“I cannot disclose,” the caterer said.
“We’re not really speaking,” the restaurant manager said.
“I can’t say anything myself,” the bartender said.
“No comment,” the hotel receptionist said.
And so it goes on a walk through Rhinebeck, New York, a charming town on the Hudson River dotted with galleries, boutiques, upscale restaurants and well-hidden mansions, one of which — we’re pretty sure — will host the most anticipated wedding of many a summer: that of former US president Bill Clinton’s daughter Chelsea Clinton and her investment banker beau, Marc Mezvinsky.
Not that the town isn’t abuzz over the grand event, presumed to be taking place on July 31, though even that generally agreed-upon detail could be a ruse, some conspiracy-minded townspeople warn.
It’s just that anyone with any role in the event clearly has decided, or been told, not to speak — including the bride’s own mother, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who very diplomatically told NBC News: “I am under very strict orders not to talk about it.”
And so it’s left to people like Regina Caridi, manager of a small, high-end clothes boutique in the town center, to merely speculate.
“I’ve heard it’s happening at Astor Courts,” Caridi said last week, echoing a widely held assumption that Clinton and her intended have chosen the jewel of a grand nearby estate, totally hidden from prying eyes along River Road.
The building — designed by renowned architect Stanford White for John Jacob Astor IV, the early 20th century millionaire who died when the Titanic went down — had recently been on sale for US$12 million, local real estate agents said. However, it was taken off the market, undoubtedly to keep away curious folks with no intention of buying.
Other than that, Caridi didn’t know much, but was excited to have witnessed what she assumes was a Chelsea wedding reconnaissance trip this past spring. Chelsea walked right into her store and browsed among the designer jeans.
“She couldn’t have been sweeter,” Caridi said.
Rhinebeck, a town of about 8,000 an easy two-hour drive from New York City, may not be the most obvious choice for a wedding of US political royalty — as would, say, Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod or the Hamptons — but it makes sense for the Clintons. Bill and Hillary Clinton live just under 120km away in Chappaqua, New York, and have passed through a number of times.
As public as her parents are, it should come as no surprise that Chelsea Clinton’s wedding has been shrouded in secrecy. When she was a shy young girl with frizzy hair growing up in the White House, her parents zealously guarded her privacy, asking the media to leave her in peace and even winning an apology for an unkind reference on Saturday Night Live.
As she grew older, Chelsea guarded her own privacy, refusing to talk to reporters as she campaigned for her mother’s 2008 presidential bid. The slim and fashionable Clinton, now 30, worked at a hedge fund and recently got a master’s degree at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
She met her 32-year-old fiance as a teenager, but only started dating him in the past few years. He is a son of former Pennsylvania representative Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and former Iowa representative Ed Mezvinsky, who was released from federal prison last year after serving a nearly five-year sentence for wire and bank fraud.
Jeff Ackerly, a real estate agent whose office is across from the Beekman Arms, said he has seen signs of pre-wedding advance people scoping out the area. He thinks Chelsea and her groom made the logical decision in choosing Rhinebeck.
“She probably finds it appealing, charming and accessible,” Ackerly said. “They say Rhinebeck is the Hamptons of the north, but we argue with that. We just want to be Rhinebeck. Lots of art, culture, fabulous galleries and food.”
Yes, the food — Rhinebeck residents seem particularly proud of that. At Gendron Catering, along Route 9G, owner Daniel Gendron’s small office area is decorated with plaques declaring his company one of the best in the town, and his business has been rumored to be involved with the wedding.
Maybe. You can ask, but Gendron won’t bite.
“I cannot disclose,” he said repeatedly, while showing a visitor the garden out back where he’s planted 16 varieties of heirloom tomatoes.
But sing the praises of Rhinebeck? That he could do.
“Great farms, great food, and exclusive mansions, beautifully restored,” he said. “And you won’t find a McDonald’s in Rhinebeck.”
If not Gendron, who else might be doing the food? Perhaps Gigi Trattoria on Route 9? They’re not saying. How about Terrapin, the elegant restaurant nearby, where some entrees run close to US$30?
Seems like a good bet — only because manager Todd Dutt isn’t saying much. Except about the virtues of Rhinebeck.
“We’re about great food, antiques, clothing stores — and just friendly people,” he said.
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