One of the most important decisions a couple set to marry can make is where to hold the wedding. If your parent or grandparent is currently the President of the United States, it might make the decision easier. Here’s a look at the history of the weddings hosted by the White House, including a first held in November 2022.
What Happened: For the first time ever, a grandchild of an active president has gotten married at the White House. Naomi Biden, granddaughter of President Joe Biden, was married at the White House on Nov. 19, 2022.
Naomi Biden married Peter Neal in a private ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House Saturday. She is the eldest grandchild of President Biden and now the only grandchild to be married at the White House while their grandparent was the acting president.
At the age of 28, Naomi is the oldest of seven Biden grandchildren. Naomi is said to have helped encourage her grandfather to run for president back in 2019 and called a family meeting to discuss the idea. Naomi could be involved in Biden’s decision on whether to run in the 2024 presidential election as well.
Naomi is named after Biden’s firstborn daughter, who died in a car accident in 1972 along with Biden’s first wife Neilia Biden. Biden’s granddaughter Naomi is the daughter of Hunter Biden and Kathleen Buhle, who were divorced in 2017.
Details of the wedding had been top secret, with wedding vendors signing nondisclosure agreements.
Biden and Neal currently reside in the White House. She has been featured at several White House events and recently passed out candy on Halloween from the president’s home. All wedding costs were covered by the first couple, Joe and Jill Biden.
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Rare White House Weddings: The home of the President of the United States since 1800, the White House is one of the most recognizable buildings in the country.
The Biden wedding is now one of only 19 weddings to be hosted by the White House, accordingto Brides.com.
Here are the 18 previous weddings hosted at the White House:
Lucy Payne Washington and Thomas Todd, March 29, 1812: first documented wedding at the White House featured Washington, the sister of first lady Dolley Madison.
Maria Hester Monroe and Samuel Lawrence Gouverneur, March 9, 1820: Maria Hester Monroe, daughter of James Monroe, was the first daughter of a president to be married inside the White House.
John Adams and Mary Catherine Hellen, February 25, 1828: Adams, son of President John Quincy Adams, became the first son of a president to be married in the White House. Adams was also the grandson of John Adams, the second President of the United States.
Mary A. Eastine and Lucius J. Polk, April 10, 1832: Eastine was the niece of first lady Rachel Jackson.
Mary Anne Lewis and Alphonse Pageot, November 29, 1832: Lewis was the daughter of a close friend of President Andrew Jackson.
Elizabeth Tyler and William Waller, January 31, 1842: Elizabeth was the daughter of President John Tyler.
Nellie Grant and Algernon Sartois, May 21, 1874: Nellie was the daughter of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Emily Platt and Russell Hastings, June 1878: Platt was a niece of first lady Lucy Hayes.
President Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom, June 2, 1886: The first president to ever get married in the White House was Cleveland. Serving as the 22nd and 24th president f the United States, Cleveland is the only president to serve non-consecutive terms and the only president to get married in the White House.
Alice Lee Roosevelt and Nicholas Longworth, February 17, 1906: The oldest child of President Theodore Roosevelt, Alice Lee Roosevelt was wed in one of the “most grand weddings in White House history,” according to Brides.com. Roosevelt and her husband cut the wedding cake with a military sword, a move that became a White House tradition.
Jessie Woodrow Wilson and Francis Bowes Sayre, November 25, 1913: Wilson, daughter of President Woodrow Wilson, was one of several children of the president that got married at the White House.
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Eleanor Randolph Wilson and William Gibbs McAdoo, May 7, 1914: Another Wilson daughter, Eleanor Randolph Wilson, got married at the White House a year later.
Alice Wilson and Isaac Stuart McElroy Jr, August 7, 1918: Wilson, a niece of President Woodrow Wilson, got married in the White House in 1918, marking another relative of the 28th President of the United States to choose the White House as their wedding location.
Harry Hopkins and Louise Gill Macy, July 30, 1942: Hopkins was an assistant to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Lynda Bird Johnson and Charles Spittal Robb, December 9, 1967: Johnson was the elder daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Tricia Nixon and Edward Finch Cox, June 12, 1971: Richard Nixon’s daughter got married in 1971 in the first outside White House wedding, held in the Rose Garden.
Anthony Rodham and Nicole Boxer, May 28, 1994: Rodham is the brother of first lady Hillary Clinton. The wedding took place outside in the Rose Garden.
Pete Souza and Patti Lease, October 19, 2013: White House photographer Pete Souza is one of the few non-presidential family members to get married at the White House. Serving as President Barack Obama’s photographer, around 35 people were in attendance, including the Obamas.
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