| Send to Printer | << Back to Article |
| Local |
|
Newsom ties knot during sunset ceremony
SAN FRANCISCO -
The San Francisco mayor known for officiating nationally televised marriages at City Hall attended a particularly hush-hush wedding in rural Montana on Saturday — his own. Tucked away on the bride’s sprawling family ranch — and deftly hidden from the flashbulbs of press cameras — Mayor Gavin Newsom, 40, married San Francisco-born actress Jennifer Siebel, 33, in one of the more private celebrity weddings in recent times. More than 200 family, friends and dignitaries were invited to the ceremony, which was timed for sunset on a scenic swath of the Bitterroot River valley, located in the western part of the state. Included on the guest list was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D- San Francisco, according to the local newspaper, the Missoulian. Some residents of Stevensville, a nearby town with a population just more than 1,500, didn’t even realize the couple was in town. “I read that [Newsom] was coming in our local newspaper a few weeks ago, but it’s been quiet here,” said an employee of a local travel agency. The eminent politician fulfilled his Hollywood love’s longtime dream of having her wedding at the ranch Siebel’s parents own. It was Newsom’s second wedding and Siebel’s first. Siebel, a Stanford graduate with a recurring role on the NBC show “Life,” planned a wedding that summed up her lifelong passions and endeavors. The wedding’s theme, Out of Africa in Montana, was consistent with her travels in Kenya and Botswana. The couple also planned to honeymoon in Kenya and South Africa, joined by family members. But the wedding still had that down-home country flavor. Three days of festivities were to include a barbecue and barn dancing Friday, a day of golf, tennis or general hobnobbing at the gated Stock Farm Club resort Saturday and a white-tablecloth reception along a nearby river later in the evening, according to event planners. The couple’s post-vows dance was a Rumba set to Lauren Wood’s “Fallen,” a song that appeared on the soundtrack to the 1990 film “Pretty Woman.” The couple took dance lessons at a studio in Potrero Hill owned by “Dancing with the Stars” champion Cheryl Burke. Instructor Kim Sifter said Siebel, a former soccer star, was a natural; Newsom, however, turned out to be a much better dancer than he would admit. Sifter described the couple as affectionate, lighthearted and meant to be. “They are so easy around each other, they have great chemistry,” Sifter said. “They’re definitely a good couple.” Path to the altarFinale of a seven-month engagementHow they met: A blind date at the Artists Ball at Yerba Buena Center in October 2006 Became engaged: On Dec. 30, 2007, while on vacation in Hawaii Bride’s parents: Ken Siebel is an investment manager; Judy Siebel co-founded the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito Groom’s parents: William Newsom, a retired judge; his late wife, Tessa Wedding coordinator: Jocelyn Arelt, Siebel’s godsister Bridesmaids: Newsom’s sister Hilary Newsom Callan, Siebel’s three sisters Wedding officiate: Carole Simone, a Palo Alto psychic and friend of the couple Bride’s dress: Designed by Vera Wang |
