White House Weddings Through the Years
Joe Biden's granddaughter Naomi Biden will have a White House wedding reception in November. Here, look back at some of the most famous White House weddings in history.
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Since the White House opened in 1800, there have been 18 weddings and four receptions at the presidential residence. Soon, that number will rise: President Joe Biden's granddaughter Naomi Biden and soon-to-be husband Peter Neal will have a White House wedding reception in November 2022.
Typically only close members of the First Family or close staff, like Official White House Photographer Pete Souza, who married Patti Lease in the Rose Garden in October 2013, have been able to marry at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The last member of a president's family to have a wedding reception (or wedding) at the White House was President George W. Bush's daughter Jenna Bush. Jenna married Henry Hager in May 2008 in Crawford, Texas, and then President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush threw the newlyweds a White House reception in June 2008. Before that, Hillary Clinton's brother, Anthony Rodham, married Nicole Boxer in the Rose Garden in May 1994 in a private ceremony and reception.
However, the last spectacular wedding of a member of the president's family took place in June 1971, when President Richard Nixon's daughter Tricia married Edward Finch Cox in the Rose Garden. Tricia joined a long line of first daughters—going back to Maria Hester Monroe, President James Monroe's daughter, marring Samuel L. Gouverneur in 1820—to tie the knot at the White House.
In anticipation of Naomi and Peter's White House wedding reception, a look back at some of the most memorable White House weddings over the decades.
Tricia Nixon's wedding (June 12, 1971)
Tricia, the daughter of President Richard Nixon and First Lady Patricia Nixon, married corporate finance lawyer Edward Finch Cox in June 1971 in the Rose Garden of the White House.
Four hundred guests attended the wedding—including 87-year-old Alice Roosevelt Longworth, President Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter, who got married at the White House in 1906. Though first daughters had been married before at the White House, Tricia's was the first to be held in an outdoor ceremony.
President Nixon walked his daughter down the aisle. He wrote to Tricia in a handwritten note that day, "Well today is the day you begin a long and exciting journey. I want you to know how proud I have been of you through the years – some of them pretty difficult for you I’m sure. The years ahead will be happy ones because you will make them so."
"The Nixon wedding brought to a close the grand tradition of twentieth-century White House weddings," White House florist Dottie Temple recalled.
A formal portrait in the White House of President Nixon, Patricia Nixon, Tricia Nixon, and Edward Finch Cox.
Though the ceremony was outdoors, dinner and dancing took place inside the White House in the State Dining Room and East Room.
The couple famously had a six-tier wedding cake. Per the Nixon Library, "Standing 6’10” tall and consisting of six layers, including a 64” diameter base layer, it took White House Pastry Chef Heinz Bender several days to bake and decorate." The White House released the recipe in a press release.
They seemed to enjoy the cake—and looking into each other's eyes. Tricia described her new husband as "my first and last love."
Lynda Johnson's wedding (December 9, 1967)
Lynda Bird Johnson, the daughter of President Lyndon Johnson and First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, married Captain Charles S. Robb in the East Room in December 1967. It was the 15th wedding held at the White House.
Here, the couple walked through an arch of drawn swords.
President Lyndon Johnson escorted his daughter down the aisle at her wedding. Lynda wore a long-sleeved gown designed by Geoffrey Beene, who frequently designed outfits for her mother Lady Bird.
The bridal party posed on the South Portico of the White House—which is a pretty spectacular setting for bridal portraits.
The reception was held in the State Dining Room.
President Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson danced the night away at the wedding reception.
Robb, a Marine captain, used a sword to cut their wedding cake. The date of their wedding was chosen specifically because Robb was set to serve in Vietnam, and wanted to spend at least a few weeks with his new bride.
The original caption for this image reads: "Newlyweds Charles Robb and Lynda Johnson are the picture of happiness as they pose in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House today following their wedding in the East Room."
Luci Johnson's wedding reception (August 6, 1966)
Lynda's younger sister, Luci, got married the year before her. However, Luci didn't have a full White House wedding: she and husband Patrick Nugent only had their reception at the White House.
Here, Luci posed with her parents President Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson ahead of the wedding ceremony.
Luci and Patrick married at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a Roman Catholic church in Washington, D.C. Though Luci and her sister were raised Episcopalian, Luci converted to Catholicism when she turned 18.
Their wedding reception took place in the East Room. Here, the newlyweds cut their eight-foot tall wedding cake.
Eleanor Wilson's wedding (May 7, 1914)
President Woodrow Wilson and First Lady Ellen Wilson's daughter Eleanor (pictured) married Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo in the Blue Room of the White House in May 1914. Their wedding was an intimate affair, with less than 100 guests, a much smaller wedding than her older sister Jessie's a year earlier.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
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