The Weekend Jackie and JFK Got Engaged: Rarely Seen Candid Photographs of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier on Vacation at Hyannis Port, 1953

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and then-U.S. Representative John Fitzgerald Kennedy belonged to the same social circle, and were formally introduced by a mutual friend, journalist Charles L. Bartlett, at a dinner party in May 1952. Bouvier was attracted to Kennedy's physical appearance, charm, wit and wealth. The two also shared similarities in both being Catholic and writers, enjoying reading and previously having lived abroad.

Kennedy was then busy running for the US Senate but after his election in November, the relationship grew more serious and he proposed marriage to her. Bouvier took some time to accept, due to having been assigned to cover the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London for The Washington Times-Herald. After a month in Europe, she accepted the proposal upon her return to the United States, and resigned from her position at the newspaper. Their engagement was officially announced on June 25, 1953.

That weekend, the happy couple took a trip to the Kennedy family home in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. According to Mashable, they were accompanied by a reporter and photographer for LIFE magazine, which published an issue on July 20 with the headline “Senator Kennedy Goes a-Courting."

Bouvier and Kennedy speak with a LIFE reporter.

Bouvier sits with Jean and Eunice Kennedy.

Bouvier speaks with a LIFE reporter.

Kennedy and Bouvier talk to Patricia Kennedy.

Kennedy and Bouvier toss a football with Edward "Ted" Kennedy.

Bouvier and Kennedy sail with Eunice, Jean, Patricia and Edward Kennedy.

Bouvier and Kennedy sit on the beach with Edward "Ted" Kennedy.

Bouvier and Kennedy speak to a LIFE reporter.

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier talk to a LIFE magazine reporter at the Kennedy home on Cape Cod.

(Photos: Hy Peskin/Getty Images, via Mashable/Retronaut)