Chelsea Clinton’s ‘royal wedding’

Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton wed at an outdoor ceremony at the Astor Courts estate on Saturday, July 31 in Rhinebeck, N.Y. The wedding took place on a near-perfect summer day of warm temperatures, blue skies and cottony clouds.

The Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding has been characterized by wedding planners and other observers as a "royal wedding for the U.S."

Former President Bill Clinton walks his daughter, Chelsea Clinton, down the aisle. "Today, we watched with great pride and overwhelming emotion as Chelsea and Marc wed in a beautiful ceremony at Astor Courts, surrounded by family and their close friends," he and Hillary Clinton said in a statement after the ceremony. "We could not have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate the beginning of their life together, and we are so happy to welcome Marc into our family."

Mark Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton made sure their wedding ceremony honored both Jewish and Christian traditions. Mezvinsky is Jewish and Clinton is Methodist.

Former President Bill Clinton, far right, and wife Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, second from left, are pictured with their daughter Chelsea Clinton and Chelsea's new husband, Marc Mezvinsky, far left. The bride wore a gown designed by Vera Wang, and the mother of the bride wore Oscar de la Renta.

In this handout image provided by Barbara Kinney, Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton pose at their July 31 wedding at the Astor Courts estate in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Clinton and Mezvinsky were friends as teenagers in Washington, and both attended Stanford University. They now live in New York, where Mezvinsky works at a Manhattan hedge fund.

Wedding guests wait for a shuttle ride to Chelsea Clinton's and Marc Mezvinsky's wedding in Rhinebeck, N.Y., on Saturday, July 31.

Spectators try to see wedding guests as they load into a shuttle bus before the wedding of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky on Saturday, July 31 in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

A wedding guest makes her way through the press as she walks toward a shuttle bus on the day of Chelsea Clinton's nuptials in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

Fashion designer Vera Wang avoids questions from the media in downtown Rhinebeck, N.Y., on Saturday, July 31. Chelsea Clinton was spotted outside Wang’s New York City bridal shop on Tuesday afternoon -- leading to speculation that Wang was designing her wedding gown, not Oscar de la Renta as expected.

People stand outside the Delamater Inn waiting for guests to emerge in Rhinebeck, N.Y., for the wedding of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky on Saturday, July 31.

Actor Ted Danson and wife Mary Steenburgen arrive at the Delamater Inn. "I knew [Chelsea] since she was a baby so this is a big moment," said Steenburgen, who wed Danson in 1995. "She's a lovely, lovely girl."

Real estate developer and movie producer Steve Bing walks around Rhinebeck the morning of the wedding.

Bill and Hillary Clinton leave a party in honor of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky on Friday night, July 30, in Rhinebeck. Instead of one of her signature pantsuits, Hillary Clinton wore a flowing, printed caftan.

People gather outside the Beekman Arms Inn to catch a glimpse of guests arriving for a party in honor of Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky on Friday, July 30, in Rhinebeck.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright waves as she leaves a party for Chelsea Clinton in Rhinebeck, N.Y., on Friday, July 30.

An American flag is unfurled at the Beekman Arms Inn on July 30, in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Many Chelsea Clinton wedding guests are rumored to be staying there.

Former President Bill Clinton walks down the streets of Rhinebeck, N.Y., on July 30, 2010, the day before his daughter Chelsea's wedding.

The day before Chelsea Clinton's July 31 wedding to Marc Mezvinsky, children in Rhinebeck, N.Y., wave from a bus decorated with a sign congratulating the bride- and groom-to-be.

The town of Rhinebeck, N.Y., has been preparing for the biggest social event of the year. The wedding took place at Astor Courts, a Beaux Arts riverside estate that was sealed off from the general public on the big day.

The Astor Courts estate is located on the Hudson River near the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, about two hours north of New York City.

To ensure privacy on the big day, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary no-fly zone for the area around Astor Courts.

The former estate of John Jacob Astor IV has breathtaking mountain and river views and is situated about 70 miles away from the Clintons' family home in Chappaqua, N.Y.

A man walks on East Market Street in Rhinebeck, where a sign hangs congratulating the couple.

The mansion on the Astor Courts property was designed by American architect Stanford White and completed in 1904. Its original owner, John Jacob Astor IV, died in the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.

Astor Courts is home to Clinton supporters Kathleen Hammer and Arthur Seelbinder, and was listed for $12 million until it was taken off the market in July.

The main living area of Astor Courts has five bedrooms and more than 15,000 square feet of space.

The entire estate is 40,000 square feet and boasts herringbone floors, an indoor pool and an indoor clay tennis court.

A mascot from the Hudson Valley Renegades baseball team holds a sign on East Market Street. Locals have been abuzz about the wedding, which reportedly will cost between $2 million and $5 million -- although a longtime Clinton family friend denied that the wedding would cost more than $1 million.