It's going to be a White House wedding for Naomi Biden and her fiance Peter Neal in November. Naomi, the eldest granddaughter of US President Joe Biden, announced at the weekend that her nuptials will be held on the South Lawn, behind the historic presidential residence and workplace.
"Sooo not sure how best to update but was supposed to do so weeks ago… but we have finally figured out where the ceremony will be… and much to the relief of secret service and with the dogs’ endorsement… we’ll be getting married on the South Lawn! Couldn’t be more excited," she posted on Twitter.
Naomi, 28, the eldest daughter of Hunter Biden, had already revealed her wedding plans in April but did not specify where in the White House it would be held.
"Peter and I are endlessly grateful to my Nana and Pop for the opportunity to celebrate our wedding at the White House. We can’t wait to make our commitment to one another official and for what lies ahead," she said then.
A lawyer in Washington, DC, Naomi got engaged to Neal, 24, a law student, in September last year. The wedding is set to take place on Saturday, November 19, according to CNN.
Where is the South Lawn located?
A vast green space of several hectares maintained by the National Park Service, the South Lawn of the White House is a recreational space which also includes a tennis course, jogging track, swimming pool, a putting green and Michelle Obama's famed vegetable garden.
The South Lawn is also used for ceremonial events during state visits and is also the landing point for Marine One, the presidential helicopter.
It's also where the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, which dates back to 1878, is held.
White House weddings
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Naomi Biden, the granddaughter of US President Joe Biden, and her fiance Peter Neal ride bikes in Nantucket, Massachusetts. AFP -
US President Joe Biden departs The Hamilton restaurant, where he had lunch with granddaughters Finnegan and Naomi in Washington this year. EPA -
Naomi Biden and Peter Neal walk to a vehicle as they depart with US President Joe Biden from the White House in Washington. EPA -
Commander, the Biden family’s new puppy, plays with Peter Neal outside the White House. Reuters -
Naomi Biden and Peter Neal, stop their bikes in Nantucket, Massachusetts, for her grandfather President Joe Biden and his wife Dr Jill Biden to pass in a motorcade. AP -
Joe Biden's grandchildren, Naomi Biden and Robert Hunter Biden, walk her dog Charlie at Nantucket Memorial Airport in Massachusetts last Thanksgiving. EPA -
Joe, Jill and Naomi Biden walk across the South Lawn of the White House after returning on Marine One from a weekend in Wilmington, Delaware. AP -
Joe and Jill Biden with their daughter Ashley Biden and granddaughters Finnegan and Naomi pose for a selfie during an Independence Day celebration in Washington. Reuters -
Joe Biden and his granddaughters, including Naomi, are welcomed at Government House in Auckland, New Zealand. Getty
But Naomi's White House wedding will not be the first. According to whitehousehistory.org, there have been 18 documented weddings hosted by US presidents and first ladies, dating back as far as 1812.
The most recent one was the wedding of Pete Souza, the official White House photographer, who married Patti Lease in the Rose Garden in 2013.
The White House has also hosted four wedding receptions, the last one being that of Jenna Bush, the daughter of former president George W Bush and Laura Bush, who married Henry Hager on May 10, 2008, in Texas. A White House reception was held the following month.
- March 29, 1812: Lucy Payne Washington (the sister of First Lady Dolley Madison) married Supreme Court Associate Justice Thomas Todd.
- March 9, 1820: Maria Hester Monroe (daughter of president James Monroe and first lady Elizabeth Monroe) married Samuel L Gouverneur (Elizabeth Monroe's nephew) and private secretary to president Monroe.
- February 25, 1828: John Adams II (son of president John Quincy Adams and first lady Louisa Catherine Adams) married Mary Catherine Hellen (Catherine Adams's niece).
- April 10, 1832: Mary Ann Eastin (grandniece of Rachel Donelson Jackson) married Lucius J Polk.
- November 29, 1832: Mary Anne Lewis (daughter of a close friend of president Andrew Jackson) married Alphonse Pageot.
- January 31, 1842: Elizabeth Tyler (daughter of president John Tyler and first lady Letitia Tyler) married William Waller in the East Room.
- May 21, 1874: Nellie Grant (daughter of president Ulysses S Grant and first lady Julia Grant) married Algernon Sartoris in the East Room.
- June 19, 1878: Emily Platt (niece of president Rutherford B Hayes) married General Russell Hastings in the Blue Room.
- June 2, 1886: President Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the Blue Room. Cleveland is the only president to get married in the White House.
- February 17, 1906: Alice Lee Roosevelt (daughter of president Theodore Roosevelt) married Ohio Representative Nicholas Longworth in the East Room.
- November 25, 1913: Jessie Woodrow Wilson (daughter of president Woodrow Wilson and first lady Ellen Wilson) married Francis Bowes Sayre in the East Room.
- May 7, 1914: Eleanor Randolph Wilson (daughter of president Woodrow Wilson and first lady Ellen Wilson) married Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo in the Blue Room.
- August 7, 1918: Alice Wilson (niece of president Woodrow Wilson) married Reverend Isaac Stuart McElroy, Jr in the Blue Room.
- July 30, 1942: Harry Hopkins (administrator and adviser to president Franklin D Roosevelt) married Louise Gill Macy in the Second Floor Oval Room.
- December 9, 1967: Lynda Bird Johnson (daughter of president Lyndon Johnson and first lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson) married Captain Charles S Robb in the East Room.
- June 12, 1971: Tricia Nixon (daughter of president Richard Nixon and first lady Patricia Nixon) married Edward Finch Cox in the Rose Garden.
- May 28, 1994: Anthony Rodham (brother of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton) married Nicole Boxer in the Rose Garden.
- October 19, 2013: Official White House Photographer Pete Souza married Patti Lease in the Rose Garden.
White House receptions
- December 1, 1831: Andrew Jackson Jr and Sarah Yorke were married in Philadelphia on November 24, 1831. While president Jackson did not attend the ceremony, he hosted the newly-weds for a reception at the White House a week later.
- June 29, 1844: President John Tyler and First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler were married in New York on June 26, 1844. The wedding party travelled back to Washington, DC, and hosted a reception celebrating their marriage that Saturday.
- August 6, 1966: Luci Johnson (daughter of president Lyndon Johnson and first lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson) married Patrick Nugent at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, and the couple held their wedding reception at the White House that evening.
- June 21, 2008: Jenna Bush (daughter of president George W Bush and first lady Laura Bush) married Henry Hager on May 10, 2008, in Crawford, Texas. The president and first lady hosted a White House reception to celebrate the marriage the following month.
— Data from whitehousehistory.org
Where to rent your bridal gown in the UAE - in pictures
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Renting a wedding dress at The Dress Boutique starts at Dh3,500. Photo: The Dress Boutique -
The Dress Boutique has a vast selection of gowns available to rent. Photo: The Dress Boutique
