Show recent ceremony the twelfth held in the executive mansion twenty years since miss folsom married president cleveland president jefferson s administration was the first that hegan an ended in the white house he was a widower and whatever success his alon had of a social character was due to the presence of mrs madison wife ot the secretary of state and the greatest social factor of washington official life the election of james madison brought this most popular of ameri can women to the highest social tion in the republic there were two weddings in the white house while she was its mis tress the firt wedding to occur in the president s house was that of the widow of a nephew of geoge wash ington luc payne mrs madison s younger sister who was married at pie age of 15 in 1792 to george step oe washington and lived during her widowhood with the matisons Madi sons in washington the second white house wedding took place after the war of 1812 was ended mrs madison gave her in a simpler but still a large wedding the bride was a relative by marriage miss anna todd of philadelphia and the was a member of con gress from virginia john G jackson a great uncle of stonewall jackson the third wedding was that of miss monroe the fourth marriage celebrated i in the president s house was that i of john adams the son and private sec detary of president john quincy ad ams he was married to his cousin mary hellen of philadelphia andrew jackson s administration succeeded that of john quincy ad ams and it is recalled as one during which there were three weddings and a wedding reception in the white house the next wedding festivity to take place in the presidents house was in the administration ot president mar tin van buren he gave a very bril lian wedding reception to his son maj van buren whose bride was the accomplished miss angelica singleton of south carolina following the one month of president william henry harrison vice president john oyier became the tenth president the year succeeding his incumbency the eighth wedding to occur in what was now styled the executive mansion took place the bride was elizabeth ler who was married to william wal ler of va in the blue room of the executive mansion at washington on the day ot janu ar 1842 miss T ler was in her nine year A year later occurred the death of mrs letitia oyier the wife of dent oyier and from september 1842 until the second marriage of the pres ident in 1844 eight months before his retirement the life of the executive mansion was not gay but when president oyier left washington earl in the morning of june 25 1844 to be married in new york washington society looked forward to another gay season his bride was miss julia gar diner a young woman of twenty the bridal reception at the execl alve mansion in washington occurred on the saturday following and was at tended by nearly every official in the city all the foreign ministers array and navy officers and great throngs of women all washington in fact was represented at that reception which was as notable an event as the wedding itself the wedding ot nellie grant was the ninth to occur in the white house it was the first to be cele berated in the east room and miss grant was the third daughter ol 01 a president to be married in the execl tive mansion the first as has been stated was miss marie monroe the second miss elizabeth oyier miss grant was 18 at the time a handsome happy and affectionate girl both on her own account and on ac count of her father and his position there was immense public interest in the marriage the bridegroom was algernon F bartons he was in his twenty second ear and by birth an englishman the wedding occurred may 21 1874 the bridal party entered the east room through the corridor the brides maids walking in couples they were the misses conkling drexel porter fish barnes dent and sherman the dr tiffany led the procession followed by the bride groom who was supported b his best man aleut col fred grant the bridesmaids preceded the bride who entered the room leaning on the arm of her father mrs grant and her two lounger sons followed on a raised platform facing the large east window and under a bell of white flowers the bridal couple stood the service was that of the methodist episcopal church the bride s dress was of ivory white satin covered with a skirt of rose point lace the skirt had a very long sweeping train lined with white silk the edges of the lace overdress had a fringe of orange blossoms and lily of the valley sprays the high corsage was cut square in the neck and filled in with diagonal folds of tulle point lace matching the flounces in pattern together with orange blossoms ornamented the bod ice and adorned the sleeves the long veil was of the thinnest tulle with the faint edge undefined by a hem the bridal chaplet of orange flowers crossed the front of the coif fure and was caught at the left side in a cluster the wedding breakfast was served in the state dining room the gifts came from a great number of donors and were valued at upward of a great sum in those das the autumn succeeding the mar ariage of miss nellie grant her broth er col frederick dent grant was married in chicago on oct 20 to miss ida honors and on nov 10 the pres dent and mrs grant gave the bridal pair a reception at the white house col and mrs grant passed the next three winters in the white house and it was there that their daughter julia grant was born in june 1876 this daughter is now the princess cantacuzene countess of russia the first silver wedding to tie cele berated in the white house was that of president and mrs hayes on dec 31 1877 they met their friends in the blue room the actual anniversary had been kept on the afternoon of dec 30 which fell upon sunday the rev dr mccabe who had married them renewed his pastoral blessing in the same words and heard the same pledges that were uttered twenty alve 5 ears before the tenth white house wedding was that of miss emily piatt niece 0 president hayes who was married tc gen kussell hastings on june 19 the bride had been to the pres ident and mrs hayes as a daughter and he had lived in their home for many years going to the white house with them from ohio gen hastings had been a companion in arms ot the president having been the ant colonel of the third regiment of ohio volunteers of which president hayes was colonel the ceremony was performed in the blue room by bishop jagger of the southern diocese of ohio in defer ence to the wishes of both he arde and the bridegroom the wedding was a very quiet affair the guests being limited almost exclusively to family friends and relations when next the blue room was dec orated tor a marriage ceremony fhe wedding was that of a president the first to be married in the white house president cleveland was the second chief magistrate to be married while in office miss frances folstin the bride wa 20 and was noted as being graceful and winsome her engagement to th president was made in the summer 0 1886 soon after she went to europ with her mother and remained ther until a few days before her wedding that occurred on the evening of june 2 1886 at 7 clock in the blue room to the strains of mendelssohn wedding march played by the ma rine band the bridal couple un attend ed passed down the stairway and en the blue room from the western corridor dr sunderland met them under the glittering center chandelier THE EAST ROOM IN IN THE EXECUTIVE MANSION AT washington and the wedding service followed the bride wore a gown of ivory sat in with trimmings of india ellb ir ranged in grecian folds over the front of the high corsage and fastened in the folds of satin at the side orange blossoms and buds and leaves outlined this drapery and adorned the edge of the skirt A coronet of orange blossoms fast ened the veil and garnitures of the same blossoms were artistically ar ranged throughout the costume her yell of silk tulle enveloped her and softened the effect of the satin gown it fell over the entire length of the long court train gloves reaching to the elbow corn plated the costume no jewelry save her engagement ring was worn and no flowers were carried the habit of gift making had not reached its height when president cleveland was married and the crowned heads of europe the ameri can ministers at foreign courts and countless other people contented themselves with sending telegrams of congratulation the only gift the bride exhibited to her friends was a dia mond necklace composed of a single string of brilliants the gift bt the bridegroom to this gift mr bissell the former law partner of the i dent added a pendant of diamonds the wedding of miss alice roosevelt and congressman nicholas long worth in the east room of the execl alve mansion Is the occurs in the white house twenty ears have passed since miss france folsom became a bride at the white house and thirty toura years have been numbered since gen grant s only daughter was married in the east room |