Nineteen couples have married at the White House since its construction in 1800, beginning with the wedding of President James Madison’s sister-in-law, Lucy Payne Washington, to Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd in 1812.
Of the handful of White House weddings, a few were not properly memorialized with photos or paintings, including those of the children of Presidents James Monroe, John Quincy Adams and John Tyler. More recently,Pete Souza— the official White House photographer for PresidentsRonald ReaganandBarack Obama— married Patti Lease in a Rose Garden ceremony in 2013 that was largely kept private.
The weddings that have been publicly documented over the past two centuries, however, show off the marvel of the White House and its various rooms and gardens.
Amid rumors thatDonald Trump Jr.andBettina Andersonhave kept the White Houseon the table as a possible venue for their upcoming wedding, here's a look back at some of the most memorable wedding photos at the People’s House.
Naomi Biden and Peter Neal (2022)
Naomi Biden, the granddaughter of former PresidentJoe Biden, married U.S. Army JAG officerPeter Nealin a private ceremony at the White House on Nov. 19, 2022.
Roughly 250 guests attendedthe couple’s wedding, the only one to be held on the South Lawn and the first White House marriage in nearly a decade. Naomi’s father,Hunter Biden, and mother, Kathleen Buhle, walked her down the aisle to the tune of The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony.”
Naomi and Peter’s nuptials were profiled in aVoguedigital coverstory that fall.
Anthony Rodham and Nicole Boxer (1994)
Tony Rodham, the late younger brother of former first lady and Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, married film executive Nicole Boxer in a Rose Garden ceremony on May 28, 1994.
The marriage of Rodham and Boxer, the daughter of former California Sen.Barbara Boxer, was the first White House wedding in 23 years, after Tricia Nixon married Edward F. Cox in 1971.
The 40-minute interfaith ceremony featured remarks from a Methodist minister and a Jewish lay representative, according to theAssociated Press. Afterward, guests dined in the State Dining Room and danced in the East Room.
Among Boxer’s four bridesmaids was a then-14-year-old Chelsea Clinton, Hillary’s daughter with former PresidentBill Clinton.
Tricia Nixon and Edward F. Cox (1971)
Tricia Nixon, the eldest daughter of former PresidentRichard Nixon, married law student Edward F. Cox on June 12, 1971, in the first-ever White House wedding performed outdoors. The couple selected the Rose Garden for the 400-person affair, which wasbriefly delayedby afternoon rainfall.
The high school sweethearts’ romance was momentarily interrupted in 1969, when Tricia was set up on an infamously disastrous blind date with future PresidentGeorge W. Bush.
“During dinner, I reached for some butter, knocked over a glass, and watched in horror as the stain of red wine crept across the table,” Bush wrote in41, a 2014 biography of his late father, former PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush. “Then I fired up a cigarette, prompting a polite suggestion from Tricia that I not smoke.”
Tricia, he wrote, requested to be taken home to the White House immediately after dinner.
Lynda Bird Johnson and Charles Spittal Robb (1967)
Lynda Bird Johnson, the eldest daughter of PresidentLyndon B. Johnsonand first ladyLady Bird Johnson, married U.S. Marine CaptainCharles Spittal Robbin a Dec. 9, 1967, ceremony in the White House’s East Room.
Lynda Bird, known for her style, collaborated with fashion designer Geoffrey Beene to create a custom wedding gown and dresses for her wedding party — red, medieval-inspired garments complemented by the White House’s holiday decorations.
In a White House wedding first, reporters fromWomen’s Wear DailyandThe Washington Postsecured spots in the press pool, according to theWhite House Historical Association.
Advertisement
Harry Hopkins and Louise Gill Macy (1942)
Harry Hopkins, a top adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Louise Gill Macy, a New York fashion writer, were married before the marble fireplace in the president’s Oval Office study on July 30, 1942.
A relatively small affair, Hopkins extended special invitations to John W. Mays, the White House’s longtime doorman, andLizzie McDuffie, a White House maid who also served as an unofficial liaison between first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activists.
Eleanor Randolph Wilson and William Gibbs McAdoo (1914)
Eleanor Randolph Wilson, the youngest of former President Woodrow Wilson’s three daughters, married Treasury Secretary William Gibbs McAdoo on May 7, 1914, in a simple, 5-minute ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House.
McAdoo, a widower more than twice her age, initially concealed his feelings for the president’s daughter, stowing them where “one stores lovely but hopeless emotions,” he later toldTimemagazine. He changed his mind on a chilly December evening, proposing on a bench near the foot of the Washington Monument.
McAdoo offered his resignation following the proposal, but Wilson declined it.
Jessie Woodrow Wilson and Francis Bowes Sayre (1913)
Jessie Woodrow Wilson, the middle daughter of former President Woodrow Wilson and Ellen Axson Wilson, married professor and diplomat Francis Bowes Sayre on Nov. 25, 1913, in the East Room of the White House.
The couple capped the guest list at around 400 people — a “distressingly” small number that frustrated many Washington insiders “who had expected to receive invitations but were disappointed,”The Walsenburg Worldreported at the time.
Weeks before the ceremony, private details of Jessie’s custom wedding gown were leaked to the press, “much to the dismay of the bride,” according to theWhite House Historical Association.
Alice Roosevelt and Nicholas Longsworth (1906)
Alice Roosevelt, the eldest daughter of former President Theodore Roosevelt and Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt, married future House Speaker Nicholas Longworth on Feb. 17, 1906.
The couple’s wedding, in the East Room of the White House, was attended by 680 guests, including future President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, Theodore’s niece.
In her 1933 autobiography,Crowded Hours, Alice recalled a sense of calm before the ceremony, when even after “seeing the crowd already gathered outside the White House grounds, even a few guests arriving,” she “had not yet started to dress,” according to theWhite House Historical Association.
Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom (1886)
PresidentGrover Clevelandbecame the first and only sitting president to marry at the White House when he exchanged vows with Frances Folsom in the Blue Room on June 2, 1886.
Twenty-seven years her senior, Grover became the executor of Frances’ father’s estate when he died in 1875, overseeing the then-11-year-old’s education and well-being. At just 21 years old at the time of their marriage, Frances holds distinction as the youngest first lady in U.S. history.
The couple kept their engagement a secret from the public until four days before their wedding, according toThe History Channel. Grover’s brother, Reverend William Neal Cleveland, and Reverend Byron Sutherland officiated the intimate ceremony, while John Philip Sousa led the U.S. Marine Band in a rendition of the Wedding March.
In a modern twist, Grover and Frances replaced the traditional “honor, love and obey” in their vows with “honor, love and keep.”
Nellie Grant and Algernon Sartoris (1874)
Nellie Grant, the third child and only daughter of former President Ulysses S. Grant and first lady Julia Dent Grant, married Englishman Algernon Sartoris in the East Room of the White House on May 21, 1874.
Nellie’s satin and lace gown, complete with a six-foot train, according to theWhite House Historical Association, matched the masses of white flowers throughout the room. Wedding guests were sent home with slices of cake in gift boxes.
Read the original article onPeople
Nineteen couples have married at the White House since its construction in 1800, beginning with the wedding of President James Madison’...
