Curiosity about interfaith pair high

The 30-year-old graduate student and her Jewish fiance, Marc Mezvinsky, 32, announced their engagement in November and told friends they were looking to a possible summer ceremony.

The families have revealed no specifics about the wedding.

Representatives for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton declined to answer questions about it, noting the family's wish for privacy. In a Feb. 7 interview on CNN, Hillary Clinton would go no further than to say her daughter hadn't yet found a dress.

That hasn't stopped the speculation. The bride and groom have a range of choices, including conversion or a melding their two traditions into one ceremony.

The talk has been strongest in the Jewish community. There has been more rejoicing than lamenting about this interfaith union that brings a former first daughter a step closer to the fold. Still, they wonder: Has Chelsea been searching for a rabbi along with her gown?

“If they had a Jewish wedding officiated by a rabbi, I think that would be something really positive,” said Ed Case, president of InterfaithFamily.com, which supports Jewish outreach to interfaith couples. “It's so important for the Jewish community to have interfaith couples engaging in Jewish life.”

Chelsea Clinton grew up attending Methodist church with her mother. Bill Clinton has been close to his pastor in Arkansas, but the Southern Baptist Convention rebuked him years ago over his support for gay relationships and abortion rights.

Last year, Chelsea Clinton, a graduate student at Columbia University's School of Public Health, was seen attending Yom Kippur services with Mezvinsky at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the flagship for Conservative Judaism, according to news reports.

Mezvinsky is a son of former Pennsylvania Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and former Iowa Rep. Ed Mezvinsky, longtime friends of the Clintons. His parents, who are divorced, had attended a Conservative Jewish synagogue in Pennsylvania.