CNN
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President Joe Biden turns 80 this weekend, but a big party at the White House would be a whole other, more youthful occasion. Naomi BidenBiden’s oldest granddaughter is set to marry Peter Neal on Saturday at the White House’s South Lawn.
The day after the wedding, Biden will mark his place in American history as the only eighties president. It’s a numerical milestone that puts the spotlight on Biden’s age, a major issue plaguing his enemies.Midterm elections better than Democrats expected despite recent wins, relatively gaffe-free trips to Egypt and Asia, and boring presidential announcement From his old rival Donald Trump – Biden can’t shake being the oldest commander-in-chief America has ever had.
But a lavish wedding for two in their 20s kicked off a fresh chapter in life with music, dancing and revelry, and managed to add a youthful twist to their 80th birthday weekend. Two people familiar with the planning of the ceremony said it was no coincidence that Naomi Biden’s wedding weekend fell on Presidents Day, and that the “age issue” was never something Biden wanted to emphasize. point out.
“Weddings give some cover,” says one of the people.
The wedding, as told by CNN, will include the Biden clan on the guest list, as well as friends and family, and looks like a kickoff for close-knit Bidens to start serious discussions about whether Joe Biden will run. will be something Second term.
right after the wedding Jill Biden and Joe Biden travel to Nantucket, Massachusetts, Thanksgiving holiday.Christmas soon follows as the clock ticks toward Biden’s need to speak out whether he will participate in 2024, or out. Both the president and first lady have said they will weigh the pros and cons of a second run, with Biden previously saying he was “intended.”
The wedding itself will have three parts, a person familiar with the planning told CNN. The ceremony will take place at 11:00 AM ET at South Lawn, a location never before used in the history of White House weddings. Sources say there will be no tents and it could be a chilly outdoor morning. Saturday’s temperature he is forecast to be in the mid-40s. Following the exchange of vows, a small family and wedding reception-only luncheon will be held at the White House, after which guests will return for an evening reception of dessert and dancing. indoor.
In a way, 28-year-old Naomi Biden is going through a White House wedding thanks in large part to her own bravery. He forced his grandfather to run.
Although the head of the family, Joe Biden always included his larger family circle, including the five oldest grandchildren when considering life choices. His sensitivity to their feelings and the invasive nature of nasty political battles weighs heavily on his mind.
In a video interview at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, Naomi Biden said, “I don’t think there were any decisions, big or small, that we didn’t make as a family.
While typically convened by Biden family elders, it was Naomi Biden who convened the most important, face-to-face, all-hands family meeting that would most affect Joe Biden’s future. rice field. Biden was concerned, but they weren’t.
“He thought we were calling a meeting to discuss if we wanted to. [run,] But really, I was calling it something like, “Join that race!” Quickly! ‘ said Naomi Biden. Since then, Naomi was the most openly vocal on social media channels on the Democratic Party’s issues and defended her grandfather. Never think it’s unimportant.”
Naomi and granddaughter Literally the closest to her grandparents. She and Neil, 25, are recent graduates of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and work at Georgetown University’s Center for National Security Law, but said they moved to the White House last August to make life easier. a person familiar with the deal told CNN.
The couple’s proximity to the wedding venue only adds to their involvement in planning.The wedding planner is Bryan Rafanelli, founder of Rafanelli Events, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. Raffanelli is no stranger to throwing fantastical parties at the White House. He oversaw his seven state dinners during President Barack Obama’s tenure. This included the Italian regime’s Last Supper, where a tent with a glass ceiling was set up on South His Loan and a performance was given by Gwen Stefani.
He also planned and coordinated Chelsea Clinton’s wedding in 2010.
Weddings produced by Raffanelli don’t have to be expensive. Prices for many of his events start at around $300,000 and can reach into the millions. Elizabeth Alexander, Jill Biden’s director of communications, said, “In line with other private events hosted by the First Family and following the tradition of previous White House weddings in previous administrations, the Biden family will be at the White House. I will pay for the wedding,” he said.CNN.
Naomi’s father hunter bidenHer mother is Kathleen Buhle. Her parents, who divorced in 2017, have each written memoirs about their struggles in their relationship, many of which had to do with Hunter Biden’s long-running struggle with addiction.
Neil’s family hails from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the couple got engaged in September 2021.
The designer of Naomi Biden’s wedding dress has yet to be revealed, but some of the fashion insiders contacted by CNN say Ralph Lauren, arguably the most iconic American fashion designer alive today, has a job. I’m assuming it has moved. Joe Biden wore a Lauren suit on Inauguration Day, and Jill Biden was also photographed wearing the Label. She attended Ralph Lauren’s Fall 2022 fashion show in New York City. The White House did not comment on the dress speculation.
Photos of the wedding are expected to be released to the press on Saturday afternoon at some point between the morning ceremony and the evening reception, sources familiar with the plans said.
No doubt the wedding will be the social event of the White House this year, and possibly the entire Biden administration. This will be the 19th time a wedding has taken place at the White House, the last of which was Obama’s chief photographer Pete Sousa, who married in the Rose Garden in 2013. The last presidential daughter to marry in the White House was Jenna Bush in June 2008. Bush had her wedding and reception at the Bush family’s Texas ranch a few months ago, while her father George W. Bush hosted about 600 guests at the White House. My daughter’s second party house.
However, the scope and scale of Biden’s wedding was not as significant as Lucy Johnson, who had a reception in the East Room after marrying Patrick Nugent, and Charles Robb in the White House’s East Room in 1967. Tricia Nixon married Edward Finch Cox in June 1971 under a flower-filled white gazebo built in the Rose Garden. All of these weddings received media attention when her six-foot-tall wedding cake recipe was published in the newspaper.
Johnson’s daughters and a portion of Nixon’s cake were sent to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (According to the White House Historical Society, Nixon says he hardens into 2-inch-by-2-inch pieces that look like dried sponges.)
Like a taste of Biden’s cake or the aforementioned White House wedding, guests take slices home as party favors at the end of the night.