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Jenna Bush Weds Henry Hager

President Bush's daughter Jenna, 26, marries her longtime beau, Henry Hager, 30, on Saturday, May 10, at the president's ranch near Crawford, Tex.

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Out of the loop prior to the weekend -- and thus apparently not bound to any confidentiality -- both Hermann and Esch were kind enough yesterday to dish the kind of details that we may never hear about the wedding itself.

Within reason, that is. Hermann told us that Henry Hager gave a charming, funny toast that included stories about his early courtship of Jenna. Stories like . . . ? Hermann wouldn't say. John Hager and several bridesmaids also offered toasts; Laura Bush delivered a wedding prayer, but she and the president largely turned the spotlight over to the Hagers.

"They were consciously aware that this was a party hosted by the groom's family," Hermann said. "The president was just a guest of the party. I cannot stress to you how humble and gracious everyone at that event was."

The dress: Casual (jackets but no ties for men, summer dresses for women) to beat the 90-degree heat. The dinner: Parmesan-crusted stuffed artichokes, mini-crab cakes, a Texas dish known as "white wings" (chicken breast wrapped around cheese and jalapenos), lemon-crusted rainbow trout, pork tenderloin over corn pudding, grilled vegetables and a lemon birthday cake for Henry Hager's 30th that night.

After dinner, the entire party walked about a block down Royal Street accompanied by a high school marching band -- right out there in public, a bit of news that later chafed the White House press corps, since they are supposed to have representatives witness any public outing by POTUS. Hmpf. Anyway, the group walked to the Silver Spur, where a party that included every wedding guest was already underway.

The details: A Southwestern buffet, an open bar, guests drinking Shiner Bock and Dos Equis from clear plastic cups on which "Jenna and Henry" was written in gold. Jenna wore a sleeveless V-neck white top and black ruffled skirt; the young-skewing crowd looked extremely preppy. "A lot of Young Republicans," said Esch. A band played country-rock and bluegrass, and people danced until midnight -- not the president and Laura, who mostly mingled, but that's when Rove did "bust a move a little bit," Esch said. He described Jenna and Henry as the best dancers in the room. ("I don't know if that's saying much.")

Yesterday, the White House released 11 photos of the wedding that mostly illustrated things we already knew (Jenna's embroidered organza dress, her sister's "moonstone blue" gown, the limestone cross and altar her father had erected for the ceremony) but also tipped us off to a few things we didn't -- the bride's humidity-beating half-up/half-down hairdo; the tres leche wedding cake (a super-rich Tex-Mex favorite).

One final detail, from an interview that Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, who performed the 35-minute ceremony, gave to Houston's KHOU-TV: The father of the bride "was compassionate and emotional" during the exchange of vows. "He cried a couple of times."