PARKER: Team Shanahan makes the cut

By Penny Parker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated Press

Commemorative items for the wedding of Jenna Bush and fiance Henry Hager are on sale at The Red Bull in Waco, Texas.

Cooper Dyce, 6, makes his "professional" singing debut with a Colorado band.

When first daughter Jenna Bush marries Virginia Republican Henry Hager on Saturday, the press, paparazzi and many politicos are not invited to the intimate affair.

But Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan and wife, Peggy, made the cut for the Crawford, Texas, festivities. Their daughter, Krystal Shanahan, was a college roommate of Jenna's at the University of Texas and kept the friendship close post-graduation.

"They've been out of school for a few years now and obviously remained very close," said Broncos spokesman Jim Saccomano." (Jenna and Henry) only invited immediate family and very close friends, which I guess tells us how very close Krystal is to Jenna."

Even Broncos Chief Operating Officer Joe Ellis, who's a first cousin to the prez and second cousin to Jenna, didn't make the invite list.

"The speaker of the House, ambassadors and lobbyists, justices and lawmakers, princes and potentates - the usual mob at White House weddings - they're staying in Washington," according to USA Today. "Jenna, 26, will marry . . . Hager, 29, in an outdoor wedding at her parents' country retreat in Crawford . . . secluded with about 200 of her closest family and friends."

Wire service reports say Hager "worked for former White House political adviser Karl Rove and met Jenna during the 2004 campaign. An outdoorsy type, he proposed in August during a hike in a park near the Bush home in Maine."

They'll say their "I do's" at the Bushes' Prairie Chapel Ranch starting about 5:30 p.m. Texas time, "followed by dinner and dancing under a tent."

SINGING SHORT STUFF: Further proof that the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, Cooper Dyce, the 6-year-old son of Red Rocks boss and music man Erik Dyce, made his "professional" singing debut last week with Zebra Junction, a Colorado band touring the U.S. and Europe, at The Falcon, a new club and bowling alley next to the Gothic Theatre on Broadway.

"I feel particularly guilty for allowing my son to get into the music business, but . . . " Daddy Dyce said. "Cooper is an aspiring drummer and keyboard player. He was honored and privileged to be invited on stage to sing Honey with Zebra Junction during their CD release party."

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Penny Parker's column appears Tuesday through Saturday. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail parkerp@RockyMountainNews.com.