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President calls wedding 'spectacular'

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By The Associated Press | Sunday, May 11, 2008 3:58 PM CDT | () comments

President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush, left, pose for a family photo following the marriage of their daughter Jenna and Henry Hager, center, at the Bush family's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Crawford, Texas, Saturday, May 10, 2008. At right are John and Maggie Hager, parents of the groom. John Hager is the chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia, and served in President Bush's Education Department. (AP Photo)

   WACO, Texas— President Bush and first lady Laura Bush didn't share their daughter's wedding with the nation, but the president eagerly shared their joy on Sunday about Jenna Bush's marriage to Henry Hager.

   ``We're mighty blessed,'' Bush said at an airport in Waco where he and the first lady boarded Air Force One to return to Washington.

   Bush called the wedding ``spectacular,'' saying that his daughter and new son-in-law exchanged vows just as the sun set over the lake at the president's Texas ranch.

   ``This Mother's Day weekend was awfully special for Laura and me,'' said the president, his wife standing at his side.

   Bush referred to the new bride as ``our little girl Jenna'' and declared his new son-in-law to be ``a really good guy''

   A White House official confirmed by e-mail at 9:28 p.m. EDT Saturday that the two had been officially hitched.

   The Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston officiated. Back in January, the influential Houston minister, a longtime spiritual adviser to the president, said he had decided to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Kirbyjon introduced Bush at the 2000 Republican National Convention and gave the benediction at both of his inaugurations.

   The closely guarded affair at the 1,600-acre ranch was very different from other first family weddings like Luci Baines Johnson's in 1966, which was watched by millions. Jenna and Hager wanted privacy so they didn't invite reporters or allow television cameras to film the nuptials, which are now part of presidential history.

   But it wasn't a complete media blackout. In recent days, the president, first lady and White House spokesmen dribbled out details about the bride's dress, the ring, the wedding attire and pre-wedding events — all part of a communications strategy to disclose bits of information, but keep the wedding from becoming a media circus.