America’s Royal Wedding
Chamari Senanayake
When you are the only
child of a former President and the current secretary of State of the
most powerful nation in the world that means your wedding is a big deal
for the media and for people
Former US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton’s only daughter Chelsea Clinton finally became a married woman
last Saturday afternoon under the summer sun.
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The family poses for a photograph. Pic.AP |
This day is hailed as America’s ‘Royal wedding’, and last-minute
preparations included shutting down a chunk of federal airspace, with
the secret service making sure access roads to the venue were secure.
Chelsea, 30, married childhood friend, financier Marc Mezvinsky, 32,
in a ceremony that took place at 5 p.m. in Astor Courts, the former home
of millionaire businessman John Jacob Astor IV, set in 50 acres of land
overlooking the Hudson River in Rhinebeck, New York state.
President Barrak Obama had reportedly offered the White House as a
venue, while actor Ted Danson, a family friend, suggested his home on
Martha’s Vineyard. But the couple opted for the relative seclusion of
the Astor estate. Local residents inconvenienced by the media circus and
crowds of people surrounding the wedding were given a bottle of wine
from Clinton Vineyards.
The bottle came with a handwritten note of apology from the couple’s
wedding planner. The night before, well-wishers lined the streets of
Rhinebeck as the wedding party enjoyed a rehearsal dinner at the local
Beekman Arms Inn. With a guest list of 500 this Royal Wedding is
estimated to have cost over $5 million (over 500 million Sri Lankan
rupees).
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Chelsea Clinton walking down the isle with her father former
President of US Bill Clinton. Pic.AFP/Getty Images |
Who received an invitation has been the subject of much speculation,
but Movie director Steven Spielberg, producer Steve Bing, Barbra
Streisand, former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Oprah Winfrey
were expected to attend. Tony Blair was believed to have been invited,
but was unable to go.
As Chelsea Clinton has been a vegan for more than seven years. Her
$12,000, five-tier wedding cake was gluten-free. But the meat-eaters
among her guests would have been relieved to see that organic beef was
also on the menu.
The scale of the wedding has been made clear by the small army of
workmen employed over the past week and the number of security officers
employed. But though Chelsea’s dress thought to be designed by famous
wedding dress designer Vera Wang - reportedly cost between $30,000 and $
32,000 and she was expected to wear $ 260,000 worth of jewellery (as
well as her $960,000 engagement ring). She is currently studying for a
Masters degree at Columbia University’s School of Public Health. The
couple met as teenagers and their friendship gradually turned into
romance. |
