Chelsea Clinton and her $5-million wedding

It's the New York-to-Washington social event of the season: The impending marriage of Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US President Bill Clinton and current Secretary of State Hillary, to Marc Mezvinsky, son of two former Democratic Members of Congress.(Text Courtesy: New York Times)

The wedding, set for July 31, is cloaked in secrecy and is estimated to cost anywhere between $3-5 million. (Text & Photo Courtesy: New York Times)

In Mezvinsky, Chelsea has found a partner whose life experiences bear a striking resemblance to her own. The two first met as teenagers in Hilton Head, SC, during a Renaissance Weekend.

Both attended Stanford University, though their romance did not bloom until a few years ago. And both know first-hand the price of political loss and scandal. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

The Clinton-Mezvinsky nuptials is expected to take place at Astor Courts in Rhinebeck, 90 miles north of Manhattan

Security at the Saturday's wedding alone could cost $200,000 because of all the high-level politicians and global celebrities. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

In Rhinebeck, where pictures of the former President and Secretary Clinton hang in many of the downtown shops, preparations do seem to be under way for something big.

The small town in the Hudson Valley is thrilled that the wedding of the year will be happening here. The residents are thrilled even though no one can talk about it. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

Rhinebeck residents are proud that their town, two hours north of New York City, was chosen by Chelsea and her fiancé, and are quick to tell you that this town is not at all like the Hamptons - no Tiffany on Main Street, no weekenders in high heels.

But when it comes to the wedding, they cannot talk. Anyone who has agreed to supply anything, from gift bags to appetizers to the location, has signed a confidentiality agreement. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

Chelsea's wedding is being seen as a great business-making ocassion by most of the shop owners.

Shopkeepers hope the influx of 400 guests and countless journalists from around the world will leave a lasting impact on the town's economy, which has had its fits and starts through the recession. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

There is a lot of speculation about the guest list as one can imagine the headaches it involves. About 400 are expected to attend (although the Obamas aren't).

That's large for an ordinary wedding, but small for a family whose reach includes presidents, movie stars and kings, not to mention all those political donors looking for a payback.

There is one criterion for making the cut: guests must have a personal connection to the bride and bridegroom.(Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

Swarms of photographers, reporters and plain old curious folk are expected to descend on the upstate New York town of Rhinebeck on Saturday.

They will have to make do with whatever they can see through the hedges, if they can even get that close.

The Federal Aviation Administration will enforce a temporary ban on flights below 2,000 feet for the area surrounding the estate, frustrating the hopes of any members of the Media hoping to capture a glimpse of the nuptials from above.(Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

Americans have been eternally fascinated with the Presidential children, and perhaps none more so than Chelsea Clinton.

Chelsea arrived at the White House as a gawky 12-year-old with frizzy hair and braces, and grew up before the nation's eyes, under a cone of silence that she has broken only rarely. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

Today, she is a chic strawberry-blonde, with experience working at a Hedge Fund, a deep interest in Public Policy and, as of January 2010, a Master's degree from Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.(Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

Yet for Americans of a certain age, the enduring image of Chelsea Clinton is that of the 18-year-old college girl walking on the White House lawn, her back to the camera, holding one hand of each parent — literally the glue binding her family together after her father's painful confession of marital infidelities.

Even then, she seemed to exude a combination of dignity and distance. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

Born on February 27, 1980, Chelsea Victoria Clinton was named after the 1969 song "Chelsea Morning," written and recorded by Joni Mitchell, though it was the Judy Collins version of the song that inspired Bill and Hillary Clinton.

In Washington, Chelsea attended the elite, private Sidwell Friends School, and her father spoke at her graduation in 1997.

After graduating with honors from Stanford University in June 2001, she enrolled at Oxford University, which her father had attended as a Rhodes scholar. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

After Oxford, Chelsea Clinton signed up with McKinsey, a consulting company known as an elite business training corps.

In fall 2007, Chelsea moved on, taking a job analyzing investments at Avenue Capital Group, a Hedge Fund run by Marc Lasry, a loyal donor to Democratic causes generally, and Clinton-related ones specifically. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

When Hillary Rodham Clinton first ran for the Senate, Chelsea, then 20, crisscrossed New York State by her mother's side.

She also joined her mother on the campaign trail as Mrs Clinton pursued the 2008 Democratic Presidential Nomination.(Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

Chelsea continued to appear on her parents' behalf, accompanying them on trips, fund-raising and playing a more glamorous version of her lifelong role: The Model Daughter. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)

The Clintons are extraordinarily close to their only child — as president, Bill Clinton once put off an overseas trip so he could be home to help Chelsea study for exams.

Shielded from the press during her years as first daughter, Chelsea to this day retains a publicist, but mainly to fend off publicity. (Text Courtesy: New York Times | Photo Courtesy: AFP)