Chelsea Brings Attention To Hudson Valley

The wedding of the summer is happening this Saturday only twenty-five minutes from Vassar. Chelsea Clinton will be getting married in a still-unconfirmed location at a private estate in Rhinebeck, NY. The wedding has brought much attention to our beloved Hudson River Valley. Here's a run-down of what the media is saying...

• Rhinebeck is "quaintly antique." Everything is secret, even to the guests, who won't receive directions until the day prior (USA Today).

• The location is rumored to be the 50-acre Astor Courts. The event will cost $2 million. Two Norweigan journalists were arrested for poking around the area (Gothamist).

• The reception playlist includes Cat Stevens, U2, and a whole lot of Michael Jackson (TMZ).

• Rhinebeck is teeming with media crews (Poughkeepsie Journal).
  

Too bad Chelsea didn't choose Pougheepsie, just down the river. It's not that uncommon for weddings to take place on the Vassar campus, although we've never seen one. It turns out that Vassar has an official "wedding policy" through Campus Activities:

"Vassar College students, alumnae/i, employees, and immediate family of those groups may get married on campus. 

Alumnae House has its own set of regulations, and couples not qualifying to be married on campus may call the Alumnae House for further information."

 A wedding at Vassar made headlines in The New York Times back in 1895. That is, a "farcical reenactment" of the wedding between the Duke of Marlborough and Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt, performed by the Strong house residents. According to the Times archives:

"The seniors rigged themselves up in bloomers and powdered tresses and came to represent the nobility." 

We wonder if the nobility at Chelsea's wedding will be quite as classy.

Update: Gawker just posted pictures of the Astor estate where the wedding will take place.

Photo via Life.