Fifty-six years ago today (March 1, 1968) was a day of celebration for Johnny Cash and June Carter: It was on that date that the couple wed in Franklin, Ky. The two were married just one week after Cash proposed while they were performing together in London, Ontario, Canada, on Feb. 22.
Cash and Carter initially met in 1956, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry, while Cash was still married to his first wife, Vivian Liberto. Cash and Liberto’s divorce was finalized by the end of 1967, and the country icon didn’t waste any time in asking Carter to become his wife.
Merle Kilgore, who co-wrote Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” served as the best man for Cash and Carter’s nuptials. Carter wore a light blue dress with matching flowers in her hair. A non-alcoholic reception was held at Cash’s home in Hendersonville, Tenn., following the ceremony.
Cash and Carter each had three children before they got married; together, they had one son, John Carter Cash, who was born in 1970. Their love story remains one of the greatest of all time, lasting 35 years until June Carter Cash’s death in May of 2003. Johnny Cash passed away four months later, in September of 2003.
“We get old and get used to each other,” Cash said in a letter to his wife, written for her 65th birthday. “We think alike. We read each others [sic] minds. We know what the other wants without asking. Sometimes we irritate each other a little bit. Maybe sometimes take each other for granted. But once in awhile, like today, I meditate on it and realize how lucky I am to share my life with the greatest woman I ever met.”
This story was originally written by Gayle Thompson, and revised by Annie Zaleski.
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