Wedding bells in the air

Amelia Johnson of Albany models a wedding gown Sunday from Georgio’s Bridal and Formalwear during the Temple Daily Telegram’s Bridal Showcase at the Frank W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center. Rusty Schramm/Telegram

wedding growns take center stage at Bridal Showcase

Brides, bouquets and bustiers - for wedding gowns that is - were hot topics at the Temple Daily Telegram's fourth annual Bridal Showcase on Sunday.

Hundreds of brides, grooms, family and friends sampled from more than 40 booths catering to every new bride or groom's needs wedding dress at the Frank W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center.

Services on display included bridal shops, photographers, wedding planners, caterers and bakers, salons, fitness center, wedding sites and a lawyer.

Chelsea Clinton, 30, a graduate student at Columbia University's School of Public Health (better known as the only child of a certain power couple, is set to marry 32-year-old Goldman Sachs investment banker Marc Mezvinsky on July 31. Though the wedding was supposed to be a hush-hush affair, the media has had other ideas. Here's what we know so far.

How did Clinton and Mezvinsky meet?
Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky have known each other for 14 years. The then 16-year-old Clinton and 18-year-old Mezvinsky met at a Young Democrats retreat. Both chose Stanford University and studied history. Finally, in 2005, they crossed the friendship line, Post reported. Mezvinsky popped the question on Thanksgiving Day in New York, where they reside. Friends and family found out via e-mail.

Who are the parents?
Chelsea's, you've obviously heard of. Marc Mezvinsky is one of 10 children of former Iowa Congressman and convicted felon Edward Mezvinsky (for wire and bank fraud) and former NBC reporter and Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky. The Clintons and Mezvinskys have been longtime friends.

Who's the wedding planner?
Bostonian Bryan Rafanelli. He's done events for Hillary Rodham Clinton and produced inaugural balls for President Barack Obama, The New York Times reports.

Who will officiate the wedding?
Since Clinton is Christian and Mezvinsky is Jewish, they could be married by a priest, a rabbi or both, or have no religious officiates. The Clintons attended Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., during Bill Clinton's presidency, and Mezvinsky's parents used to go to Har Zion Temple, a conservative Jewish synagogue in Pennsylvania. There have been no confirmed reports of clergy from either congregations doing the honors.

Following traditional Jewish law, weddings are forbidden on the Jewish Sabbath, which lasts from sundown Friday night to nightfall Saturday night. But certain rabbis may be willing to officiate during the Sabbath.