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    No Politics Allowed

    Jenna Bush Hager shares playful and poignant family stories at Dallas luncheon

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Apr 23, 2018 | 5:43 pm

    Ten days before Jenna Bush Hager fought through tears to read verses from Proverbs 31 at former first lady Barbara Bush's funeral in Houston, she came to Dallas to share stories of her family and childhood that were both serious and hilarious. Hilarious, because they were delivered with such quick wit and authentic, self-deprecating humor that one couldn't help but wonder if she might have inherited her public speaking skills from the feisty grandmother she affectionately called "Ganny."

    The occasion was the Park Cities Historic and Preservation Society's Distinguished Speaker Luncheon held at Brook Hollow Golf Club. Chaired by Tish Key with honorary chairs SMU president R. Gerald Turner and his wife, Gail, the event benefited the organization's scholarships and preservation initiatives.

    After a welcome by PCHPS president Lucinda Buford and introductions by emcee Scott Murray, the Highland Park High School Lads and Lassies sang a stirring a capella invocation.

    Patrons — including Taylor and Carol Armstrong, Venise and Larry Stuart, Polly and Dan McKeithen, Marla and Mike Boone, Teffy Jacobs, and Jana Paul — dined on grilled chicken salads with fresh spring berries during a special presentation: Highland Park High School principal Walter Kelly presented the first ever PCHPS Distinguished Chair for History award to Bradley J. Sanders, AP European History teacher.

    Then it was time for the main event. Journalist Pierce Allman joined Dallas native Hager on stage for a Q&A-style talk that covered personal insights ranging from her first political campaign (a losing bid for student council in 4th grade at Preston Hollow Elementary) to teaching her children to love reading (they're working through the "Junie B. Jones" series now). Many of the stories Hager recalled are told in more detail in her recently released book, Sisters First, which she penned with her twin sister, Barbara Pierce Bush.

    Some playful and poignant highlights from her remarks:

    On being from a "political dynasty" family: That term is almost laughable, she said. Her family doesn't talk about politics around the dinner table just as a family with doctors doesn't sit around talking about surgery. When her family gets together, they laugh. And they read — a lot. "It was such a weird rumor that my dad didn't read since he is married to a librarian," she said.

    On the moment her dad, George W. Bush, told her and Barbara that he planned to run for governor of Texas: "Ann Richards had been a very popular governor," she said. "So we just told my dad he was gonna lose." His response? "If I lose, I have y'all, I have my family," she recalled.

    On her courtship with now-husband Henry Hager, and her own dating advice: Sister and co-authorBarbara identified eight points in their book "where Henry should have run," she said. The night Jenna thought her boyfriend was proposing in a very public restaurant ended with no proposal from him, an expletive from her, and an embarrassing Washington Post story about it all the next day. The one thing she'd do all over again? Making him wait on their first date. "That's my advice," she said. "Make him wait."

    On ghosts at the White House: On two occasions, she heard music coming from the fireplace in her bedroom. The first time it was opera music. The second time, 1920s jazz music — Barbara heard it, too. A White House butler told her he'd experienced all sorts of haunted things there through the years. "Go (to the White House) if you can," she encouraged the audience. "But I don't know if they come out on tours."

    On her mom's calming influence: Laura Bush has a unique ability to stay calm in just about any situation, her daughter revealed. Never was that more evident than the morning of Jenna and Henry's 2008 wedding at the family's ranch in Crawford. The former first lady opened the bride's bedroom door to wake her and announced, "a small tornado came through last night, but everything's been taken care of." Her mom's guiding philosophy in raising her daughters was that "we were more important than our worries," she said.

    On taking after her dad in one funny way: In one of the most light-hearted moments of her talk, Hager had trouble coming up with the word "insignificant," aiming and missing syllables a few times. Without missing a beat, she declared, "I'm sorry, I take after my dad." She then recalled the time she asked her 4-year-old daughter, Mila, to ask her grandpa what "strategery" is, invoking the most famous made-up word by a president in history.

    On the transition from teaching to television: When she taught at-risk kids, the former teacher said, she cared about her students so much that she felt stressed out all the time and even dreamed about them at night. Working as a correspondent for NBC's Today is much easier, she revealed. "Teaching is a much harder job than live television," she said, adding the line that brought the biggest applause of the day: "We don't appreciate our teachers enough in this culture."

    On preserving old homes and buildings: Hager and her mother, a Park Cities resident, both are passionate about preserving old homes and buildings. She said that, while on a jaunt around the neighborhood, they're likely to yell out to a home under construction, "Don't tear it down! We don't need one more Snow White's castle in Dallas. They're not organic to the architecture."

    With much applause for that last statement, the room gave Hager a standing ovation. As they waited for their cars in the valet line, guests purchased copies of the Bush sisters' book and were pleasantly surprised to find the authors' autographs inside.

    Polly McKeithen, Dan McKeithen

    Polly and Dan McKeithen, PCPHS luncheon 2018
      
    Photo by Dana Driensky and Rob Wythe/Gittings
    Polly McKeithen, Dan McKeithen
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    Celebrity wedding

    Dallas Cowboys cheerleader ties the knot in dreamy wedding in Tuscany

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Jun 16, 2025 | 4:24 pm
    Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Marissa Phillips, Braden Leschber wedding, Tuscany
    Photo by Kseniya Palchi via Facebook/Marissa Phillips and People magazine.
    Marissa Phillips and Braden Leschber wed on June 3, 2025 in Italy.

    Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Marissa Phillips married her college sweetheart, Braden Leschber, in a picture-perfect wedding under the Tuscan sun of Italy on June 3, 2025.

    People magazine got the exclusive on all the wedding details and gorgeous photos by Milan-based photographer Kseniya Palchik.

    Phillips just completed her third year with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and reportedly cut the Italian wedding trip short to return to Dallas and "buckle down" for the next season's auditions. She appeared in Season 1 of Netflix's hit series America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Season 2 begins streaming Wednesday, June 18.

    Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Marissa Phillips, Braden Leschber wedding, Tuscany
      

    Photo by Kseniya Palchi via Facebook/Marissa Phillips and People magazine.

    Marissa Phillips and Braden Leschber wed on June 3, 2025 in Italy.

    Phillips, a Round Rock native, began dating Leschber in 2017 when they were college students: she, at Texas A&M University and he, at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. They got engaged, fittingly, on the field of AT&T Stadium in Arlington - home of the Cowboys - on August 10, 2023.

    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Braden Leschber (@braden_leschber)

    According to People, the couple chose to marry in Italy for two reasons: because of Phillips' proud Italian family heritage and because it was (somehow!) cheaper than a big, traditional Texas wedding. So, they and 75 friends and loved ones jetted off to romantic Tuscany for a destination wedding extravaganza that lasted several days.

    "We wanted to make this celebration as special as it could be and stray away from the typical wedding scene whenever we could," Phillips told the magazine. "We also don’t get a lot of time to slow down and enjoy the company of our friends and family, so we really loved the idea of a destination wedding, where everyone could unplug and spend time together."

    Festivities started Monday, June 2 with a welcome party that included Italy's two most important food groups: pizza and gelato.

    The wedding was held the next day at Borgo Stomennano, a historic estate in the Chianti Classico region, near Florence and Siena. According to the website, the estate's villa and farmhouses are surrounded by woods, vineyards, and olive groves in a tiny village built on ancient Roman and Etruscan ruins that are still visible.

    For the ceremony, People says, the bride wore Katherine Tash's elegant "Luna" wedding dress, featuring a wide-scooped neckline and hand-draped bodice and skirt, from Dallas bridal shop a&bé bridal. To complete her bridal look, she rented diamond stud earrings and a tennis bracelet from Verstolo and wore shoes from Bella Belle Shoes. Her hair and makeup were done by The Styling Stewardess. Bridesmaids wore black dresses from Birdy Grey and Kendra Scott jewelry.

    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Marissa Phillips (@marissaphillips__)

    Phillips walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of Lana Del Rey's "Video Games" and Phillips' brother-in-law officiated the Christian ceremony, in which bride and groom exchanged traditional vows.

    "[Marriage] means we are stuck with each other for life, through the good times and the bad, tied together as one under God and what God has joined together, let no man separate," Phillips told the magazine.

    At the reception, guests dined on a three-course plated dinner of Italian favorites, including trofie pasta with arugula and walnut pesto; fagottino (filled pasta) with bufala ricotta and artichokes and pecorino cheese sauce; and pork chops lacquered with honey and chopped pistachios. Dessert was traditional Italian wedding cake, which the couple "made" in front of guests. (A photo shows them sifting powdered sugar on top.)

    Phillips told People that she and Leschber took the food so seriously, they traveled to Italy a year before their wedding for a tasting with their caterer, Il Sorriso Ricevimenti.

    The bride changed into a custom party dress designed by her best friend and bridesmaid, Kathryn Emily of Belvedere Couture, made of fabric, lace and pearls from Phillips' mother's preserved wedding dress. The newlyweds and their guests then danced the night away to the live music of BritPops.

    Marissa Phillips, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders wedding.The bride and fellow Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders performed "Thunderstruck" at the reception.Photo by Kseniya Palchik via People magazine.

    And, in keeping with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders tradition, members of the squad performed their iconic routine "Thunderstruck."

    Before heading home, the couple and their guests gathered the next day for a "La Dolce Vita"-themed pool party. The new Mr. and Mrs. then slipped away to Lake Como for a quick "mini moon." (They'll take a longer honeymoon at the end of the next Cowboys season, they say.)

    Back home in Dallas, Phillips is not only a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, but also an administrative assistant at an accounting firm and co-owner (with her sister) of the online Joey Lynn Boutique. She's also involved in the Alzheimer's Association in honor of her father, who died of Lewy Body Dementia in 2021.

    She's also a social media influencer. She went viral in December 2024 for gifting each of the 40 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders members a Dyson Airwrap hairstyling tool, valued at $600 each.

    “Huge thank you to @dysonbeauty and @dysonusa for helping me pull off the biggest surprise to the girls who deserve it most! All the love,” she wrote in the Instagram caption of a video of the women opening the $24,000 Christmas haul.

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