5 months ago
ATLANTA, Georgia (WXIA) -- It was the Summer of 1996 and Denis Reggie, a personal friend of the Kennedy family for almost 30 years, captured for all time one of the most famous wedding pictures ever--the late John Kennedy Jr. and his new wife Carolyn Bisset Kennedy, taken just moments after their marriage at a small church on Cumberland Island, Georgia.
It was just 4 years earlier when Denis Reggie's sister Victoria married Senator Ted Kennedy.
His memories are vivid.
"I would say that the moment I remember most about Ted goes back to 1992 when I saw the way he looked at my sister after they had shared their vows. This look in his face...to know that he would be a part of my family forever," Reggie remembered.
"They were amazing together. They had a great spirit about them. Having known my sister forever and the Senator for dozens of years, I'd never seen them happier. There was an illumination in their faces when they were together. Constant banter, humor, love, common interests, even movies, trivia, and love for family. They were genuinely at their best when they were together," he said.
And just before the wedding, a special gift.
"He (Ted Kennedy) did a truly amazing portrait, still life painting of daffodils knowing it to be my sister's favorite flower," Reggie continued.
Over the years, Kennedy and Reggie developed a close relationship.
"The Senator would be the first one to call on a birthday morning for one of my kids. As a family person he set a very high standard. To be a Brother-in-Law, he set a high mark in our family," Reggie added.
Reggie often photographed Ted Kennedy.
Two of his most famous, Kennedy with his pet dogs and Kennedy standing at the Cape Cod shoreline were chosen for Kennedy's memorial and funeral service.
The photograph at Cape Code is now the cover of Ted Kennedy's memoirs, "True Compass," due out later this month.
"It's Ted in Hyannis with the Coast behind him on a warm sun setting day. Big EMK (Edward M. Kennedy), smile on his face, happiness," Reggie commented.
For Denis Reggie lasting and meaningful impressions.
"To be around him is to just be around a man of great power. To sense his heart and where his priorities were--that's what I'll remember most about Ted," Reggie concluded.
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