CRAWFORD, Texas — Jenna Bush couldn’t see herself getting married at the White House surrounded by antique furniture and oil portraits of presidents. She and Henry Hager said “I do” Saturday at President Bush’s ranch in Crawford where the corn is thigh-high and the Texas flag is painted on the rooftops of barns.
The president and the bride picked “You Are So Beautiful” for their father-daughter dance, according to band leader Tyrone Smith of Nashville, Tenn. Smith and his 10-piece party band, The Tyrone Smith Revue, was asked to do “Lovin’ in My Baby’s Eyes” by Taj Mahal for the newlyweds’ first dance. Smith, who promised the couple a “get-down” party, talked to The Associated Press earlier in the week on condition that the information not be released before the wedding.
Away from the glare of television cameras that have beamed other first family weddings into American living rooms, Jenna’s outdoor wedding at the ranch reflected her family’s penchant for privacy and her preference for the casual over grandiose.
“This is a joyous occasion for our family, as we celebrate the happy life ahead of her and her husband, Henry,” the president said in his Saturday radio address. “It’s also a special time for Laura who this Mother’s Day weekend will watch a young woman we raised together walk down the aisle.”
The media was not invited, but Jenna’s wedding will be closely scrutinized — down to the matte beading and embroidery on her white Oscar de la Renta gown.
“The wedding details will be reported on for generations, influencing both present-day and future brides-to-be,” says Millie Martin Bratten, editor-in-chief of BRIDES magazine and student of first family weddings.
Jenna’s twin sister, Barbara, was maid of honor and 14 other women were in her “house party.” Barbara Bush wore a long, moonstone blue dress with a low-cut back. The women in the “house party” were clad in seven different styles of knee-length dresses in seven different colors that match the palette of Texas wildflowers — blues, greens, lavenders and pinky reds.
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