Obama's Jewish personal chef weds MSNBC host
President attends longtime aide's wedding with First Lady and daughters; Chef Sam Kass has been working for the Obamas when they lived in Chicago and has been persuaded to join them at the White House.
POCANTICO HILLS - US 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 his family's longtime chef and friend.
Chef Sam Kass, who grew up in a Jewish family, and MSNBC host Alex Wagner were tying the knot at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a farm-to-table restaurant, 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.
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.
