Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and his fiancee, District of Columbia schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, informed wedding guests Tuesday they are changing the date and location of their nuptials — and only close friends and family now are invited.

"Michelle and I have decided to change the date and location of our wedding. We greatly appreciate the well wishes from the community, and plan to have a private ceremony for our families in the near future. We apologize for any inconveniences we may have caused," Johnson said in a statement.

In an e-mail to guests who had been invited to the Sept. 4 wedding at Sacramento's St. John's Lutheran Church on L Street, the couple said:

"The reason we are making this change is that our current wedding plans are not what we had intended. We under-estimated the intensity of interest in the wedding and didn't manage that well which was our responsibility. As a result, the wedding as planned for September 4th ended up not being what we wanted. Our hope is to have a special and personal event that is respectful of the sanctity of marriage."

Weeks ago, wedding invitations had begun arriving in prospective guests' mailboxes.

After the ceremony at St. Johns, guests were invited to gather for an "evening of dining and dancing" at the home of Sacramento mega-developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos. That had become a point of controversy because of Tsakopoulos's dealings with the city.

In Tuesday's e-mail, the couple apologized "for any inconvenience this may cause, especially because we were looking forward to seeing all of you."

"Please know that we are so appreciative of your efforts to be with us on our special day and, again, apologize for any disruptions we may have caused."

Read more of this story at SacBee.com