Have you ever wondered...
How many weddings have been held at the White House?
There have been nineteen documented weddings hosted by the President and/or First Lady of the United States:
- 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 (Mrs. 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 (Mrs. 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 marry inside 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 advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt) married Louise Gill Macy in the Second Floor Oval Room (then Roosevelt’s private study).
- 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.
- November 19, 2022: Naomi Biden (granddaughter of President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden) married Peter Neal on the South Lawn.
Wedding Receptions
There have been four documented weddings that took place elsewhere, but the wedding receptions afterwards were hosted by the President and/or First Lady of the United States at the White House:
- 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 did host the newlyweds 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 traveled back to Washington, D.C., and according to newspapers 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, D.C., 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.
Gallery
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This hand colored wooden engraving by illustrator Henry Ogden depicts the wedding of Ellen Wrenshall Grant to Algernon Sartoris on May 21, 1874 in the East Room of the White House. Ellen, more often referred to as Nellie, was President Ulysses S. Grant's only daughter. She was 18 at the time of her wedding to Sartoris, a well-to-do English singer. This engraving was published in "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper" on June 6, 1874.
White House Historical Association -
This engraving, published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, shows President Grover Cleveland's wedding to First Lady Frances Folsom Cleveland, which took place in the Blue Room on June 2, 1886. There were 28 guests at the wedding, including relatives, cabinet members with their wives, and close friends.
Library of Congress -
This is a color illustration tinted by P. Hall Baglie of President Theodore Roosevelt escorting his eldest daughter, Alice Roosevelt, down the Grand Staircase for her wedding to Congressman Nicholas Longworth on February 17, 1906.
Library of Congress -
This photograph shows Jessie Wilson, daughter of President Woodrow Wilson, on her wedding day, November 25, 1913. Jessie married Francis Bowes Sayre, a Harvard-educated lawyer who would go on to serve as the United States ambassador to Siam, now known as Thailand, and assistant secretary of state during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. The two were married in the White House and their first child, Francis Sayre, Jr., was born there as well.
Library of Congress -
This photograph shows Eleanor Wilson, daughter of President Woodrow Wilson, on her wedding day, May 7, 1914. Eleanor married William G. McAdoo, who served as her father's secretary of the treasury for nearly the entire Wilson administration. The two were married in the White House.
Library of Congress -
This black and white photograph shows the wedding of Louise Macy and Harry Hopkins in the Yellow Oval Room of the White House. President Franklin D. Roosevelt is seen seated next to the bride holding her bouquet, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt is standing behind a few of the wedding guests. Harry Hopkins was a close friend of President Roosevelt, who helped administer the President’s New Deal federal work programs and later became the Secretary of Commerce.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
In this photograph, members of the press eagerly record first daughter Luci Baines Johnson and Patrick Nugent on their wedding day, August 6, 1966. The couple was married at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. and enjoyed a reception at the White House. Johnson was the daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. This photograph is part of a collection belonging to former White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. Henry Haller served as executive chef at the White House from 1966-1987. Chef Haller oversaw the food preparations for Johnson's wedding reception as well as the receptions for first daughters Lynda Bird Johnson and Tricia Nixon.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
In this photograph, taken December 9, 1967, newlyweds Lynda Bird Johnson Robb and Capt. Charles S. Robb take their first steps together as man and wife following their wedding ceremony in the East Room of the White House. The ceremony was officiated by the Right Reverend Gerald Nicholas McAllister. This was the 15th wedding held at the White House. The couple enjoyed their wedding cake in the same room where they were married. During the ceremony, the cake was hidden behind a screen, which was removed when guests returned to the East Room for champagne, cake, and dancing. Fellow White House bride Alice Roosevelt Longworth, who married in 1906, was among the approximately 500 guests who attended the wedding. The bride's parents, President Lyndon B. Johnson and First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, can be seen watching proudly on the left side of this photograph. This photograph is part of a personal collection belonging to former White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. As executive chef from 1966-1987, Haller oversaw the food preparations for three wedding receptions at the White House for first daughters Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson, and Tricia Nixon.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family -
In this photograph, taken June 12, 1971, Tricia Nixon exchanges vows with Edward Cox during their wedding ceremony held in the gazebo of the White House Rose Garden. Theirs was the 16th documented wedding to take place at the White House and the first to be held in the Rose Garden. Nixon was the daughter of President Richard M. Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon. This photograph is part of a collection belonging to former White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. Haller served as executive chef of the White House from 1966-1987, and oversaw food preparations for the wedding receptions for three first daughters: Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda Bird Johnson, and Nixon.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family
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