Archives On The Air

Archives On The Air 106: Spider-Man's Marriage Leaps From The Pages—Stan Lee Papers

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Scenes from the wedding of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man, June 15-17 1987. Box 99, Stan Lee papers.

Most wedding invitations are sent by mail. But when Marvel Comics' star couple Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson got married in 1987, the invitations were sent via comic book.

The main event happened in the pages of Marvel's Spider-Man comic book. The wedding occurred in Spider-Man's 25th year in print. In a Marvel publicity stunt Stan Lee officiated a mock wedding for the couple in New York's Shea Stadium.

The bride's dress was the same in the comic book and the wedding officiated by Stan Lee. Real-life designer Willi Smith created a fabulous dress for Mary Jane. Tara Shannon wore the dress when she played Mary Jane in the Shea Stadium event. That same dress adorned the covers and panels of the comic book wedding.

You can explore the history of Marvel Comics in the Stan Lee papers at UW's American Heritage Center.