wedding procession was met by the staunch and sober bulldog Comte de Berteux. Upon his head he wore a tall silk hat, and around his waist was tied the tricolour sash representing the office of the Mayor. After greeting the procession, the bulldog Mayor walked on his hind legs in a dignified manner, and then seated himself upon an embroidered cushion.”

The newspaper also alleged that Béatrice had sent out engraved invitations to hundreds of her friends, encouraging them to bring their own pet pooches too… also attired in evening dress. Even more preposterously, perhaps, it was also claimed that the bulldog performed the wedding ceremony.

“The Mayor looked solemnly at the young couple whose destinies he was about to unite, and then barked distinctly three times. The bridegroom gave a short bark. The bride barked low and impressively. A gold ring with a diamond setting was then slipped over the paw of the fair Diane, the Mayor barked gleefully, and the procession moved to the adjoining room, where the marriage register was signed, in this instance the owners of the dogs having to act for them.”

Naturally, there was a wedding reception, with each dog seated at a table – there’s no reference as to where the human guests sat, or whether they had separate tables from the canine guests.

After the publication of the story, Béatrice’s husband, Maurice Ephrussi (whose presence at the wedding was not mentioned in the report), not only denied that the wedding took place but also demanded that the papers which had printed it, retract their stories, and issue an apology. A few complied; however, a short while later, stories began to appear in the papers that Ephrussi had challenged Paul Cassagnac – the author of the original story – to a duel. Again, Ephrussi denied all knowledge, as did Cassagnac, and once again, some of the papers issued retractions.

To this day, no one knows whether the poodle union ever took place, or whether the whole thing was concocted by a journalist as a joke, or possibly as a commentary on what he deemed the frivolous lives of the idle rich.

Or perhaps it really did happen but Maurice, a rich and powerful banker, didn’t want the world to know of his wife’s eccentricities – perhaps he thought it was bad enough that she allowed two monkeys and a mongoose to live inside their home, and had miniature furniture made for them, including chairs in her bedroom where her dogs and a mongoose used to sleep.