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Bush wedding skips spotlight
Marriage of president's daughter to Richmonder avoids media hoopla
 
Monday, May 12, 2008 - 12:00 AM Updated: 12:22 AM
 
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SLIDESHOW: Jenna's Ring | Wedding Photos

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 Richmonder Henry Hager said "I do" last night at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, where the corn is thigh-high, roads are named Cattle Drive 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, were asked to do "Lovin' in My Baby's Eyes" by Taj Mahal for the newlyweds' first dance.

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.

Even without the prying eyes of strangers, Jenna's marriage to her longtime boyfriend made presidential history. It will be remembered as an upbeat moment of Bush's two-term presidency beset by terrorism, war and the nation's current limp economy.

"This is a joyous occasion for our family, as we celebrate the happy life ahead of her and her husband, Henry," Bush said yesterday in his weekly 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."

. . .

Jenna, 26, is the 22nd child of a president to get married while their father was in the Oval Office. Their ceremonies have ranged from Tricia Nixon's extravagant wedding broadcast live from the Rose Garden in 1971 to the 1992 Camp David wedding of Jenna's aunt, Dorothy Koch. That one was kept so secret that the media didn't find out about it until it was over.

"All of them are different. This one really reflects the personality of both Jenna and the George W. Bush family," said Doug Wead, a former aide to President George H.W. Bush and author of a book on presidents' kin.

"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."

The media were not invited.

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.

The best man was the groom's brother, John "Jack" Hager. Also part of the "house party" were 14 ushers.

. . .

The rehearsal dinner for about 100 people was hosted by the parents of the groom, who turned 30 on Friday. Hager's father, John Hager, is the chairman of the Virginia Republican Party and is former lieutenant governor of Virginia and former U.S. assistant secretary of education.

The rehearsal dinner crowd, including the president, then walked down a street in Salado with the Belton High School Marching Band from Belton, Texas, to a "Texas-sized celebration" at another establishment. All the wedding guests were invited to this event. They were entertained by the five-member Duke Merrick Band from Charlottesville, Va., which performed classic Texas songs and original pieces by Merrick, a relative of the Hager family.

This was a big doing for Crawford, home to about 700 central Texans. They likely will not get a glimpse of the bride and groom, but the couple's photo is plastered across coffee mugs, mouse pads, key rings and other Western White House trinkets for sale at a few stores along the main drag.

 

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