Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski married Saturday in a secret ceremony in front of the United Stated Constitution, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
The couple – that got engaged last spring – has remained private about their relationship and kept details of the Washington DC big day under wraps until the day, even for their minimal guest list which was kept to just five people plus their children from previous marriages.
Scarborough, 55, and Brzezinski, 51, – who will be changing her last name – tied the knot at the National Archives building rotunda with Representative Elijah Cumming officiating the first ever union held there.
Morning Joe co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski married Saturday
Secret ceremony was in front of United Stated Constitution, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights at the National Archives in Washington DC
Representative Elijah Cumming officiated the first ever wedding in the rotunda
‘We wanted it to be really small and simple and not what you expected from Mika and Joe,’ MSNBC presenter Brzezinski told Vanity Fair. ‘Everything we do is exposed, and everything felt exposed every step of the way, so we want this to be private until it’s over. We wanted to recognize it more quietly and have the people who are most important to us around us. And you know, our show is a cocktail party every morning.’
They said ‘I do’ in an evening ceremony, sneaking in through the back door of the library closed to the public just for their event, while many of the politicians of the capital were out of the city.
Brzezinski’s daughters Carlie and Emilie Hoffer were present, with the latter’s black rescue dog, Cali, wearing the ‘something blue’ in the form of a Tiffany-colored leash.
With her mother Emilie and friends Laura Erlacher and Susan Castallanos watching on, the bride walked down the aisle – and past five cameras five cameras capturing the event – to meet her groom.
40 people attended the reception dinner at Chez Billy Sud and the event was done by 10.45pm
The post-wedding party was closed off to the public on Saturday in Washington DC
She wore white dress from Milly, a brand by Michelle Smith who famously designed the frock Michelle Obama wore in her official portrait housed in the nearby National Portrait Gallery
She opted for a white dress falling below the knee but above the ankle from Milly, a brand by Michelle Smith who famously designed the frock Michelle Obama wore in her official portrait housed in the nearby National Portrait Gallery.
Her stilettos were by Layla-Joy Williams.
Scarborough donned a black Zegna suit which viewers have seen before on his show, with a white shirt and black tie. A boutonniere with white orchid and green sprigs were pinned to his lapel as they carried out the quick nuptials.
‘My mom would always say that she loved Episcopalian services because they marry you and bury you in 15 minutes or less,’ Scarborough said.
Scarborough and his new wife’s friends, Rachel and Dr. David Campbell, hosted the ceremony and the dinner at Chez Billy Sud that followed.
While only 14 calls were made to people invited to witness the actual nuptials, the couple celebrated with 40 people after they got hitched.
‘We did an event there more than a year ago and we were just blown away, seeing all these documents and how we felt seeing them,’ Brzezinski told Vanity Fair about the room with 70-foot ceilings. ‘It makes sense now more than ever, given what we stand for as a couple, what we do for a living, and what we’re worried about as a country.’
The bride’s mother Emilie and four of their friends made up a handful of guests
Brzezinski’s daughters Carlie and Emilie Hoffer were present, with the latter’s black rescue dog, Cali, wearing the ‘something blue’ in the form of a Tiffany-colored leash
Donald Trump had offered to marry them inside the White House or his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate. At a White House dinner shortly after the 2017 inauguration, Jared Kushner also offered to use his licence to marry the pair but was rudely interrupted by POTUS who according to Scarborough said: ‘Why would you marry them? They could have the President of the United States marry them.’
But they didn’t actually get engaged until a few months later at the Hotel Du Cap in Antibes, France.
With the hosts’ rocky relationship with Trump, it’s not clear whether his offer was sincere.
He had labelled Brzezinski ‘insecure’ during his campaign in August 2016.
‘Some day, when things calm down, I’ll tell the real story of @JoeNBC and his very insecure long-time girlfriend, @morningmika,’ Trump tweeted. ‘Two clowns!’
Donald Trump and Jared Kusher had offered to marry them in the White House
The President of the United States also offered his Mar-a-Lago estate to them last year
POTUS reportedly told Jared Kushner: ‘Why would you marry them? They could have the President of the United States marry them’
Trump had labelled Brzezinski ‘insecure during his campaign in August 2016.
Instead Democrat Cummings, who has been in the House of Representatives since 1996 representing Maryland’s 7th Congressional District got them hitched.
He revealed the couple wrote their own vows, music from Brzezinski’s late father’s CD collection played throughout the evening and the bride had a big hand in arranging the events.
The couple cut a 20-layer crepe cake and the celebration was complete by 10.45pm so they could head off on a five day mini-moon Sunday before they had to be back at work.
‘I was really Mika’s wedding planner,’ Cummings joked. ‘I did what she told me to do.’
Vanity Fair reports that Scarborough – who served as a Republican representative in the House between 1995 and 2001 – did not pick Cummings because he plans to run for president in 2020 or 2024.
‘He’s a representative of the movement forward, of getting the country back,’ Brzezinski said. ‘We didn’t think of that at all. But I’m sure people will say that.’
Scarborough divorced Susan Waren in 2013 after two years of marriage and they have two sons together. Before that he was married to Melanie Hinton from 1986 to 1999 and they have a son and a daughter.
Brzezinski was married to reporter Jim Hoffer 1993 to 2016.