'08
Update: The photos have been released of Jenna’s special day and it looks incredible.
Jenna Bush, 26, married her boyfriend of nearly four years, former White House aid and MBA graduate student Henry Hager, 30, on Saturday. The event was held at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, and was attended by around 200 guests. Jenna certainly could have chosen to have an elegant affair at the White House, but that’s not her style and she didn’t want to draw too much attention to herself.
There was a very good editorial by Diane Roberts on NPR today about how Jenna missed a chance at a wedding that would have been as close to a royal occasion as is possible in America. Roberts cited some Presidents’ daughters who chose to have White House weddings that were attended by the press and followed closely by millions of Americans. If Jenna would have had that type of wedding it might have provided her lame duck President father a brief blip in his terrible ratings, but it also would have made her a target.
As it is, we only have one old pre-released photo of Henry and Jenna and the details about their wedding. They chose to go the Beyoncé and Jay-Z route and haven’t even released a wedding portrait yet. (Update: Here’s a link to the photos of Jenna’s wedding)
Here are some details from People and an NPR story.
- A rehearsal dinner was hosted by Hager’s parents for around 100 people in Salado, Texas on Friday, and all the wedding guests were invited.
- The wedding and reception were outdoors.
- Jenna wore “an embroidered organza Oscar de la Renta gown” that’s described as simple and elegant. She did not wear a veil.
- Her twin sister Barbara was the maid of honor and wore a de la Renta dress that was cut low in the back and was “moonstone blue shimmer with a silver sash.”
- There were 14 other attendants in her “house” party, which sounds less formal than a standard wedding party.
- The men wore suits, not tuxes, with Henry in a dark blue suit and powder blue tie. His brother was his best man.
- He had 14 ushers in his party also. They are said to have walked the women to their seats but not to have been involved in the ceremony.
- The bride and groom stood at a special beige limestone cross made for them of the same stone used on the ranch home on the estate.
- The wedding was officiated by Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston.
- Wedding singer Tyrone Smith or “Super T” and his 10-piece band provided the music for the reception. He is described by People as “a favorite at Southern frat parties.”
- The first dance was “Lovin’ in My Baby’s Eyes” by Taj Mahal, and the father-daughter dance was “You Are So Beautiful.”
- Jenna and Henry are thought to be honeymooning in Europe. They will live in a two bedroom, two bath house on Baltimore’s south side. Jenna will return to her job teaching at a public school in Washington, DC and Henry has a position with energy company Constellation Energy. He will graduate with his MBA from the University of Virginia next month.
[Many bulleted details nearly word for word from NPR report.]
Other weddings of sitting presidents’ daughters
NPR reminds us that the most extravagant White House wedding in recent history was President Nixon’s daughter Tricia’s live wedding broadcast from the Rose Garden. Tricia Nixon married liberal Harvard law student Edward Finch Cox on June 12, 1971, when the Vietnam War was still in full force. Cox was featured on the cover of Life Magazine twice after her wedding, which Life called “akin to American royalty.”
In contrast, Dorothy Bush, Jenna’s aunt, got married in a super secret ceremony in 1992 at Camp David when Jenna’s grandfather was President.
An aid to President HW Bush explains in part why Jenna chose a more low-key event: “If they’d have gone on TV, the wedding would have been shown all over the world and Jenna Bush would have been an international celebrity — and she would have been a target. They’re preparing the transition to private life and they’re not particularly interested in seeing Jenna Bush become a huge celebrity.”
You understand why they didn’t have a wedding at the White House and it seems like a wise decision for them. The whole world would have made fun of Jenna instead of her dad for once.
Best wishes to Jenna and Henry for a normal family life. They’re a very cute couple and they seem to be off to a good start, all things considered.
Here’s Tricia Nixon and President Nixon at her 1971 wedding in the Rose Garden, the only wedding held there in history.
Written by Celebitchy
Posted in Jenna Bush, Weddings
- TV Shows that outstayed their welcome [Pajiba]
- Goopy and Cameron Diaz went to a Coldplay concert [Lainey Gossip]
- The bacon milkshake! [D-Listed]
- Ashanti looks... good? [Go Fug Yourself]
- 20 great songs under 2 minutes [Fark]
- Snooki and J-Woww on notice [IDLYITW]
- Jennifer Aniston through the years [Popsugar]
- Kirsten Dunst looks so pretty here [Evil Beet]
- Mila Kunis without makeup [Celebslam]
- The awful cover letter all of Wall St. is mocking [Gawker]
27 Responses to “Jenna Bush missed a chance at an American-style royal wedding (update: photos!)”
Leave a Reply
By commenting you agree to our comment policy
Use the "Report this comment as spam or abuse" link to ask the moderators to delete a comment if it's offensive. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please e-mail cbcomments at gmail.com to get it retrieved.
Get an icon next to your name by signing up for a free Gravatar
I think it’s neat that Jenna chose to be a schoolteacher.
And I love Tricia Nixon’s wedding dress.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
As much as I dislike the Bushs usually, I think the way Jenna handled her wedding was very classy. I think it’s almost courageous to actually stick to your guns and say “a big, “royal” wedding isn’t me, I’m going to do it so that it represents who I am”. So much maturity, insight and intelligence is something that I really don’t know where she picked up from, but I commend her for it. It’s good to see that someone can actually also leave behind the hard partying days.
I also think it’s great she has a real job and is committed to it. But how does that work actually? The president is so well-guarded at all times, isn’t his immediate family too? Does she have bodyguards to make sure she isn’t harmed or abducted? Or does she really just get up in the morning and drive herself to school? Does anyone know?
Report this comment as spam or abuse
why do you have to rehearse a wedding? is that an american thing? is there a reason? do you only rehearse the dinner or the whole ceremony? do you rehearse it so no drunk uncle can embarass you with a surprise speech or what?
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Anni, it’s more of a going over the order of things for the ceremony, how everyone will walk down the aisle, what music will play when, what door you are coming in, where you will exit, etc. That way you know what to expect.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Jenna looks surprisingly wholesome and sweet in the header picture. I’m not even sure she’s wearing makeup.
It’s nice to see that she’s finally found a path in life. New teachers seem to have a fairly high burnout rate though (five years or less), especially those in down-and-out neighborhoods (don’t know if her school is one of those).
Report this comment as spam or abuse
thanks for the info headache. maybe it´s because an american wedding differs so extremly from german weddings (or the ones i attended), i don´t get it. i don´t see the need to have it all choreographed and perfect. even my brother´s wedding in beijing wasn´t rehearsed even though he had to do it all in chinese (language and customs), same for us guests.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I’m with you on that one Anni. I’m in Europe too and I don’t understand the whole rehearsal dinner thing either. Isn’t it sort of wasting the big ceremony if you have the music, the order you’ll walk down the aisle, a first dinner etc? Isn’t the next day then just a repeat instead of the original?
Then again, it’s probably not as bad as I imagine it to be or that custom would not still be alive today.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Hmm. I wonder what daddy’s speech will be like… We may never know, but you can make your own version of his remarks with our George Bush Wedding Toast-O-Tron! http://www.236.com/news/2008/05/08/george_w_bush_to_gain_son_jenn_6403.php
Report this comment as spam or abuse
It’s not like a dress rehearsal, ladies. Just more of an overview.
Like saying, okay, we’re gonna stand here, the song will play, when it’s over, you move here, etc.
It’s especially helpful if you are having a unique type of ceremony or your bridesmaids and groomsmen are of a different religion so they all know what is going to happen.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
i saw Jenna’s wedding pictures on CNN and she looks LOVELY! very beautiful. Jenna’s always been very down to earth in her choices so her schoolteacher profession doesn’t surprise me. best of luck to the couple.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
For the many rehearsals I’ve participated in for my six older brothers, it’s a good way to shake off the nerves and socialize as well as show some appreciation for the church staff for use of the building, music system, etc, etc. Jenna does look nice
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Sorry, but if Jenna Bush had any REAL class, she would be off fighting her Daddy’s war in Iraq. I don’t see why she is too good to be fighting along with the other soldiers.
That’s exactly where this spoiled little brat should be.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
And I think her husband is soooooo ugly.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Wow, Cindy. That is pretty harsh! Not to mention uncalled for. She has nothing to do with her father’s choices and actions.
It’s a shame you are such an angry miserable person. I hope life gets better for you!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Uhm yeah. I don’t see why her day should be marred by all the dislike for her daddy first off and secondly, until some of this holy wrath rubs off on congress you can bet your sweet ass that things won’t change all that drastically no matter who gets elected come november.
Our country is good and well fucked, not by Bush but by billions of voters who don’t understand how our government works.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Cindy, I’m sure you are just having one of those days.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
She supports her fathers choices and actions and has said so. I see no reason why she can’t go to Iraq and help fight his war. There are plenty of women soldiers over there !!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
the title of this article is so misleading…Jenna didn’t MISS a chance to get married in the White House, she chose not to. I’m sure if she wanted to get married in the glare of the media and public she would have. She took a personal and private committment and made it a persoanl and private affair. That shows grace and class. On the other hand, Paris Hilton…oh but that’s another story..
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Yeah Cindy, I guess you can’t support the space program unless you’re an astronaut right? You can’t support education unless you’re a teacher? You can’t support government healthcare unless you’re a doctor? Seriously, grow the hell up.
Oh, and before you start slamming me for supporting it, I did fight over there, three tours to be precise.
Ripping into this girl on her wedding day just because you disagree with daddy’s politics shows just how small you really are.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Gag me with a chainsaw and mega barf alert!
Meanwhile…
US war dead cremated in same facility as pets: Pentagon 10 May 2008 US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a review of the handling of the remains of US war dead and apologized after learning that some were cremated in a commercial facility that also cremates pets, the Pentagon said. The facility, owned by the Torbit’s Funeral Home Crematory, had been contracted by the air force to cremate remains of soldiers brought back from Iraq and Afghanistan through Dover, officials said.
Meanwhile:
Judge: Woman’s rape case against Halliburton can go to trial 09 May 2008 A woman who said she was raped by co-workers while employed by a contractor in Iraq can take her claims to trial, a federal judge ruled Friday. Jamie Leigh Jones filed a federal lawsuit last year, saying she was attacked while working for a Halliburton Co. subsidiary at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005. Her lawsuit claims that after she endured harassment from some of the men where she lived in coed barracks, she was drugged and raped by Halliburton and KBR firefighters. Jones, a former Conroe resident, said a KBR representative imprisoned her in a shipping container for a day so she wouldn’t report the assault. [I'll stand with whoever will fight KBR, Halliburton and Blackwater - and the regime that spawned them. --LRP]
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Too bad Iraqis don’t have electricity and running water, thanks to Bush bin Laden, KBR, Halliburton and Blackwater. Hence, no one cares where guttersnipe Jenna and her Rovian troll wed.
Lori Price
http://www.legitgov.org
Report this comment as spam or abuse
These very angry people on here, are just a few of the million some odd reasons, Jenna chose to not open her day to the public.
Why is it that people can’t separate things? Though she may have said that she supports her father, you don’t see her hopping on a bus doing a drive across the nation ‘George W is a genius’ tour either, so just chill out.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I agree with Anna. I am not a fan of the Bushes but Jenna handled her wedding with great aplomb and class.
well done, young lady, well done.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
I just realized–
she’s not wearing Vera Wang, unlike every single celebrity bride out there (Vera Wang’s great, but there are other designers–plus some of the custom designs are awful on their intended celebs, methings)
and her song was by Taj Mahal.
I approve.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Right, I am sure the parents of young men and women who are dying in Iraq, could care less about guttersnipe Jenna’s wedding.
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Not a fan of Bush as President and I’m ready for him to go … I think all th Bush’s (son, daddy, brothers, etc.) are crooks! But Jenna seems to have broken away from the pack. I give her and her new husband props for NOT having an over-the-top, waste-of-money affair! You go, girl! It looked to be a very classy, understated affair. I think that’s wonderful. and I wish them much happiness! It is also a sign of the kind of person that she is, that she’s become a teacher. It takes a special person. Jenna Bush has class! People shouldn’t look down on her just because her father is a horrible president. BRING BACK THE KENNEDYS, or VOTE FOR HILLARY! Obama is just another oil man!
Report this comment as spam or abuse
Cindy Kennedy … Um, exactly WHAT does fighting this war have to do with having class? And, although I do believe that this war is pointless, serving in the military is a choice. Nobody over there has been drafted. I think it sucks more than anything that our young men and women (and older soldiers as well) are dying over there, but that happens sometimes when one is in the military. Jenna is not in the military because of her choice NOT to join the military. Take your idiotic, hate-mongering vitriol somewhere else. No one really cares about opinions that are based solely on anger and hatred. Ya don’t really make much sense. What has Jenna Bush ever done to you, anyway? LOL!
Report this comment as spam or abuse