TALLAHASSEE -- The clock is ticking for Florida's bachelor-in-chief. On top of juggling a budget crisis, a housing slump and rising unemployment, Gov. Charlie Crist's wedding is just two weeks away.
Come Dec. 12, Crist will be a married man, and even the most serious policy wonks want to know what he will be wearing, and for that matter, what the bride will don, what tune the couple will dance to, and every last detail of the governor's big day.
Crist's wedding plans have been top secret. Most of the names on the guest list are still unknown, but it was revealed his father will be best man, and his soon-to-be-wife, New York-turned-Miami socialite Carole Rome, has enlisted the help of her sister and two daughters, ages 11 and 9, as bridesmaids.
Making the rounds Thanksgiving Day, Crist did not let on much else.
"It's going to be great. It's going to be special. Got a new first lady!" Crist said. "Florida deserves one. She's got a beautiful dress -- although I haven't seen it, but I'm told."
The ceremony is scheduled to take place at the First United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, with a reception to follow at the Vinoy Resort.
A public reception was also planned at the Governor's Mansion the following Saturday, but sources told News 13 that has been all but cancelled.
A possible reason for the cancellation was that, given Florida's budget crisis, now may not be the best time to celebrate at the "people's house."
The marriage will be the second for both Crist and Rome. The governor was married for less than a year from 1979 to 1980. Rome divorced her husband of 15 years in March after the two separated in July 2007.
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