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President George W. Bush has installed a giant limestone cross on his ranch in Crawford, Tex., not to signal the second coming, but to help give away his second-born.
One of the President's twin daughters, 26-year-old Jenna Bush, will marry fiancé Henry Hager at the 1,600-acre ranch tomorrow night, with the cross serving as the altar for the ceremony.
The bride accepted Mr. Hager's proposal last August, during an early-morning hike on Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park in Maine, the first place in the United States where the sunrise is visible.
When Mr. Hager had asked permission to wed Ms. Bush days earlier, her famously inarticulate father replied: "Done deal."
Shops in Texas are selling souvenirs of Jenna Bush and Henry Hager's coming nuptials. (Haraz N. Ghanbari/Associated Press)
The engagement confirmed months of fierce social speculation in the U.S. capital, but where the wedding would be held was less of a sure thing.
First lady Laura Bush reportedly wanted a White House wedding, which would have been the first since 1971, when former president Richard Nixon's daughter Tricia was married in the Rose Garden.
But Ms. Bush, who developed a reputation as a wild child after being arrested for underage drinking in the early years of her father's presidency, opted for Texas "I dos" instead.
"That's not really my personality," she said of a White House wedding in this month's issue of Vogue.
"There's a glamour to it, I know, but Henry and I are far less glamorous than the White House."
Although the political family has kept many details of the affair private, Ms. Bush will reportedly marry at 7:30 p.m. in an outdoor ceremony on the edge of a lake on the Bush property in the company of just 200 guests.
"It's my home. I was raised in Texas, and it just felt right," she said. "It means a lot to Henry and me to be outdoors. We wanted something organic and low-key."
The affair may be low-key, but it is unlikely to be low-budget.
Ms. Bush - whose secret-service code name is "Twinkle" - received a round diamond engagement ring that belonged to Mr. Hager's maternal great-grandmother, but was reset between two sapphires at the suggestion of the bride's twin, Barbara.
The wedding dress was created by Oscar de la Renta, the preferred designer of the first lady, and is reportedly sheer organza with embroidery matte beading.
Barbara Bush will serve as maid of honour and will be wearing a "moonstone blue" silk gown designed by Lela Rose, a Texas-born designer whose father, Rusty Rose, was Mr. Bush's business partner in baseball's Texas Rangers.
There will be 14 other bridal attendants, known in Texas tradition as the "House Party," who will be wearing chiffon cocktail-length dresses by Ms. Rose, designed in seven different styles and colours.
In planning the wedding, the Bushes relied on several friends who participated in the presidential inauguration in 2001. Ms. Rose designed the twins' dresses for the event and Dallas caterer Eddie Deen, who provided Texas-style barbecue favourites at the inauguration events, is also rumoured to be cooking for the guests.
It's unknown where the wedding guests will stay. Crawford is home to only about 700 people, and does not have any hotels. But the city is doing what it can to help with the celebration. Stores in town are stocked with commemorative coffee mugs, key chains and mouse pads bearing the couple's picture and wedding date, and the 5.5-metre angel statue that overlooks the town's main intersection will reportedly be wearing a veil and holding a bouquet tomorrow.
Today is the groom's 30th birthday, and he is expected to receive his master's degree from the University of Virginia next week.
The couple met during Mr. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, but Mr. Hager first emerged on the Washington scene as an intern to Republican mastermind Karl Rove.
His father, John Hager, was an assistant secretary of education in Mr. Bush's administration and is now the chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia.
After the wedding, the pair will move to Baltimore, where Ms. Bush will work as a teacher and Mr. Hager will work for Constellation Energy, a power supplier.
The relationship has been the source of much gossip since they were first seen out together in January, 2005, when The Washington Post ran an item under the headline: "Don't Worry, Daddy, He's a Republican."
With files from Associated Press
