Jenna Bush's wedding will be a low-key event

They never promised us a Rose Garden gala. It's going to be highly private, at the family ranch in Texas.
By James Gerstenzang, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 4, 2008
CRAWFORD, TEXAS -- When Tricia Nixon was married in 1971, the pageantry brought breathless coverage on television, in magazines and newspapers. It was the first in the White House Rose Garden, and the reception followed in the elegant East Room.
FOR THE RECORD:
Bush wedding: An article in Sunday's Section A about the wedding of President Bush's daughter Jenna misspelled the name of People magazine's executive editor. It's Betsy Gleick, not Betsy Glick. —



Next Saturday's wedding of 26-year-old Jenna Bush, one of President and Laura Bush's twin daughters, will not be televised and will not be at the White House. Amid the lavenders, yellows and blues of spring wildflowers on the president's 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch, it will be a private affair. Extremely private.

High-tech fences, surveillance cameras and untold numbers of Secret Service agents will keep the uninvited miles away. Federal Aviation Administration rules -- and military interceptor aircraft -- will ensure that paparazzi lenses will be nowhere in the nearby sky.

Celebrity gawkers of the political variety may be disappointed. The editors at People magazine definitely are. But historians and political observers say the nation -- at war in two far-off places, afflicted by economic malaise and ready to be done with this president -- is in no mood to watch lavish nuptials unfold at the White House.

And that's just fine with Jenna Bush. She is described as a private person: She stayed in Texas when her parents moved to the White House. She sought to stay out of the public eye, though she was only partially successful given her underage drinking escapades. (Her mother has used the word "exuberant" to describe her.) Only recently, promoting two books she has written, has she sought the spotlight.

Here's what we know about the wedding -- many of the details gleaned from an account the bride-to-be offered to Vogue magazine and others from a family acquaintance:

The bride will wear what she called a "very structured" Oscar de la Renta organza gown; the single bridesmaid will be twin Barbara Bush; the 14 members of what Texans call the "house party" will wear short Lela Rose chiffon dresses with colors inspired by the hues of the fields and pond. And the ceremony will take place outdoors at 7:30 p.m. to escape potentially stifling heat.

Bush has said she felt pressure to marry her fiance, Henry Hager, at the White House. "I went back and forth a lot," she told Vogue. But, she added, "that's not really my personality. There's a glamour to it, I know, but Henry and I are far less glamorous than the White House."

Besides, said an acquaintance who did not want to be identified speaking about family matters, Bush -- who grew up in Austin and attended the University of Texas when her parents moved to the White House -- never felt that Washington was home.

There will be between 200 and 250 guests, mostly members of the extensive Bush clan and Hager's family, friends of the bride and groom, and longtime family friends.

"It's a small wedding for anyone whose dad happens to be president of the United States," the acquaintance said.

From Jenna Bush's accounts, it's clear that Hager, the scion of a Virginia political family, is a traditionalist. He sought the president's permission for the marriage and has insisted on not seeing the wedding dress beforehand. Hence, no pictures or sketches will be released.

So much for what's known.

Does anyone want to know more?

Absolutely, says Betsy Glick, executive editor of People magazine, noting that stories about Jenna Bush are consistently among the top five on the magazine's website.

"Our readers," she said, "expect details: What the cake tasted like. Who cried?"

"There is something exciting and different and special about a White House wedding," the editor said. "I know it's not in the White House, and this is disappointing to us, but it all has White House trappings."

Besides, she said, Jenna Bush is "an adorable, an accomplished, a likable and impressive young woman. It's all good. There's nothing bad about this story."





Some expect tourists to flock to the tiny town in Manitoba province to see the threatened bears while they can. Photos
 
Los Angeles Philharmonic's Esa-Pekka Salonen touts L.A. cultural life and Times critics pick the best summer music, theater, movies, and more! Photos | Critics' Picks
 
 

ADVERTISEMENT



A husband-wife design team transforms a cozy home into a free-flowing haven. Photos