Jenna Bush's Wedding Kept Quiet
Dresses and jewelry designed by Texans; altar made of Texas limestone.
May 9, 2008 — -- President Bush left Washington, D.C., Thursday to head back to Texas, gearing up for a top-secret affair this weekend.
His daughter is getting married.
On Saturday evening, first daughter Jenna Bush is set to wed Virginia native Henry Hager in Crawford, Texas, at the 1,600-acre Bush family ranch.
The weekend is filled with events -- a rehearsal dinner today and a barbecue lunch in addition to a wedding ceremony and reception Saturday. More than 200 friends and family are expected to attend festivities at the secluded ranch, which is 20 miles from major hotel chains and restaurants.
It is a rare event for a president's child to get married -- the last wedding was Tricia Nixon's lavish White House bash in 1971.
Saturday's down-home festivities will be more casual and it is not black-tie dress. Jenna even joked that she didn't think she was glamorous enough for a White House wedding.
Though the first daughter opted out of a White House wedding, she isn't alone in her decision. Only nine out of 22 presidential children who have been married chose the White House as their setting. Much like her niece, Dorothy Bush chose a private ceremony at Camp David. That wedding was so secret the press found out about it only after it happened.
"She just wanted to get married at home. She just feels a lot more comfortable there," said first lady Laura Bush. "And it will be really beautiful."
But don't expect many, if any, details. "There will be absolutely no readout of the wedding, whatsoever," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters Thursday. "This really is a private event for the family."
Johndroe added that the Bush family may choose to release a couple of wedding photos Sunday.
For Jenna, 26, getting married at her family's secluded ranch was not only for privacy -- she has used the location as a theme in the wedding.
"The color choice for the attendants' dresses are really taken from native Texas wildflowers," designer Lela Rose told ABC News. "So you can really see the influence of what growing up in Texas and having those wildflowers every spring has done for the wedding."
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