While a White House wedding was not in the cards for Donald Trump Jr. and Bettina Anderson, the couple on Saturday celebrated their nuptials in the Bahamas.
The 39-year-old Anderson revealed the couple’s wedding bands in an Instagram post Saturday. They reportedly were joined by about 40 family members in Exuma. President Donald Trump indicated Friday that he would be skipping the reception for his eldest son’s second marriage, due to “this important period of time.” First Lady Melania Trump also did not attend. However, the First Son’s siblings Eric, Ivanka and Tiffany were reportedly present, as well as Donald Trump Jr.’s five children.
The First Son and Anderson officially tied the knot on May 21 in West Palm Beach, Fla., where attorney Brad McPherson officiated. His wife Kristina, a real estate agent, is Anderson’s twin sister.
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The possibility of staging a White House wedding for Anderson and the First Son, who got engaged in December, did not pan out. Their Bahamian celebration was reportedly orchestrated by the event designer Lewis Miller. A representative for Miller acknowledged a media request, but did not reply.
Their union is a somewhat historic one. Summer Anne Lee, author of “Presidential Fashion: An Illustrated History,” said, “The last — and, to my knowledge, only — First Son to marry while his father was in office was John Adams II, the son of President John Quincy Adams.”
That private White House ceremony in 1828 was one of the 19 documented White House weddings, according to the White House Historical Association.
Trump Jr.’s second wedding is “historically unusual, since presidential family weddings have far more often centered on daughters, granddaughters, and other relatives,” Lee said.
When Joe Biden’s eldest grandchild Naomi wed Peter Neal, during a White House South Lawn ceremony in 2022, social media lit up with comments about her Ralph Lauren wedding gown, as well as memes of its 40-foot train. Later in the festivities she changed into an ivory strapless Mikado dress by the designer Reem Acra.
Acra is very familiar with Anderson, too, having known the 39-year-old Palm Beach socialite for a decade. Acra said, “Bettina has a very classic style, and she always has had that even when she was younger. She also has a very joyful personality. There is always something that is kind of fun with her. She is always happy and kind of supportive of the people who she is around.”
Anderson, who studied art history at Columbia University, has also worn Reem Acra dresses in the past. Having sold wedding gowns to more than 20,000 brides through the years, Acra said of Anderson’s choice of a smaller Bahamas wedding, “Look, everyone makes their own decisions. There are no rules about what’s right and what’s wrong. Every bride should really attend to what is best for her and her groom.”
Acra added, “Everybody is free to do what they want. I’m sure their choice is perfect for them.”
Presidential family weddings are known to send the media and the public into overdrive, due to their mash-up of American politics, celebrity, and style.
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“In the Trump family’s case, that interest is intensified because the family has always blurred the line between political power and media spectacle,” Lee said. “White House weddings allow the public to look at the presidential family not through policy or scandal, but through ceremony, fashion, and guest lists.”
Presidential family weddings can also be temporary diversions from more pressing issues, according to Lee, who noted, “President Nixon’s daughter Tricia’s wedding in 1971, for example, drew enormous public attention because it offered a touch of glamor at a politically fraught moment.”
The Bahamas reception caps off what has been an eventful week for the Trump family. Donald Trump Jr.’s ex-wife Vanessa announced that she has been diagnosed with cancer. Their eldest child, Kai, a University of Miami-bound competitive golfer, graduated from high school. Vanessa Trump’s pro-golfer partner Tiger Woods left rehab earlier than planned to attend the ceremony. First daughter Ivanka Trump was reportedly targeted in an assassination attempt.
Last month Anderson’s friends Audrey Gruss, Amy Phelan and Yaz Hernández threw an “Enchanted Garden” bridal shower for her at Mar-a-Lago. In an Instagram post of thanks that included photos of the elaborately set tables, a three-tier cake and guests like Ivanka, Tiffany and Lara Trump, Anderson wrote, “To be surrounded by so many women I love and admire, and feel so grateful to have you in my corner, meant more than I can say.”
Anderson and her five siblings grew up in a seven-room Palm Beach house that previously was owned by the fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer and her first husband Peter. Posting about last month’s bridal shower, Anderson, a former model and influencer, tagged 17 brands and companies for guests’ gift bags, including Alice + Olivia, Mutha Design and Petite Plume. Anderson also tagged the photographer Jordan Braun and event designer Lewis Miller. Like Hernandez and Miller, Braun declined to comment about Anderson’s wedding.
Anderson’s Instagram bio may soon need an update, since it reads, “I’m just your typical stay at home mom…only I don’t do household chores…or have a husband…or have kids.”