Barbara Bush’s Intimate Family Wedding: What You Need to Know About Walker’s Point

Barbara Bush, granddaughter of former president George H. W. Bush and daughter of George W. Bush, married actor and screenwriter Craig Coyne over the weekend in an intimate wedding that included just 20 of the family's closest members, at a location that holds particular significance to the Bush family: the Walker’s Point compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Jenna Bush Hager, Barbara’s twin and matron of honor, told the Today show Monday that the ceremony was “just family in a place that means family love, and it was beautiful.” The compound, otherwise known as the "Summer White House,” since both former presidents and their families often spent much of their summers there, has been in the family for over 100 years and holds plenty of history within its walls. The Bush Mansion, as it is also known, sits on its own peninsula—Walker’s Point—and was built for the ultimate amount of privacy, surrounded by tall fences and littered with security cameras all around the property. Secret Service agents, naturally, are on duty around the clock. Within the fences, the compound has all the makings of a perfect summer getaway, with an expansive swimming pool, tennis court, golf green, boat dock, boathouse, and about a dozen different buildings (the main house itself has nine bedrooms and a four-car garage).

Prior to her death earlier this year, former first lady Barbara Bush (the bride's namesake and grandmother) and George H. W. Bush lived in the town of Kennebunkport from mid-May to mid-October throughout their 73-year marriage. Previous Bush compound visitors include diplomats and world leaders ranging from Margaret Thatcher to Russian presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin, from French President Nicholas Sarkozy to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The compound held a particular significance for Barbara on her wedding day Sunday. According to Bush Hager, a big part of the reason why Barbara and her new husband opted to tie the knot at the compound was because they wanted the senior George Bush to be able to attend. Proud father George W. Bush also posted about the beautiful seaside wedding as well, sharing a photo to Instagram of himself walking Barbara down a petal-strewn aisle. “Barbara is named for a unique and strong woman—and rightly so, because she is unique and strong. @laurawbush and I are so proud of our compassionate, daring, fierce, kind, intelligent, loving daughter,” he captioned the poignant photo. “And we’re thrilled to welcome Craig Coyne to our family.” Barbara also honored her late grandmother another way: with a bracelet that her grandfather had given his wife for their 70th wedding anniversary.