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Bush's Daughter Says 'I Do' at Ranch

By DEB RIECHMANN,
AP
Posted: 2008-05-11 17:29:07
Filed Under: Nation News
WACO, Texas (May 11) - President Bush spent months joking about being a father of the bride, but on Sunday he was downright wistful about giving his daughter Jenna away to her longtime beau.

Photo Gallery

Shealah Craighead, The White House, AP

'Spectacular' Wedding

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Jenna Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush, exchanged wedding vows with longtime boyfriend Henry Hager in a closely guarded affair on May 10 in Crawford, Texas. The couple got married in an outdoor ceremony at the family's 1,600-acre ranch.

"Our little girl, Jenna, married a really good guy, Henry Hager," Bush said, standing next Mrs. Bush at an airport in Waco where he boarded Air Force One for his flight back to Washington. "The wedding was spectacular. It's just -- it's all we could have hoped for."

Unlike other first family weddings that have been broadcast live, the Bushes didn't share their daughter's nuptials with the nation. The day after, however, they briefly shared their joy.

"The weather cooperated nicely," Bush said about the wedding at his 1,600-acre Texas ranch. "Just as the vows were exchanged, the sun set over our lake and it was just a special day and a wonderful day and we're mighty blessed."

Wedding Details

  • Location: President Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch
  • Maid of Honor: Barbara Bush (sister)
  • Father-Daughter Song: 'You Are So Beautiful'
  • Ring: Platinum, diamond and sapphire

A reporter asked the president if he had been up late partying. Bush winked, then turned toward the plane, ignoring a second question about whether the wedding had given the slumping U.S. economy a boost.

In recent days, the White House has dribbled out details about the bride's dress, the ring, the wedding attire and pre-wedding events. It was part of a carefully orchestrated communications strategy to disclose bits of information, but keep the wedding from becoming a media circus.

But it wasn't a complete media blackout. On Sunday, while it disclosed no more details, the White House released 11 photos of the affair at Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch.

Former President George H.W. Bush, who did a reading during the ceremony with former first lady Barbara Bush, moseyed back to the press section of the plane, but wouldn't dish. He said he dutifully replied "Yes, sir!" when he was told not to disclose details.

A White House official confirmed by e-mail at 9:28 p.m. EDT Saturday that Jenna and Henry, the son of the chairman of the Republican Party in Virginia, had been officially hitched.

The post-wedding party ensued. The more than 200 family and friends were entertained by the Tyrone Smith Revue, a 10-piece party band from Nashville, Tenn. The musicians gave the newlyweds what Smith described as a "get down" party.

At Tricia Nixon's White House wedding in 1971, President Nixon and his daughter danced to "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." Bush and Jenna glided across the dance floor to "You are so Beautiful"-- a ballad made famous by Joe Cocker. The newlyweds danced to "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes" by Taj Mahal.

The bride and groom were reared in Republican families, but this was a bipartisan ceremony.

Officiating was the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, an influential minister from Houston and longtime spiritual adviser to the president, has endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

But while the wedding is now a part of presidential history, it was not a night for politics or publicity.

Millie Martin Bratten, editor-in-chief of BRIDES magazine, said the wedding was a letdown for some who craved a Princess Diana-style event. But she said Jenna's wedding -- her classy Oscar de la Renta gown and all -- might even set a trend for future presidential weddings. Bratten foresees future first family weddings that mix protocol and formality with creative individual touches from the bride.

"Instead of the event being turned over to the White House social secretary who follows the strict rules of protocol -- something that comes from our British heritage of royal weddings -- this one had a lot of input from her," Bratten said.

As the nuptials drew near on Saturday, tour buses loaded with wedding guests began rolling through downtown Crawford, past souvenir stores that earlier in the day had sold out of Jenna and Henry coffee mugs and mouse pads. An 18-foot rusty metal sculpture of an angel, a gift to the town after Bush's re-election, was adorned with a white veil and bouquet of white flowers. Plastic geese ornaments on a lawn were dressed up with white knit hats and draped in tulle.

Unable to get close to the ranch, visitors settled for snapping photos of the Prairie Chapel Road sign.

Wedding events were so closely held that even the chef who prepared the rehearsal dinner Friday night in a nearby town didn't find out he was working on the first daughter's wedding until late Thursday night.

"It's pretty amazing how they kept it quiet," said Dave Hermann, who with his wife, Katie, own The Range Restaurant at the Barton House in Salado, about an hour's drive from Crawford. In a phone interview, Hermann said the groom's mother, Margaret Chase Hager, used an alias when she called to arrange the event. "Quite honestly, there may have been a handful of people who knew something, but not very early on."

For the rehearsal dinner, Hermann served lemon-crusted rainbow trout and grilled pork tenderloin over roasted corn pudding. It was the groom's 30th birthday, so he also served a lemony, vanilla cake.

"Lots of people gave toasts," he said. "Henry shared some funny stories about dating Jenna and said something about how he couldn't wait to be the son" the Bushes never had.

Afterward, the rehearsal dinner crowd went to a "Texas-sized" celebration down the street. They were escorted by a high school marching band from Belton, Texas, which played "Happy Birthday" and "The Eyes of Texas are Upon You," Hermann said. Reporters never saw or heard the noisy procession.

"I know the president and I know the family and I think they pulled it off," Doug Wead, a former aide to President George H.W. Bush and author of a book on presidents' kin. "What I mean when I say 'pulled it off' is that they were successful in keeping it a private event."

Many questions remain unanswered: Did the couple write their own vows? Will Jenna take her husband's name? Are they really going to Europe for their honeymoon? When is Barbara Bush getting married?

If the Bush twins follow the lead of President Woodrow Wilson's daughters, Barbara will tie the knot quickly. In 1913, Jessie Wilson was married on Nov. 25 -- the twins' birthday. Her sister, Eleanor Wilson, got hitched a few months later on May 7, 1914.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-05-09 09:13:28
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Recent Comments

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9383 comments

karendelrio 06:04:42 PM May 15 2008

If all you Bush haters hated the terrorists as much as ******** might make a difference. What are you loving ,non violent democrat socialists going to do when President Bush is out of office? Get a life!

mendel18 05:47:29 PM May 15 2008

Mr. Bush- how much was your and the Mrs. airplane ticket to and from your daughter's ? After all do you really know how much gasoline cost these days ?

IsI there any way that you can bring back those solders NOW so that they can
also get married ?? So you may go down in history that you did some good.

Mr. Kay 5/15/2008

belladonna7282 02:02:15 PM May 15 2008

Jenna Bush's Father, "the "Proud" father of the bride, is responsiable for the death of 4000 US soldiers! How many of them were engaged to be married and didn't live to see their wedding day?!

THE BUSH FAMILY SHOULD BE ASHAMED. GWB IS A DISGRACE ON EVERY LEVEL!

monroelaw 08:24:19 AM May 15 2008

pam3646 07:14:31 PM May 14 2008: "believe me she was not a virgin. so abstaining from sex. look just last year at the wild parties her and her sister was at. Do you really think that they did not have sex?"

I don't understand why you think that's any of your business. You really need to rent a life of your own and give up having "the View" program you for the day...

monroelaw 08:22:41 AM May 15 2008

To all of the bitter, patehetic, angry, nasty little people who somehow felt compelled to post your envy in the form of hate filled diatribes, I hope that your life is filled with the same love, compassion and undertsanding that you have shown here. A beautiful young woman got married at her home to a man she loves. She chose to do so where she was raised rather than as a national spectacle. More power to her and may you all get what you truly deserve,

jobsab 07:48:56 AM May 15 2008

Mission Accomplished 'ol Georgie Boy...you are TRULY an idiot!

dsa1033 04:32:38 AM May 15 2008

How is Jenna's wedding any different than the wedding of one of Saddam's daughters? Their father were/are responsible for the deaths of hunreds of thousands of innocent civilians; and George Bush is responsible for the unwarranted destruction of the nation and society of Iraq. He is the one responsible person for "opening the Pandora's box" and relaeasing all of the 'evil genies".

In essence Bush is substantially responsible for the terrorists gaining a foot hold in Iraq, and for the sectarian violence, the reported deaths of approximately 600,000 innocent civilians, and the "displacement" and living in abject and abysmal economic and emotional coditions of 4,000,000 other Iraqis. I would wish Jenna nothing more than I would wish Saddam's daughter(s). Saddam was only slightly worse than George Bush has become.

dsa1033 04:25:52 AM May 15 2008

pam3646 07:14:31 PM May 14 2008

Report This! believe me she was not a virgin. so abstaining from sex. look just last year at the wild parties her and her sister was at. Do you really think that they did not have sex?
=============================
And why would you even care if they did . . . or even if she had intimate experiences with a half dozen or a dozen or more gusy? It's becoming ridiculous how everyone is so concerned and/or obcessed with other peoples' sex lives. What significance or difference does it make to you and YOUR LIFE? A person's sex life is their private business unless they chose to reveal it (like Paris Hilton and others). If I'm not having intimate relations with a woman, then why should I be concerned with her private intimate relationship(s) with others?

Or are you just trying to denigrate her because you don't like the Bush family? I don't like them either but lets find somethng meaningul to criticize them for.

denlee42 04:24:30 AM May 15 2008

The First Amendment is a wonderful thing. Even neanderthals can go online and set forth their rhetoric. These two kids had nothing to do with the war in Iraq. To a whole lot of us the cross is a powerful and meaningful part of our faith, and I am sure it means a lot to them. I wish the best for these kids as I do for any young couple beginning a new life together. The hatred and venom spewed at President Bush says a whole lot more about the writers than it does for President Bush.

dsa1033 04:15:57 AM May 15 2008

pam3646 07:14:31 PM May 14 2008

Report This! believe me she was not a virgin. so abstaining from sex. look just last year at the wild parties her and her sister was at. Do you really think that they did not have sex?
==============================
And, in this day and age, what the heck difference does her (or her sister's) sex life have to do with ANYTHING? While I am a staunch ANTI-Bush Republican, I find your observation/comment to be shallow and ridiculous . . . and worse than frivalous. Frankly, I detest the Bush family and think that George Bush should be IMPEACHED . . . but where do you find the "license" or basis to criticize the girls "normal life experiences" . . . . You must be an uptight 18 y/o, frigid, "virgin" or a religious nut. Get a life.

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