WASHINGTON — President Biden’s eldest granddaughter, Naomi Biden, plans to get married on the South Lawn of the White House this fall in the first wed
WASHINGTON — President Biden’s eldest granddaughter, Naomi Biden, plans to get married on the South Lawn of the White House this fall in the first wedding ceremony to be held at the White House in nearly a decade.
Ms. Biden announced the plan on Twitter on Thursday, months after indicating that the president and the first lady, Jill Biden, would host Ms. Biden and her fiancé, Peter Neal, at the White House for their reception.
“Much to the relief of secret service and with the dogs’ endorsement…we’ll be getting married on the South Lawn,” Ms. Biden wrote. “Couldn’t be more excited.”
Ms. Biden is the daughter of the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and Kathleen Buhle. She works as a lawyer in Washington. Mr. Neal is the son of Dr. Mary C. Neal and Dr. William C. Neal of Jackson Hole, Wyo., and graduated from law school at the University of Pennsylvania in May.
The pair were introduced by friends while living in New York City in 2018, and have been engaged for nearly 11 months. Mr. Neal proposed in Jackson Hole on Sept. 4, 2021.
A spokeswoman for the first lady said the wedding was expected to be held on Nov. 19.
White House officials said the Biden family would cover all costs associated with the wedding since it is a private event.
“I can assure to you that taxpayer dollars would not go to that,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said at a briefing on Thursday. “Look, that is a personal affair that’s happening — that is not White House business.”
According to the White House Historical Association, Ms. Biden’s wedding will be the 19th documented ceremony to be held on the White House grounds. The most recent wedding was held in 2013 when Pete Souza, the chief White House photographer for President Barack Obama, married Patti Lease in the Rose Garden.
But numerous other relatives of the president’s family have also been wed at the White House, including Anthony Rodham, the brother of Hillary Clinton, in 1994, and Tricia Nixon, the daughter of President Richard M. Nixon and Patricia Nixon, in 1971.
A reception for President George W. Bush’s daughter Jenna Bush was also held at the White House a month after her wedding in 2008.
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