Naomi Biden posted a lengthy wedding video on social media on Sunday to commemorate the first anniversary of her lavish White House wedding.
Biden, 29, granddaughter of President Joe Biden, 80, was married a year ago today on the South Lawn of the presidential mansion — the first wedding ever held at the picturesque site.
In 8 minutes and 17 seconds, the video highlighted the opulent wedding as it unfolded from inside the White House, to the South Lawn, where Naomi was walked down the aisle by his father Hunter Bidenthen back inside for lunch and later an evening reception.
Throughout the video, Naomi twirled and squeezed guests in an assortment of white dresses. She looked out the windows and smiled sheepishly while holding the hand of her husband Peter Neal in 16mm footage – while playing music meant to pluck the heartstrings alongside tearful toasts and speech to the happy couple.
“It is a great honor to live here, and it is a huge, huge debt that I owe to the American people,” the president said during a toast. “But I never really felt like home until today.”
“To love a person is to learn the song in their heart and sing it to them when they need it,” another person said in a speech.
At many points in the video, the bride could be seen looking up with a downcast gaze, and the groom, 26, buttoning his jacket and looking over his shoulder.
Together, they cut their extremely tall wedding cake using a stepladder in one go, and Naomi twirled it in others.
Although footage of the 250-guest wedding has circulated over the past year, the video was one of the first in-depth looks at the event, which, aside from the outdoor ceremony, was largely kept private by the Bidens.
Breaking with the traditions of 18 previous weddings held at the White House, the Bidens excluded journalists from the event and granted access only to Vogue for a broadcast that focused on Naomi getting ready and included another shot of her looking out the window.
“We always knew we would get married in someone’s backyard,” the president’s eldest granddaughter told the magazine.
The decision to lock out the press was criticized by some, who argued that the White House was not a private residence and that the Bidens did not have the right to completely block journalists from entering.
