The host of Morning Joe shared new photos from Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough’s very intimate wedding ceremony to kick off the MSNBC show on Monday.
That host was not Scarborough however, but instead Willie Geist, who is filling in this week while the pair are enjoying their honeymoon in parts unknown.
‘It was wonderful. I mean, everybody deserves happiness and they were a very happy couple. It was a nice time … and a wonderful reception,’ said panelist Mike Barnacle, who was a guest at the wedding.
Geist then informed viewers that he was unable to attend the ceremony at the National Archives on Saturday due to his Sunday morning hosting duties on Today, prompting guest Donnie Deutsch to announce that he was not invited to event.
Morning Joe after dark: Three photos from Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough’s wedding were shared on their MSNBC show Morning Joe on Monday (newlyweds cutting their wedding cake above)
National treasures: The hosts are away on their honeymoon all week, and Willie Geist has stepped in to host in their absence (the couple with officiant Elijah Cummings)
National treasures: Geist was unable to attend the ceremony because of his job hosting the weekend edition of Today, but panelist Mike Barnacle was at the reception Saturday (in front of the Bill of Rights, Constitution and Declaration of Independence at the National Archives)
Geist had thanked Barnacle for attending the ceremony and ‘standing in for all of us at the table,’ when Deutsch cut in to say: ‘I couldn’t be there, either, because I wasn’t invited.’
That comment led to some laughter from the panel, with Geist commenting: ‘Well, that’s one of the through lines of your life.’
Deutsch then added: ‘But congratulations to Joe and Mika, they’re really happy and it’s nice to see.’
Scarborough’s four children from prior relationships were in attendance on Saturday as were Brzezinski’s two daughters.
Katherine and Jack are Scarborough’s two children with Susan Warren, a former aide to Florida Governor Jeb Bush who he divorced in early 2014 after 11 years of marriage.
The popular morning host also has two adult sons, Joey and Andrew, from his first marriage to Melanie Hinton, which ended in 1999 after 13 years.
Brzezinski, 51, has two adult daughters, Emilie and Carlie, from her marriage to Jim Hoffer, which ended in 2016 after 23 years.
Emilie’s black rescue dog, Cali, was also present and wore the ‘something blue’ in the form of a Tiffany-colored leash.
Geist, who will be hosting Morning Joe all week while the couple is enjoying their honeymoon, did not share much in the way of details about the ceremony.
‘It was a small private wedding that took place Saturday at the National Archives in Washington, with the Bill of Rights and the Constitution as a backdrop,’ said Geist.
‘Congressman Elijah Cummings officiated the traditional ceremony, which he and Joe wrote together. Joe and Mika were surrounded by all their children, which made it very special for them, their kids, family and a small group of their close friends were there with them in Washington.’
Geist then added: ‘I spoke to them last night. they’re great, they’re really happy of course.’
Of the three photos that were shared on air, one shows the couple standing in the middle of the Archives main hall and another is of the newlyweds standing in front of the country’s three most vaunted political documents while security guards can be seen looking on in the background.
The third picture is of the longtime co-hosts cutting their cake at the reception.
Brzezinski seemed to be having a little fun teasing viewers prior to the ceremony, tweeting a photo on Friday of a frog and writing: ‘Should I kiss the frog???’
She then shared a photo on Sunday that showed her puckering up to the amphibian, writing: ‘I kissed the frog.’
She wore a Milly dress designed by Michelle Smith for the ceremony, which marked the second wedding for her and 55-year-old Scarborough’s third. Her stilettos were by Layla-Joy Williams.
He was outfitted in a Zegna suit.
Haves, have nots: Frequent guest Donnie Deutsch revealed he was not invited, prompting Geist to joke: ‘Well, that’s one of the through lines of your life’ (invitee Mike Barnacle on left, Deutsch on right)
Amphibial attraction: Brzezinski had hinted at the wedding on Friday, posting a photo of a frog and asking if she should kiss it (left, and kissing the frog from a post on Sunday)
Le spread: The couple enjoyed a traditional crepe cake at the reception on Saturday (above)
Brzezinki’s sister-in-law shared a touching tribute to the newlyweds on her Instagram over the weekend.
‘Congratulations to my beautiful sister-in-law Mika and my new brother-in-law Joe for their beautifully touching and intimate wedding yesterday at the National Archives, a remarkable setting nestled in front of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,’ wrote Natalia.
‘Mika, you’ve been a true sister to me, supporting me through really hard things and giving me advice on even difficult life decisions, since I married your brother 10 years ago at 22 you’ve kept me under your wing and helped me have the confidence to be who I am in the most authentic, family-protected and unconventional way.’
She then added: ‘I love you Mika and Joe! I’m so happy to see your love blossom, you really both complete each other.’
In addition to the human guests, Brzezinski also brought her rescue dog, though sadly none of her chickens or pigs looked to be inattendance.
Dog days: Brzezinski’s rescue dog Cali (above with Katherine Scarborough at the reception) was the lone animal guest
And her late father Zbigniew was there in spirit, with the couple selecting music from his collection to play during the ceremony.
The couple, who were engaged in the South of France while vacationing at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden Roc, kept things French for both the reception and their cake.
They hosted 40 guests at Chez Billy Sud where they enjoyed a 20-layer crepe cake.
That was double the 20 who attended their ceremony, and did not include President Trump or his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had both offered to officiate the ceremony at one point.
Scarborough told Vanity Fair last year that while eating a lunch of fish and scalloped potatoes at Mar-a-Lago, the topic of conversation turned at one point to his relationship with Brzezisnki, with President Trump saying the two should have their ceremony at Mar-a-Lago or the White House.
‘That’s when Jared interrupted and said, “Hey, you know what? I’ve got my license. I could marry you,”‘ said Scarborough.
Scarborough went on to state in the interview that President Trump then said: ‘What? What are you talking about? Why would they want you to marry them when I could marry them? When they could be married by the president! At Mar-a-Lago!’
It was shortly after this lunch that the relationship between President Trump and the Morning Joe hosts began to fall apart.
Things hit a boiling point in June of last year when President Trump tweeted: ‘I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don’t watch anymore). Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year’s Eve, and insisted on joining me.’
He then added: ‘She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!’
The newlywed co-hosts recounted shortly at the time those tweets were posted that President Trump called them up ‘screaming’ weeks after their Mar-a-Lago lunch, taking issue with Scarborough’s treatment of Stephen Miller on their program.
‘He said, “I invited you over to lunch and you’re so rude! You’re killing this kid!”‘ said Scarborough.
He went on to claim that President Trump told him he should have invited Sean Hannity to the lunch.