The couple announced their engagement in spring 1858 and married at Orchard House in May 1860. Their wedding provided the basis for the fictional marriage of Meg and John in Little Women. Anna wore a grey silk dress to the wedding. Guests included Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lidian Jackson Emerson and Franklin Benjamin Sanborn. The early years of the marriage are portrayed in Anna's diary (1859-1862).
