HONOLULU — It could be the wedding video to end all wedding videos. There are not many newlyweds who can say they received a call from the President of the United States on their wedding day.
Granted, the President was calling to apologize after the bride and groom — Natalie Heimel and Ed Mallue Jr. — were forced to scramble to find an alternate location for their wedding, once they were informed by the Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course at Marine Corps Base Hawaii that Obama wanted to play through the site of their nuptials.
“Listen. Congratulations on your wedding. I feel terrible. Nobody told us,” Obama told the couple in a video provided to CNN by the bride’s family.
“If they had just mentioned that they were going to have a wedding on the 16th hole, we would have skipped the 16th hole,” the President added.
“I hope the wedding went OK anyway,” he continued.
In the video, Heimel and Mallue can be seen all dressed up for their big day, hanging on Obama’s every word, and laughing as they carried on a conversation with the President that lasted several minutes.
The wedding was just fine, Mallue and Heimel reassured Obama, who was clearly embarrassed by the mix-up.
“Thank you very much. It was a blessing in disguise,” Mallue said.
“We just went right above the 16th hole. So we were watching you golf,” Heimel joked about their new wedding site.
Acknowledging he is far from an ace golfer, Obama quipped, “That must have been kind of painful.”
“What did you shoot, Mr. President?” Mallue asked.
“I shot an 84. If I had skipped the 16th hole, I would have shot a 79,” Obama replied.
The conversation then turned to what sounded like an episode of the presidential dating game.
“How long you been going out?” Obama asked.
The couple proceeded to tell Obama they have been dating since 2011. The military couple, both captains, attended West Point, before moving to Germany where they met. They now live in Hawaii, which led to the President’s next question.
“Now, the only question is where do you honeymoon when you live in Hawaii?” Obama joked.
“We haven’t figured that part out yet,” Heimel joked.
“Might be Fort Polk, Louisiana,” Mallue quipped.
The couple then invited Obama to their reception. Fearing he might cause another wedding mishap, the President respectfully declined.
“Everybody would have to be magged,” Obama joked about his security needs. “Sorry for the change of plans. But sounds like you guys are gonna have a great wedding and at least you will have a good story to tell.”
“Congratulations and thank you both for your service,” Obama added at the end of the call.
