On July 7, 1946, a 17-year-old Rosalynn Smith married Jimmy Carter in their tight-knit hometown of Plains, Georgia. This quiet ceremony marked the beginning of a historic, rock-solid partnership that would eventually lead them to the White House and cement them as the longest-married presidential couple in American history.
The future president’s historic wedding was an incredibly low-budget affair, costing the couple an estimated total of just $5. Even more surprising is that Rosalynn initially turned down Jimmy’s first marriage proposal earlier that year, firmly telling him “no” because she had promised her dying father she would finish her college degree before getting married.
Image: Rosalynn & Jimmy Carter kissing in July 1976 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
