Exclusive: Glimpses of Chelsea Clinton's wedding

Guests at Chelsea Clinton's wedding in New York gives Rediff.com's Suman Guha Mozumder an exclusive glimpse of the proceedings.

Like parents anywhere in the world, former US president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, secretary of state in the Obama administration, had mixed emotions on the eve of their daughter Chelsea's wedding with investment banker Marc Mezvinsky.

"Right now it seems their mood is a mixture of joy and a bit of sadness. The Clintons are happy that Chelsea is getting married to the guy she has chosen as her life partner. But at the same time, one can make out that the father is a little sad despite his overall cheerfulness over the wedding," privileged sources, who have access to the Clinton family and guests at the wedding, told rediff.com

"After all, a father is a father and no matter whether he is a former president or not, he will certainly have a tinge of sadness despite the happiness and joy when his 'little girl' is getting married and is moving to her husband's house," the source said.

The wedding, slated for Saturday will take place at Astor Courts, an exclusive estate besides the Hudson river in Rhinebeck, New York state.

Astor Courts was one of the last buildings designed by the famous American architect Stanford White.

An estimated 500 people are believed to have been invited for the wedding, including Hollywood celebrities, politicians and dignitaries.

Sources said the Clintons have not sent a traditional printed wedding invitation to the guests because they wanted to keep the event a quiet affair.

"The Clintons invited their guests over the telephone," the sources said. "There are also tremendous security concerns for such a celebrity wedding."

Most of the guests will be picked up from local hotels and taken by bus to Astor Courts.

Reports said Astor Courts, which is out of bounds for the media, 'is set back from the road with a long driveway protected by off-duty police officers.'

Sources said two helicopter landing pads have been constructed at Astor Courts to ferry important guests.

"The entire area has been declared a no-fly zone from 3 pm on Saturday till 3 am Sunday," the sources added.

"Because of the tight security, guests will have to deposit their cameras and Blackberrys at security before they enter the wedding venue," the sources said.

"People invited to the wedding have signed a confidentiality agreement so that they cannot disclose anything about the wedding to the media," the sources said.

Guests arriving at the hotels will not identify themselves by their names to get access to their assigned rooms, but by the room numbers they have been given and informed beforehand via e-mail, the sources added.

The Clintons will pay for the hotel rooms.

The wedding on Saturday evening, will be followed by a reception and dinner.

"After dinner, there will be fireworks at night on the Hudson (river). Tonight (Friday) the only function slated was the dinner rehearsal for tomorrow with Chelsea and close family members and friends," the sources added.

Although the guest list has not been released to the media, there is speculation that celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes and Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, a close friend of the Clintons for more than two decades, are expected to be present at the wedding.

"I think the guest list will be known only after the guests arrive tomorrow," the sources added. "Only a few close friends and family members are here tonight."

Image: Former US president Bill Clinton and wife US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive for a party in Rhinebeck on Friday night. Photograph: Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters

ALSO SEE: America waits for Chelsea's wedding
Obama not invited to the wedding