PHOTO EXCLUSIVE: Joe Biden Dances the Hora at His Daughter's Wedding

Plus: check out the four-tiered cake from the "very lively" reception

By
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall - PEOPLE
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall is a former national political correspondent, digital writer and editor at large at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2023.
People Editorial Guidelines
Published on June 7, 2012 09:00AM EDT
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Photo: David Lienemann/White House

Vice President on the dance floor!

VP Joe Biden showed off some moves at his daughter Ashley's wedding to Philadelphia surgeon Howard Krein on Saturday, joining in on the Hora, the traditional Jewish wedding dance.

The reception "was very lively," a guest told PEOPLE from the tented back lawn of the Biden family home in Wilmington, Del. "The dancing went past midnight."

After the joint Catholic-Jewish church service earlier in the day, Ashley, 31, pulled her long brunette curls into a ponytail for the reception.

Ashley Biden Is Married

In addition to the Vice President's dance moves, the 200 guests were treated to a four-tiered confection by local baker – and former co-worker of Dr. Jill Biden – Liz Marden, who layered white chocolate mousse and Swiss raspberry jam between vanilla and chocolate cake layers, all covered in vanilla buttercream.

Jill Biden, a teacher who worked at Delaware Tech Community College when Marden was instructing baking and pastry programs, specially ordered the whimsical bird cake toppers. "They represent family – and go with what Ashley wanted, which was a simple wedding with more of a cottage style to it," says Marden.

To top off the evening, the newlyweds' family and close friends were fortified by a late-night snack of Philly-style soft pretzels with homemade dipping mustards.

For all the scoop on Ashley Biden's wedding, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on stands now