News/Commentary

Hunter Biden’s daughter preps for ‘private’ wedding at WH; press to be booted from ‘The People’s House’

November 19, 2022 | | Print Article

The wedding of Hunter Biden’s daughter, Naomi Biden, with fiance Peter Neal is set to take place on the South Lawn of the White House Saturday and it will be kept private and closed to the press despite a long tradition of highly publicized weddings being held there.

(Video Credit: Inside Edition)

“Naomi and Peter have asked that their wedding be closed to the media and we’re respecting their wishes,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated at her daily briefing.

“They want it to be private, and we’re going to respect their wishes. We’re going to provide a photo and a statement from the president and first lady after the wedding. And, again, these are their wishes and we’re going to respect them,” she added.

Naomi Biden is a 28-year-old attorney and the oldest grandchild of President Biden. Peter Neal is 25 and has worked in Democratic politics. He just graduated from law school and works at Georgetown Law. They were engaged in September of last year during a visit to Neal’s hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, according to the Daily Mail.

Her wedding stands out in contrast to those held for Tricia Nixon and Lynda Bird Johnson, who had White House weddings that were open to the media, including photo and video coverage.

(Video Credit: Forbes Breaking News)

The South Lawn of the White House was busy on Thursday and Friday as preparations were made, marking the aisle the bride will walk down to meet her groom. Naomi Biden will reportedly depart the diplomatic room to be with her groom for the ceremony. Garlands of flowers were hung for the bride to walk through while chairs were set up for family and guests.

Naomi Biden’s wedding will be the 19th one to be held at the White House.

The Secret Service will reportedly run background checks on the guests and do security screening before they are allowed to walk through the door for the event.

The young couple was spotted picking up their marriage license at the Washington, DC Marriage Bureau on Thursday.

The wedding will far outshine other social events held at the White House and the press is understandably miffed at being excluded from the affair.

The wedding will have three parts according to a source that spoke with the Daily Mail. It will begin at 11 am on Saturday on the South Lawn. Following the nuptials, there will be a private lunch for the family and after that, there will be a wedding party in the White House.

Few details about the wedding have been released by the White House. The Biden family is footing the bill for the affair. Naomi’s parents, Hunter Biden and Kathleen Buhle, who divorced in 2017, will be there along with her grandparents.

Wedding planner Bryan Rafanelli, who designed Chelsea Clinton’s wedding and several state dinners for former President Barack Obama, will oversee the entire event. It is unsurprising that he is also a huge donor to Democratic candidates. A Rafanelli wedding can range from $250,000 to $1 million, according to wedding websites.

Photos of the wedding are expected to be released Saturday afternoon.

“What’s interesting now is that, by and large, guests are really good at not taking photographs if they’re asked not to. Sometimes, we do have to take all phones from guests and staff, both to secure the wedding and to make everybody be present, but generally, the people invited to a wedding are respectful,” Rafanelli remarked concerning keeping the event private and off social media.

The last wedding to take place at the White House was on October 19, 2013, when former President Barack Obama’s photographer Pete Souza married Patti Lease in the Rose Garden.

The last family wedding that took place there was on May 28, 1994, when Anthony Rodham, who is Hillary Clinton’s brother, married Nicole Boxer during Bill Clinton’s tenure as president.

First daughter Tricia Nixon married Ed Cox in the Rose Garden on June 12, 1971. Her father, President Richard Nixon, walked her down the aisle.

President Biden will turn 80 on Sunday.

On Monday, he will do the traditional pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey. That afternoon, Jill Biden will greet the White House Christmas tree, which is arriving from a Pennsylvania farm.

Following all of that, the Bidens will head to Nantucket for their traditional Thanksgiving holiday.

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