Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Paul McCartney/George Hurrell

On March 15th, 1967, Paul McCartney met Linda Eastman. On March 12th, 1969, they married. Paul was aged 26 and Linda 27.

In keeping with the previous marriages of Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrison, the civil ceremony took place not in a church but a London registry office.  The event was strictly a family affair though hundreds of Beatlemaniacs (many of them weeping female Paul McCartney fans) surrounded the building. With proceedings occurring later than expected due to a train delaying one of Paul McCartney’s groomsmen, many outside waited hours in the pouring rain to catch a glimpse of the happy couple.

None of the other Beatles would attend. Geroge Harrison, who had been arrested during the drug bust earlier that day, would not join the party until later in the evening. By Paul’s own confession John Lennon and Ringo Starr may not have been invited.

Afterward, the pair would receive a formal religious blessing before traveling to a wedding reception – known as a “wedding breakfast” in the English tradition – at London’s Ritz Hotel.  Taking a break from the celebrations, the newlyweds then held a televised press conference. This is what they had to say.

Q: Congratulations. How did you enjoy your wedding breakfast?

PAUL: Fine, thank you. Lovely, yes.

Q: The wedding was delayed an hour. What happened then?

PAUL: Mike. Brother Mike was on British Railways again. So he got held up. And he was best man, so we waited for him.

Q: When did you decide to get married, Paul?

PAUL: About a week ago.

Q: What prompted it?

PAUL: Just, you know, we decided to do it instead of thinking about it.

Q: Linda, how do you feel about it? You’re obviously terribly happy. How are you feeling this morning?

LINDA: Very happy. [Pauses] Unquote.

Q: Linda, you’ve been described as a New York socialite. Does this mean you’ll be spending much of your time in New York?

LINDA: No.

Q: Where would you be living.

LINDA: In London.

Q: In London. Paul, what about you, how do you feel to be the father of a six-year-old?

PAUL: [Jokingly.] It’s terrible. It’s terrible. I hate it, I hate it. It’s going to be a terrible burden. You’re on the telly, you’re on the telly. Come here.

Q: Are you going on honeymoon anywhere?

PAUL: We may get away in a couple of days but I’ve got some work and stuff still to do.

[This was likely an attempt to distract the press from the whereabouts of the pair’s honeymoon. The Beatles were on hiatus at the time.]

Q: So that gets you away from your honeymoon?

PAUL: It does, yeah.

Q: Where were you going to go to when you…

PAUL: I don’t know. Haven’t thought of anything yet.

Q: What are you going to do for the rest of the day? You’re going to have a celebration later perhaps?

PAUL: Yeah, I’ll take a bit of a rest first. It’s been a bit hectic.

Q: Many of the fans, the girls that were waiting outside the house and outside the hotel today, seem to be more than upset about this. What do you feel?

PAUL: I don’t know what I feel about that, you know. What do you say to that?

The couple would remain happily married for 29 years until Linda passed away from breast cancer in 1998.