Chelsea Clinton's Fairytale Wedding

RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Bill and Hillary Clinton have tried to shield their daughter, Chelsea, from the gaze of the public for most of her life. But on her wedding day on Saturday, even as the Clintons sought to shroud the event in secrecy, residents and onlookers here decided they were going to celebrate along with them, invited or not.Most every girl dreams of a fairytale wedding. On Saturday, it seems as if Chelsea Clinton got hers. So despite confidentiality agreements, anonymous hotel reservations and a no-fly zone established over the area, this moneyed and normally subdued town turned into a Chelsea theme park, with shop windows filled with tributes to her, including one with a live model in a wedding dress having her makeup done. A baseball team sent its mascot, dressed up as a raccoon, parading through town with a sign asking Ms. Clinton to marry him. Teenage boys chased after former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, seeking autographs. Young women passed out slices of pizza with “I do” written in pepperoni. Caravans of guests sped by reporters who waited forlornly in a pen on the road leading to the wedding site, while, just beyond, a dozen brown milk cows chewed on dinner. At 7:23 p.m. came an announcement from the family via e-mail: Ms. Clinton was now married to Marc Mezvinsky. “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.” The former president and Mrs. Clinton, the secretary of state, also thanked Rhinebeck for its welcome and good wishes. Ms. Clinton, 30, wore a strapless gown, beaded at the waist and designed by Vera Wang (who caused a commotion of her own when she showed up in town on Saturday). The mother of the bride wore a plum-colored gown by Oscar de la Renta. The interfaith ceremony was conducted by Rabbi James Ponet and the Rev. William Shillady. Ms. Clinton is Methodist, and Mr. Mezvinsky is Jewish. It included elements from both traditions: friends and family reading the Seven Blessings, which are typically recited at traditional Jewish weddings following the vows and exchange of rings. A friend of the couple read the poem “The Life That I Have” by Leo Marks. Many of the guests were friends of the bride and groom from college and work; they both attended Stanford University, and Ms. Clinton recently received her master’s degree from Columbia University’s Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health. Family flew in, too. The president’s half-brother, Roger Clinton, was spotted in town in a T-shirt and track pants hours before the wedding. Marie Clinton Bruno, a cousin of the president’s, reminisced about a 10-year-old Chelsea appearing as a bridesmaid at her own wedding, which was held at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock, Ark., in 1990. That day, Chelsea wore a pale pink dress with ruffles on the shoulders and tended to the artificial flowers in the bride’s bouquet. “She was just a wonderful bridesmaid,” Ms. Bruno said. “She’s just as wonderful today as she was back then.” As she strolled through Rhinebeck, Ms. Bruno spoke approvingly of the location: “It reminds me of the Ozarks in Arkansas, except more chic.” President Clinton appeared to have followed his daughter’s instructions and lost quite a bit of weight for the ceremony. She had ordered him to lose 15 pounds, but people close to him said he had actually lost more than 20. While the media and local residents have been buzzing for months about celebrities who were expected here — including Oprah Winfrey, Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg and John Major, the former British prime minister — none of those particular bold-faced names were invited. Still, there was star power: One of the most prominent guests was Vernon Jordan, a longtime confidant of Mr. Clinton’s and a family friend. But he was not generally recognized by the gawkers here as he strode into a cocktail reception Friday night. One man in the crowd authoritatively identified him as Hamilton Jordan, who was a top aide to former President Jimmy Carter and who died in 2008. Another man in the crowd declared that Vernon Jordan was actually Warren Buffett. The media pack surrounded the actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, who are married, with the force of a sudden summer storm. “We must be the only celebrities in town,” Mr. Danson said. “I’m sorry.” Linda Ennis, a Clinton fan who drove more than an hour in hopes of glimpsing the former president and possibly the bride, seemed star-struck about Ms. Clinton. Like many here, she said she had watched Ms. Clinton grow up, then compared her grace to that of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. “She’s turned into such a beauty,” Ms. Ennis said. “It’s royalty,” her friend, Arlene Newman, added. “It’s our royalty.” Photos released by the Clintons showed the former president looking solemn as he walked his daughter down an aisle created by rows of white chairs against a backdrop of arched windows and columns that evoked the White House. They also showed Ms. Clinton bursting with joy at several moments during the ceremony. Jim Valli and his band provided music at the reception (the couple’s good friend Tim Blane and his band played at the rehearsal dinner). The reception was catered by the St. Regis Hotel (the rehearsal dinner by Blue Ribbon Restaurants). La Tulipe Desserts made the gluten-free wedding cake. Mr. Mezvinsky, an investment banker at 3G Capital Management and a son of two former Democratic members of Congress, proposed to Ms. Clinton over Thanksgiving weekend, and the pair released a statement to friends joyfully wishing them a happy Thanksgiving and telling them about their wedding plans. The couple lives in a three-bedroom apartment on Lower Fifth Avenue in New York with views of Madison Square Park and the Flatiron Building; Mr. Mezvinsky bought the apartment in 2008 for $4 million. Maureen Missner, whose shop, Paper Trail, was believed to be helping to prepare the gift bags, said this wedding felt different from one last year in the area, when the actor Griffin Dunne was married and residents spotted stars like Hugh Jackman. She said that comparing it to Mr. Dunne’s wedding put these festivities into perspective. “This is not a star-studded wedding,” Ms. Missner said. “This is clearly about the bride and groom.”