Photos: Obamas attend wedding of their longtime chef : The Associated Press

President Barack Obama departs Westchester Countyl Airport in New York accompanied by his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha Sunrday, Aug. 31, 2014, after attendending a wedding at Pocantico Hills 

Setting aside for a few hours the pressures of trying to calm the world's trouble spots, President Barack Obama assumed the role of spectator for something more joyous: the wedding of the first family's longtime chef and friend.Chef Sam Kass and MSNBC host Alex Wagner tied the knot Saturday at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, a farm-to-table restaurant in Pocantico Hills, just north of New York City. More pics after cut...

The president and his chef have a close relationship, which Obama highlighted earlier this month when he spent several hours at dinner at Kass' apartment amid the turmoil in Iraq, Ukraine and Ferguson, Missouri.It's long been said that time is a president's most precious commodity.

 That Obama would spend five hours at Kass' home on one of the aide's final evenings as a bachelor was a testament to their bond.

Obama's rounds of golf are often his only other outings that last as long — and those games sometimes include Kass.

Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, attended the ceremony and reception at the restaurant, which is a favorite of both Kass and Mrs. Obama. The first lady hosted the spouses of world leaders there in 2010.

This photo taken Aug. 30, 2010, shows then Assistant White House Chef Sam Kass weighing sweet potatoes during the White House Kitchen Garden Fall Harvest with first lady Michelle Obama and students (not shown) in Washington. Kass, now White House Senior Policy Adviser for Nutrition Policy and someone President Barack Obama thinks of as family, is tying the knot Saturday evening, Aug. 30, 2014, with MSNBC host Alex Wagner in Westchester County, north of New York City, at a farm to table restaurant that's a favorite of both Kass and first lady Michelle Obama. The first family will be among the guests at the ceremony. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

First lady Michelle Obama, right, and her daughters Sasha, left, and Malia, walk across the tarmac before boarding Air Force One prior to their departure from Andrews Air Force Base, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. The first family is traveling to Westchester County, NY., to attend the wedding ceremony of White House chef Sam Kass and MSNBC host Alex Wagner. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

First lady Michelle Obama, right, and President Barack Obama, center, walk to their vehicle after their arrival at Westchester County Airport, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. The first family traveled to Westchester County, NY., to attend the wedding ceremony of White House chef Sam Kass and MSNBC host Alex Wagner. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama, speaks with Col. John C. Millard, Commander, 89th Airlift Wing, accompanied by his daughters, Malia, center, and Sasha, and first lady Michelle Obama, upon their arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Md., on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014, en route to Westchester County, N.Y., to attend the wedding ceremony of White House Chef Sam Kass and MSNBC host Alex Wagner. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The limousine transporting President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha arrives at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2014. The first family traveled to Westchester County to attend the wedding of Sam Kass, their longtime family chef and a close friend of the first family, with MSNBC host Alex Wagner. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)