Chelsea Clinton married investment banker Marc Mezvinsky at an elegant estate in New York state yesterday evening.
Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton announced in a statement late yesterday that their daughter had wed.
“Today, we watched with great pride and overwhelming emotion as Chelsea and Marc wed in a beautiful ceremony at Astor Courts, surrounded by family and their close friends,” the Clintons said.
“We could not have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate the beginning of their life together, and we are so happy to welcome Marc into our family. On behalf of the newlyweds, we want to give special thanks to the people of Rhinebeck for welcoming us and to everyone for their well-wishes on this special day.”
Chelsea Clinton, wearing a strapless white gown with a full skirt and silver beading around the waist and carrying a bouquet of white flowers, was escorted down the aisle by her father.
The former president and the groom wore dark suits, while the mother of the bride wore a fuchsia dress.
It is estimated that hundreds of guests gathered at the historic estate near the end of a near-perfect summer day of warm temperatures, blue skies and cottony clouds.
The ceremony was conducted by a rabbi and a reverend as Chelsea Clinton is Methodist and Mr Mezvinsky is Jewish, and included a poem by Leo Marks titled, The Life That I Have, according to the family.
The road to the wedding venue at Astor Courts was blocked off - neighbours received bottles of wine for their troubles - and the sky above was declared a no-fly zone by federal aviation officials. Police and security guards fanned out around the usually sleepy town.
Consistent with Chelsea Clinton’s desire for privacy, the family released no details of the wedding beyond the date.
But the scope of the event became apparent when more than a half-dozen busloads of wedding guests - men in black tie, women in dresses - were transported from a hotel in the village to the riverside ceremony as gawkers looked on.
Celebrities spotted in Rhinebeck for the event included actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, fashion designer Vera Wang, Madeleine Albright, who was secretary of state during Bill Clinton’s second term as president and Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee chairman.
The former president’s half brother, Roger Clinton, was spotted early yesterday afternoon with his son Tyler, picking up food at a restaurant.
Danson and Steenburgen said they were excited about the upcoming ceremony as they strolled through Rhinebeck toward one of the hotels being used for the wedding.
“I knew her since she was a baby so this is a big moment,” said Steenburgen, who wed Danson in 1995. “She’s a lovely, lovely girl.”
Chelsea Clinton and Mr Mezvinsky were friends as teenagers in Washington, and both attended Stanford University.
PA