Starting at the beginning, Chelsea is the only child of Hillary and Bill Cinton. Just because of that mere detail, one would expect her wedding to be full of pomp and circumstance. And so it was. On July 31, 2010, Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky, got married in a lavish ceremony. Marc, who is a financial executive, like Chelsea, is also the son of a politician, former Congressman Ed Mezvinsky. The lovebirds met when they were still teenagers, due to the relationship between their families. For a period, they studied at Stanford in California. But the courtship only started in 2005.
The private ceremony was held at the historic Astor Courts estate, located in Rhinebeck, New York, which sits alongside the Hudson River. The guest list for the reception numbered 400 and was also kept under lock and key. But what is known is that Vera Wang and the creative director of Burbery, Christopher Bailey, respectively responsible for the bride's dress and the groom's tuxedo, were among those present. There was also speculation about the presence of Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg.
Despite the secrecy of the ceremony, as was to be expected, it drew the attention of the entire press, making the streets of the small town of Rhinebeck, a veritable coming and going of journalists and cameramen. The airspace around the ceremony site was closed to aircraft flying less than 610 meters in height, in order to avoid aerial footage captured by paparazzi.
At the time, it was reported by The New York Daily News that the guests would be hosted at the Beekman Arms Hotel, considered the oldest in the United States. Hotel staff were advised not to reveal anything about the ceremony. They were even forbidden to pronounce the word "Clinton". That's secrecy, huh!
Bill Clinton walked his daughter down the aisle in the ceremony, which was officiated by Reverend William Shillady and Rabbi James Ponet. Although the information is that the marriage was ecumenical, it is known that the marriage is only validated by Judaism if the non-Jewish groom converts. Both members of the couple must be Jewish to be able to marry in the Jewish tradition. So either Chelsea converted, or the rabbi blessed the bride and groom only symbolically. This was a hidden point.
Regarding the bride and groom's outfits, Chelsea was wearing a white strapless dress, signed by Vera Wang, which had a belt that marked the waist, full of stones. The groom, Marc, opted for a Burberry tuxedo accompanied by a slim tie, in a very modern style. Chelsea's mother, Hillary Clinton, wore a purple Oscar de la Renta dress.
Little is known about the details of the ceremony, due to concerns about secrecy. However, some wedding experts say the event could have cost anywhere from three to five million dollars. According to the NBC television network, just renting the tents with air conditioning and decorated with floral arrangements by the famous florist, Jeff Leatham, would have spent around 500 thousand dollars. At the time, there were several criticisms from congressmen based on speculation about the high costs of the ceremony. They viewed with some reservation so much luxury and ostentation at a party, at a time when the United States was still struggling to recover from a severe economic crisis.
Information also circulated that the wedding cake would have been made of vanilla and gluten-free flour, layered with dark chocolate mousse. The cake would have nine layers covered in vanilla fondant. And each one would have been decorated with an assortment of roses, orchids and sugar lilies.
In the end, even with so much secrecy surrounding the ceremony, Chelsea Clinton's wedding was one of the most talked about in 2010. There was no escaping the spotlight!
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