The oldest of Bill and Melinda Gates’ children will say “I do” this weekend in an extravagant wedding ceremony fit for the 1 percent on her sprawling horse farm in Westchester County, The Post has learned.
Jennifer Gates, 25, will wed 30-year-old fellow equestrian Nayel Nassar Saturday at the 124-acre, $16 million North Salem farm that her billionaire parents purchased for her in 2018 shortly after her graduation from Stanford University.
For the last two weeks, The Post has had a first hand look at the preparations and captured exclusive photos of workers transforming the bucolic farm into a glamorous wedding venue fit for the famed daughter.
Staff have been working around the clock to construct massive, raised pavilions with floor-to-ceiling glass windows on the home’s lawn and what appears to be a large, semi-circular stage that abuts the structures, exclusive aerial images of the property show.
“One day to the next another giant structure is popping up,” neighbor Lynda Dupree, 66, dished to The Post Wednesday.
“It will be the biggest party our town has ever seen.”
Flatbed trucks, forklifts and scores of work crews have flooded the area over the last month and all the activity in the typically placid enclave has kept neighbors rapt. Even former “Late Show” host David Letterman, who owns a home nearby, could not resist a stroll past the horse farm to see the commotion for himself, according to neighbors.
On Wednesday, The Post witnessed a construction team working feverishly to add the finishing touches to the sprawling glass structures where the reception will be held and private security were already seen crawling the surrounding streets to keep tabs on rubberneckers.
While the event is sure to be one to remember for the attendees and the couple, neighbors in the sleepy town have been less than pleased about the ruckus the last-minute preparations have caused. They said they were completely in the dark about the impending nuptials when they first started to see semi-trucks wheeling through the area about a month ago.
“In the beginning, some of my neighbors were very upset,” Dupree said.
“I said ‘we went to sleep in the country and woke up in a nightmare on Elm Street.’ We had no idea what was going on.
“I went and spoke to someone. I told them we’ve all lived here forever, and we’ve always respected the [Gates’] privacy since they have moved in, and I don’t think anybody was respecting ours.”
Dupree felt “there was a real lack of consideration” for the surrounding locals but they’ve since been won over by a Gates charm offensive.
After bemused locals voiced concerns about the semi-trucks rattling through their quiet neighborhood, Gates and Nassar dispatched staff bearing gifts of fine wine and restaurant gift vouchers.
“The next morning, I got a knock on the door and the director of the whole shebang could not be nicer, saying ‘I’m so sorry.’
“They gave us a lovely bottle of wine and a nice embossed card from Jennifer and her fiancé saying ‘please bear with us, we know we have a shared neighborhood and we love North Salem’.
“It was a nice gesture… they were really understanding,” Dupree continued.
“We just needed to know what was going on and since then they couldn’t have been nicer.”
Dupree joked that the Gateses should have found room on the guest list for some of the neighbors.
“That’s the best way to keep the neighbors from complaining about a party,” Dupree said.
“It’s been crazy but fun and exciting.”
Fellow neighbor Jo Sciarrino hopes the party will include an A-list performer that cranks the speakers loud enough for everyone to enjoy.
“We’re going to put a tent out and I am ready to have a party,” Sciarrino told The Post.
“I’m originally from Brooklyn, and we crash parties, so I might go and get some hors d’oeuvres and drinks.”
The wedding has been in the works since Jennifer and Nassar were engaged in January 2020 during a romantic ski trip.
“SHE SAID YES!! 💍,” Nassar wrote on Instagram shortly after he popped the question.
“I’m feeling like the luckiest (and happiest) man in the world right about now. Jenn, you are everything I could have possibly imagined..and so much more. I can’t wait to keep growing together through this journey called life, and I simply can’t imagine mine without you anymore. Love you more than you can possibly imagine, and thank you for making every single day feel like a dream to me. Here’s to forever!”
In Jennifer’s Instagram post announcing the engagement, she wrote her betrothed is “one of a kind.”
“Absolutely swept me off my feet this past weekend, surprising me in the most meaningful location over one of our many shared passions,” she wrote in the post alongside an image of the couple clutching each other in the snow with Jennifer’s hands around her mouth, the sparkly engagement ring glinting in the sun.
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives learning, growing, laughing and loving together. Yes a million times over. 💍 AHHH!!!”
Last month, mom Melinda, who finalized her divorce from her tech geek husband in August and was spotted stepping off a helicopter in the Big Apple on Monday, hosted a quaint bridal shower for her daughter at the family’s lakefront mansion in Washington state.
Images of the event posted to Instagram show Jennifer in a white maxi-dress and a light pink shawl with attendees clutching mimosas. They later enjoyed an outdoor lunch alongside pink floral arrangements spruced up with ultra-trendy pampas grass.
“Thank you for this incredibly special celebration, @melindafrenchgates,” Jennifer wrote alongside the photos.
“So deeply grateful for all the amazing women in my life who advise, support, and uplift me. 🥂 to this new chapter!”
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