By Associated Press: Trailed by a prolonged, flowing veil, President Joe Biden’s granddaughter Naomi Biden walked throughout the South Lawn of the White House on Saturday towards an altar of shrubs and flowers to marry her longtime boyfriend Peter Neal in a uncommon marriage ceremony on the grounds.
Theirs was simply the nineteenth marriage ceremony in 200-plus years of White House historical past.
Under a sunny, blue sky paired with unseasonably crisp 40-degree temperatures, the bride and groom, each dressed by American clothier Ralph Lauren, exchanged “I do’s” as 250 members of the family and associates watched as they have been united in an almost hourlong ceremony.
Naomi Biden, 28, wore a long-sleeved, high-neck robe and veil protecting hair that had been styled behind her head. Neal, 25, selected a navy blue, three-piece swimsuit with a double-breasted vest.
President Biden and first woman Jill Biden hosted the marriage of their eldest grandchild.
“It has been a joy to watch Naomi grow, discover who she is, and carve out such an incredible life for herself,” they stated in a press release asserting the wedding of Naomi King Biden and Peter George Heermann Neal.
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“Now, we are filled with pride to see her choose Peter as her husband and we are honored to welcome him to our family,” they stated. “We wish them days full of laughter and a love that grows deeper with every passing year.”
The south aspect of the White House, going through the garden and Washington Monument, was adorned with wreaths and garland bearing white flowers. The bride walked down an aisle that led from the Diplomatic Reception Room to the altar of shrubs and white flowers.
Guests started arriving on the safety checkpoint hours earlier than the ceremony, together with ladies in open-toed footwear regardless of the coolness. Some friends got hand heaters. Most wore coats, and a few topped off with hats and scarves.
It is the primary White House marriage ceremony with a president’s granddaughter because the bride, and the primary one ever on the South Lawn.
Pennsylvania Avenue was closed to peculiar pedestrians earlier than and in the course of the ceremony, as was a sidewalk bordering the Ellipse, the park simply south of the White House.
After the ceremony, the newlyweds, their households and the marriage social gathering had lunch within the White House. A reception with dessert and dancing was deliberate for later Saturday. President Biden went to church in Washington in between occasions.
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Unlike some previous White House weddings, Naomi Biden and Neal barred journalists, though the ceremony was open air on the grounds of what the president and first woman name the “people’s house.” The White House launched a photograph, and others have been posted on the marriage planner’s social media account.
Naomi Biden is a lawyer in Washington. She is the daughter of Hunter Biden and his first spouse, Kathleen Buhle.
Neal, of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, not too long ago graduated from the University of Pennsylvania regulation college. He works at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington. His mother and father are Drs. Mary C. and William “Bill” C. Neal of Jackson Hole.
The couple, who’ve been dwelling on the White House, was arrange by a mutual pal about 4 years in the past in New York City and have been collectively ever since, the White House stated. Neal proposed in September 2021 close to his childhood dwelling in Jackson Hole with a hoop that repurposed the band of his grandmother’s engagement ring, in keeping with the White House.
The White House has launched few different particulars in regards to the marriage ceremony, citing the couple’s want for privateness. The Biden household can pay for all marriage ceremony actions, officers have stated.
“Naomi and Peter have asked that their wedding be closed to the media and we are respecting their wishes,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated Friday.
White House weddings are uncommon. There have been 18 documented weddings within the 200-plus-year historical past of the White House. Nine concerned a president’s daughter, most not too long ago Richard Nixon’s daughter Tricia in 1971 and Lyndon Johnson’s daughter Lynda in 1967.
But nieces, a grandniece, a son and first women’ siblings have additionally gotten married there. One president, Grover Cleveland, tied the knot on the White House, too, whereas in workplace.
Some of the weddings have been open to protection by the information media, whereas others weren’t in any respect.
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Journalists have been allowed into Tricia Nixon’s marriage ceremony to Ed Cox, the primary marriage ceremony held within the Rose Garden. Her marriage ceremony planner — a three-ring black binder within the places of work of the White House Historical Association — consists of intensive notes on the media plan.
But the May 1994 marriage ceremony of a brother of then-first woman Hillary Clinton and the daughter of then-U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer — the primary since Tricia Nixon’s marriage — was closed to the press. Clinton’s spokesperson commented afterward and the White House launched a photograph.
It was the identical for the October 2013 marriage ceremony of Pete Souza, President Barack Obama’s official photographer, and his longtime accomplice, Patti Lease. The White House introduced the marriage in a press release following the small, personal marriage ceremony within the Rose Garden.
The White House Correspondents Association, which advocates for press entry to the White House and the president, stated it was “deeply disappointed” that the White House declined its request for press protection of Naomi Biden’s marriage ceremony.
“White House weddings have been covered by the press throughout history and the first family’s wish for privacy must be balanced against the public’s interest in an event occurring at the People’s House with the president as a participant,” the WHCA board stated in a press release.
Stewart McLaurin, president of the White House Historical Association, stated it’s necessary to keep in mind that first households are households first.
“Their privacy should be respected, their wishes should be respected,” he stated.
Published On:
Nov 20, 2022
