The threat of family fireworks and a severe hurricane warning wasn’t enough to derail the lavish dream-wedding plans of Donald Trump’s youngest daughter Tiffany.
Tiffany, 29 and her groom, Lebanese American billionaire Michael Boulos, 25, wed at the family’s Mar-a-Lago Club, just after Tropical Storm Nicole passed through Florida and three days before the father of the bride is expected to announce his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
Just days before the date, Mar-a-Lago and its surrounding coastal residential areas were under mandatory evacuation orders because of the hurricane.
Also cause for speculation was whether former first lady Melania Trump would attend the nuptials following her husband’s fury at the poor showing of some of his favoured candidates in the US midterm elections.
A “fuming” Mr Trump reportedly blamed wife Melania for pushing him to endorse celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz in the the Pennsylvania senate race to Democrat John Fetterman.
New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman said Mr Trump was “furious” – and had labelled Mrs Trump’s push for the TV doctor as “not her best decision”.
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Mr Trump is also running full steam ahead on announcing his candidacy for president on Tuesday, a decision that is causing a rift in his inner circle. A political source said before the wedding the former US president had been “upset and ranting like a raging bull for the past couple of days”.
Despite the former president’s bad mood, Ms Trump’s mother Marla Maples said she tapped her former husband for traditional fatherly duties with the wedding festivities. They included walking his daughter down the aisle and partaking in a father-daughter dance.
Ms Maples told People that the family put politics aside for her daughter’s big day.
“We are focused on this sacred union and welcoming beloved friends and family, not on politics,” she said.
She added that the family venue was chosen because “this was Tiffany’s childhood home and where she was brought into the world”.
“Tiffany has never been a people divider,” a source added, noting that all of the Trumps had attended the wedding.
“This is a joyous family occasion.”
Melania Trump was among them. Photos from the wedding show her standing next to Mr Trump in a light pink dress, and she later joined him on the dance floor at the reception.
Tiffany Trump’s lavish wedding was planned to be held in Greece this summer – she and Mr Boulos met at Lindsay Lohan’s club in Mykonos – but was relocated to Mar-a-Lago.
The couple announced their engagement in January 2021 at the White House, a day before Mr Trump left the presidency.
For her wedding, the bride chose a long-sleeved creation by Lebanese designer Elie Saab as a nod to the groom’s heritage.
“It’s a Lebanese American wedding, so we were so happy to have Elie Saab create the magic,” Ms Maples said.
She wore a lavender off-the-shoulder gown by the same designer for her mother-of-the-bride look.
Ms Trump’s dress had a square neck and intricate beading over the bodice, as well as a large skirt and train. She wore her hair in Hollywood waves swept to the side, and finished the look with a delicate veil.
Ms Maples played a role in the ceremony, too, sharing a prayer during the service, and Ms Trump’s closest friends from childhood were bridesmaids.
Her half-sister Ivanka helped prepare for the big day, joining the bridal party and offering “total support”, according to a source involved with the wedding.
Ivanka Trump later posted a photograph of herself and her 11-year-old daughter Arabella Rose Kushner at the wedding in matching blue gowns.
Elvira Grau, a long-time friend of Ms Maples, told The US Sun that Tiffany Trump wanted a more intimate wedding, so she had fewer than 300 guests.
“They chose to do that for the kind of reasons other people opt for more intimate weddings. They don’t want people they don’t really know there.
“Given who her father is, this isn’t his day – it’s her day.
“So Tiffany picked the people she wanted. She picked all the guests.
“It was all up to her.”
