May

10

Bush tries on new role: Father of the bride

Filed Under World News | Posted By Jennifer Sullivan |

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jenna.jpgPresident Bush in brief previewed the new task he’ll be taking on Saturday: father of the bride. Prior to departing Thursday from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, the president humorously stuck out his right elbow, as if he were accompanying someone down the aisle.

The actual occasion takes place Saturday night, when he is to walk his 26-year-old daughter, Jenna, down the walkway during a private wedding ceremony at the family ranch in Crawford, Texas.

“He’s looking forward to it; he’s thrilled, like any proud father is, to witness one of his daughters get married,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Texas.

About 200 friends and family members are likely to be present at the outdoor ceremony that will take place near a lake before a cross built of Texas limestone. Dinner and dancing will follow under a tent.

Reporters will be stationed seven miles from the Bush ranch in Crawford. The White House stated it may release a photo Sunday.

As is customary in Texas, Jenna Bush will have a “house party” of 14 women as an alternative of bridesmaids. The first lady’s office described them as guests of honor, with no role in the ceremony.

Jenna is marrying Henry Hager, a 30-year-old resident of Richmond, Virginia, who once worked for Karl Rove, her father’s former deputy chief of staff. Hager is the son of tobacco executive John Hager, chairman of the Virginia Republican Party and a former lieutenant governor.

The two met while working on Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign, and Henry Hager proposed last summer later asking the president for consent.

“So the man comes to meet me, and he tells, ‘I want to marry your daughter,’ ” Bush recalled recently. “I said, ‘Done deal.’ “

Throughout the run-up to Saturday’s wedding, the president has been making light of the planning procedure.

“Please excuse me if I’m a little sleepy,” Bush stated at last month’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. “At 3 a.m. this morning, the red phone rang. … It was the damn wedding planner.”

Jenna Bush is said to be more like the president — expressive and joyful — than is her sister. Early in her father’s presidency, Jenna got into some trouble when she was cited for underage drinking. In 2004, her naughty streak was still obvious when she was photographed sticking her tongue out at reporters.

However, she has started to set up a special identity as a young adult. She has taken a leave of absence as a schoolteacher to work as an intern for UNICEF. She also has authored two children’s books, including one with her mother.

Like her father, Jenna Bush also loves her home state.

“She’s a real Texan that has been an issue in the family — are we from Kennebunkport [Maine], or are we from Texas?” stated Doug Wead, a former adviser to the bride’s grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush, and author of the book, “The entire Presidents’ Children.”

“Jenna’s making that very, very apparent,” Wead stated.

Definitely, the first daughter has stated she desires the wedding in Crawford and not at the White House since she feels more relaxed there.

“I think the White House is a historical, beautiful building, certainly, and place, but I wanted to have something more private and something that fit my personality a bit more,” she said CNN’s “Larry King Live” previous month.



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