Posted: 05 Aug 2010 06:02 PM PDT

By: Nikki Schwab

08/05/10 9:00 PM EDT

Hillary Clinton looked stunning in the fuchsia floral Oscar de la Renta gown she wore to daughter Chelsea's wedding last weekend. Paired with the gown (which New York Magazine, in one of the meaner reviews, described as a "rosebush"), the secretary of state wore a pink Swarovski crystal necklace and earrings designed by D.C.'s own Ann Hand.

"We worked through a close personal aide of hers and of course, as you realize, it was all very confidential and we were trying to honor the bride's wishes in keeping everything very private," Hand told Yeas & Nays, divulging she had been tapped for the job within the past month.

Hand made several things for Clinton to look at and didn't know until the wedding day if her design had been picked. "You know how women are, at the last minute you could change your mind and wear something else," she said. "When we actually saw the photographs, we breathed a sigh of relief and we were very, very honored that she chose it to wear."

While Hand gushed about the experience, she wouldn't say how much the jewelry set cost. "It's really hard to put a price on it because it's one of a kind," she said.

Hand started her business out of a cottage in her backyard in 1988 and opened the MacArthur Boulevard store in 2000. Throughout her career she has designed jewelry for some of Washington's biggest names. Among her clients: Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former first lady Laura Bush, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Alma Powell (Colin's wife).

Hand even crafted some of Albright's pins, which are currently on display at the Smithsonian Castle. The jeweler also created a pin for actress Geena Davis when she was playing America's first female president on the television show, "Commander in Chief."

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Chelsea Clinton wedding: Small N.Y. town gets ready for Chelsea Clinton wedding - Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

Posted: 31 Jul 2010 07:12 PM PDT

Reporting from Rhinebeck, N.Y. —

On a breezy summer night, behind the stone walls of a 106-year-old estate, hundreds of celebrities, dignitaries, family and friends gathered Saturday to witness Chelsea Clinton make Marc Mezvinsky the newest member of the Clinton political clan.

Clinton and Mezvinsky wed just before sunset on the secluded Astor Courts estate after frenzied days of anticipation among a nation of wedding-watchers. On Saturday, townspeople and media hordes converged on sidewalks of this community north of New York City hoping for a glimpse of the festivities.

The bride's father, former President Bill Clinton, whizzed up to the sprawling grounds half an hour before the wedding in a four-vehicle motorcade, arriving soon after his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The interfaith ceremony was officiated jointly by Rabbi James Ponet, a Jewish chaplain at Yale, and the Rev. William Shillady, a Methodist minister from New York City. Chelsea Clinton, 30, wore a Vera Wang dress, and the couple exchanged vows under a gazebo of white flowers.

Afterward, the parents of the bride released a statement saying, "We watched with great pride and overwhelming emotion as Chelsea and Marc wed in a beautiful ceremony at Astor Courts, surrounded by family and their close friends. We could not have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate the beginning of their life together, and we are so happy to welcome Marc into our family."

Mezvinsky, 32, is a former Goldman Sachs investment banker who now works at a hedge fund. He is the son of Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, a former Democratic U.S. representative from Pennsylvania, and former U.S. Rep. Ed Mezvinsky, a Democrat from Iowa. The bride and groom met while growing up in Washington, D.C., and both attended Stanford.

Although there's been much buzz about the wedding — guessing the costs, imagining Chelsea Clinton's dress, trying to identify invited celebrities — the event remained shrouded in secrecy. All involved, including guests and caterers, were asked to keep the details private.

In the end, the wedding seemed notable for how low-key the guests and family managed to keep it, and for the big names who did not attend, including former Vice President Al Gore and Oprah Winfrey.

Guests in tuxedos and formal gowns were picked up by chartered green buses from a few nondescript Marriot and Hampton Inn hotels in neighboring towns.

On Saturday morning, police SUVs guarded the unmarked entrance to the Astor Courts, backed up by "No Trespassing" signs. A no-fly zone was in effect over the area throughout the night.

Across the street, neighbors put up a modest handwritten sign that said, "Mazel Tov Chelsea," a nod to Mezvinsky's Jewish heritage.

At the Chamonix Bridal Shop in town, owners Heather Graham and Allison Sims dressed a window mannequin in a wedding gown and hung a banner reading "A toast to Chelsea and Marc."

Sims' 3-month-old daughter had a bow in her hair for the occasion, and Graham's son wore a tuxedo. Graham said that some wedding guests had stopped by to pick up last-minute hairpieces and jewelry.

"It's like a carnival," Graham said. "Everyone is just so positive and upbeat."

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and political power player Terry McAuliffe lunched Saturday at Gigi Trattoria, where Bill Clinton ate on Friday before strolling around town. Vera Wang, the designer and a friend of the Clintons, tried to eat at Gigi but was driven away by a media horde hungry for celebrity sightings.

Friday night, Bill and Hillary Clinton attended a wedding party at the Beekman Arms, where news anchor Diane Sawyer and businessman and film producer Steve Bing were among the guests.

Later on Saturday, Ted Danson and his wife, Mary Steenburgen, checked in at the historic inn before heading to the wedding.

"She's a beautiful girl and he's a wonderful guy," Steenburgen said of the bride and groom.

Face Stockholm, a makeup store in Rhinebeck, quietly groomed several wedding guests in back. Megan Martino, a manager at the store, said the guests had not wanted anything fancy.

"They all wanted a very simple, natural country look," Martino said.

A number of guests were staying in town at the Looking Glass Bed & Breakfast. The owner, Cari Metzer, said that over breakfast people going to the wedding were all talking about the lack of fancy frills in the weekend's plans.

"There are no horse-drawn carriages or anything like that," Metzer said. "Chelsea just wanted to have a nice, normal wedding."

nathaniel.popper@latimes.com

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Metal detecting buff reunites Sacramento dad with his wedding ring - Sacramento Bee

Posted: 03 Aug 2010 11:55 PM PDT

A Placer County man's find on a Santa Cruz beach turned out to be a Sacramento man's treasure.

Lee Wiese said the ring he plucked from the sand was one of more than a dozen rings he and fellow members of the Sacramento Valley Detecting Buffs, a metal detecting club, discovered during a recent weekend outing.

"I didn't think much about it," Wiese said.

But two days later, a fellow club member spotted an ad for a lost ring on Craigslist that matched the description of Wiese's find. Friday, thanks to Wiese, Sacramento resident Spencer Quan was reunited with his wedding ring in a Citrus Heights parking lot.

This was just one occasion in which Wiese and fellow hobbyists have used their expertise to help people recover items of sentimental and monetary value.

Quan, who has been married about a month, said he, his wife and 5-year-old son were at the Santa Cruz beach July 24.

He and his son decided to walk down to the water, and when a small wave came in, Quan recalled, he lunged to catch his son.

"As I grabbed him, the ring came off in the water," Quan said. "I felt it come off."

He searched the area but was unable to locate the ring. After reporting the loss to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk's lost and found office, the family headed home.

"I didn't sleep too well that night," Quan said.

He decided to place an ad on Craigslist in the Monterey area and received an offer of help from a member of a metal detecting group in Salinas. But before that search effort materialized, he learned that Wiese, a south Placer County resident, had found the ring.

Wiese, who spent a career in the electronics field, said he became interested in metal detecting in the 1970s. He built his first detector himself.

Now in his 70s, Wiese said he enjoys the hobby because "it gets you out in the open air and it's good exercise."

Metal detecting buffs, Wiese said, typically specialize in one of four areas: coins, jewelry, relics or prospecting. His specialty is jewelry.

Prime hunting territory, he said, is "any place where people use lots of sunscreen and get their hands greasy and go into the water. Water and sunscreen don't mix with jewelry."

Wiese said he made his most unusual find in 2003, also in Santa Cruz. He found a 1958 high school class ring that had been lost at the beach in 1959. Using the school insignia and initials on the ring, he was able to trace the owner and return it.

Many of the items are found during "open field" searches held as part of club outings. But Wiese also has used his metal detecting skills to search for specific objects.

In 2004, he recalled, he learned via an ad on the Internet that a woman had lost a ring valued at $5,300.

After identifying the approximate area where it was lost, he conducted a matrix search and found it within 45 minutes.

Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287.

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Wedding Jewelry

Thursday, August 5, 2010

“Bling: Ann Hand talks about Hillary Clinton's wedding jewelry - Washington Examiner” plus 2 more

“Bling: Ann Hand talks about Hillary Clinton's wedding jewelry - Washington Examiner” plus 2 more

By: Nikki Schwab

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