This photo taken Aug. 30, 2010, shows then Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass weighing sweet potatoes …
POCANTICO HILLS, N.Y.
(AP) — President Barack Obama on Saturday temporarily set aside the
pressures of trying to calm the world's trouble spots and assumed the
role of spectator for something more joyous: the wedding of the Obama
family's longtime chef and friend.
Chef Sam Kass
and MSNBC host Alex Wagner were tying the knot at Blue Hill at Stone
Barns, a farm-to-table restaurant in Pocantico Hills, just north of New
York City.
Obama and Kass
have a close relationship, which Obama highlighted earlier this month by
spending several hours at dinner at Kass' apartment amid the turmoil in
Iraq, Ukraine and Ferguson, Missouri.
It's
long been said that time is a president's most precious commodity. That
Obama would spend five hours at Kass' home on one of the aide's final
evenings as a bachelor was a testament to their bond.
Obama's rounds of golf are often his only other outings that last as long — and those games sometimes include Kass.
Obama,
his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, attended the
ceremony and reception at the restaurant, which is a favorite of both
Kass and Mrs. Obama. The first lady hosted the spouses of world leaders
there in 2010.
Obama wore a dark suit,
and Mrs. Obama and their daughters each wore sleeveless black dresses.
The first family spent about six hours at the wedding. Obama had no
known role, other than to give his best to the bride and groom.
The
union of Kass, 34, and Wagner, 36, also served to highlight what some
contend is too much togetherness between the media and the people they
report on. Naturally, the guest list was expected to include staff from
both the White House and the liberal-leaning cable news outlet, with
people from both sides breaking bread at the same dinner table.
Kass
began preparing meals for the Obamas when the family lived in Chicago
and the Obamas persuaded him to join them at the White House. He is now
among the Obamas' longest-serving aides.
Besides
preparing the family's meals most weeknights, Kass also serves as
senior nutrition policy adviser and executive director of the first
lady's anti-childhood obesity initiative.
It's not unusual for presidents, including Obama, to attend or participate in weddings.
Obama hosted a Rose Garden wedding last October for Pete Souza, the president's chief official photographer.
In
June 2012, Obama, his wife, daughters and mother-in-law attended the
Chicago wedding of the daughter of White House senior adviser Valerie
Jarrett.
In May 2008, George W. Bush was in office when his daughter, Jenna, married at the family ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Bill Clinton was best man for his brother, Roger, in March 1994.
Ronald
Reagan and his wife, Nancy, participated in the August 1984 wedding of
their daughter Patti Davis. Reagan spoke one line in the ceremony. He
responded "Her mother and I do" when asked who would give away the
bride.
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