Chelsea Clinton Wedding 07/31/2010

RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Chelsea Clinton wed her longtime boyfriend under extraordinary security at an elegant Hudson River estate late Saturday.

Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton announced in a statement that their daughter wed investment banker Marc Mezvinsky after weeks of secrecy and buildup that had celebrity watchers flocking to the small village of Rhinebeck for the evening nuptials. The site of the wedding, a Beaux Arts riverside estate called Astor Courts, was sealed off from the general public.

Chelsea Clinton, wearing a strapless white gown with a full skirt and silver beading around the waist and carrying a bouquet of white flowers, was escorted down the aisle by her father. The former president and the groom wore dark suits, while the mother of the bride wore a fuchsia dress.

It is estimated that hundreds of guests gathered at the historic estate near the end of a near-perfect summer day of warm temperatures, blue skies and cottony clouds. The ceremony was conducted by a rabbi and a reverend as Chelsea Clinton is Methodist and Mezvinsky is Jewish, and included a poem by Leo Marks titled, "The Life That I Have," according to the family.

Celebrities spotted in Rhinebeck for the event included actors Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, fashion designer Vera Wang, Madeleine Albright, who was secretary of state during Bill Clinton's second term as president and Terry McAuliffe, former Democratic National Committee chairman. The former president's half brother, Roger Clinton, was spotted early Saturday afternoon with his son Tyler, picking up food at a restaurant.

Chelsea was in Vera Wang and Hillary Clinton in Oscar De La Renta.



Sally Kilbridge,deputy of Brides,about the costs:
"I'm going to say 2 to 3 million ,just because I don't know if they will go that over the top when it comes to every little item of the wedding, and possibly because it's not really Chelsea Clinton's style."

Kilbridge estimated costs for some of the higher-profile items:

• Gown by Vera Wang, whose New York store Chelsea was photographed visiting: $20,000 — not off the rack, obviously.

• Cake, possibly by Sylvia Weinstock: $20,000. Expect intricate, fabulous designs.

• Flowers: $250,000. "It's going to be glamorous with a capital G," she said.
  

• Catering: $750,000. Add another $30,000 for beverages.

• Tents: $600,000. These, she joked, guarantee it will not rain.

• Portable toilets: $15,000-$20,000. These will not be construction-site facilities. Think air conditioning, attendants, flowers.

• Entertainment: $40,000.

The vendors involved are obviously top of the notch.

The catering job was shared by Blue Ribbon Restaurants, St. Regis Hotels and Resorts, and Olivier Cheng Catering and Events According to a Wall Street Journal Source. "Chelsea is a vegan. The food included vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dishes, but also grass-fed organic beef on the menu", according to a source in Life ans Style Magazine, as quoted in Ecorazzi. A gluten-free feast complete with a vegan wedding cake. Both Boston-based Winston Flowers and Four Seasons Hotels' floral designer Jeff Leatham were contributing blooms.

Fonts:Yahoo News,CBS,Associated Press.