Nation & World

<< Previous   of   Next >> The White House  (click to enlarge) Jenna Bush exchanges wedding vows with Henry Hager at the Bush family's Prairie Chapel Ranch near Crawford, Texas, on Saturday as the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell watches.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Monday, May 12, 2008 Daughter's wedding was 'spectacular,' Bush says By Deb Riechmann Associated Press WACO, Texas -- 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. "Our little girl, Jenna, married a really good guy, Henry Hager," Bush said, standing next Mrs. Bush at an airport in Waco 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." 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. Officiating was the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, an influential minister from Houston and longtime spiritual adviser to the president. 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. 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.

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