WASHINGTON, May 8: President George Bush has been trying to cajole N. Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and tamp down violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, but lately all that seems to be on his mind are wedding bells.

Bush has sprinkled references to his twin daughter Jenna’s wedding in most public appearances for the last few months, even seeking advice from a recent groom.

Eschewing the glamour and media glare of a White House wedding, Jenna Bush will marry the son of a Virginia politician, Henry Hager, at a private ceremony with family and friends at the president’s Texas ranch on Saturday evening.

“I’ve never really lived in the White House,” the 26-year-old bride and school teacher said in an interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live” last month. “And I’ve lived in Texas my whole life and so really what feels like home is Texas.”

The last White House wedding was in 1971 when President Richard Nixon’s daughter, Tricia, was married in the Rose Garden to Edward Cox.

The bride and her parents have repeatedly denied being nervous about the big day, instead expressing excitement.

“Neither one of us are nervous,” first lady Laura Bush told reporters this week.

The bride will wear an Oscar de la Renta gown with her twin Barbara as the sole bridesmaid, according to Vogue magazine.

The White House has tried to keep the media focus away from the twins, particularly after they developed a reputation as party girls during their college days when they were arrested for underage drinking.

The groom is expected to receive his masters degree in business from the University of Virginia next week, according to media reports. The couple plans to live in Baltimore, Maryland where Jenna Bush will teach and her husband will work for Constellation Energy, the reports said.—Reuters

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