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Jenna Bush becomes America's quiet sweetheart today — a bride wrapped in delicate organza, bound for a new destiny as wife, honeymooner, teacher, author and occasional first daughter, at least for a few more months.
She marries longtime boyfriend Henry Hager this evening in the ultimate down-home wedding, with vows exchanged under a big Texas sky followed by a proper shindig in an air-conditioned tent at sunset, out where the bluebonnets grow and the temperature will hover around 92.
"Oh, I'd say Jenna is a real favorite around here, and around the country. We're all real happy for her," said Donald Citrano, proprietor of the Coffee Shop Cafe, out on George W. Bush Parkway just a few minutes' drive from wedding central — the Bush family's 1,600-acre Prairie Chapel Ranch near Crawford.
Mr. Citrano will treat his local patrons to complimentary slices of wedding cake today.
Even the Iraq war protesters are giving it a rest. The dozen holdovers left over from peace activist Cindy Sheehan's encampment near the ranch three years ago have said they will honor the wedding by not shouting and waving placards at the expected 200 or so guests.
An 18-foot angel statue that overlooks the main intersection in Crawford is now wearing a veil and holding a bouquet, and there's a storefront banner congratulating the couple.
But that's about it for pomp, circumstance and spectacle. Miss Bush's valuing of privacy and her decision to wed on home turf rather than at the White House has kept today's nuptials from turning into a media circus — or royal wedding. i type="square">
Background information on the bride
Background information on the groom
Video:Bush motorcade arrives
Video:Tiny Crawford awaits Bush wedding
Last night's festivities avoided Crawford altogether for Salado, a former stagecoach stop an hour's drive away — the groom's family hosting the rehearsal dinner at the Old Salado Springs Celebration Center, followed by a "Texas-sized celebration" at the Salado Silver Spur Theater.
President Bush has made only the vaguest public allusions to the wedding, but he leads today's Mother's Day-themed White House radio address with some "Father of the Bride" words.
"Today is my daughter Jenna's wedding day. This is a joyous occasion for our family, as we celebrate the happy life ahead of her and her husband, Henry. It's also a special time for Laura, who this Mother's Day weekend will watch a young woman we raised together walk down the aisle," Mr. Bush said.
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