The day my twin sister got married

We pulled it off—two weddings in one summer (and by "we" I mean "my parents," let's be real here).

Lillian's wedding was the most beautiful and joyous day. And she was the most beautiful bride in the whole wide world (it's not vain to say that about your identical twin, right?). ;)

My dad took lots of great photos which my mom later emailed to me. Emailed individually. One photo per email. For 68 emails. She told me she couldn't figure out how to send more than one photo per email...

It took me forever to go through them, but I did, because I love ya guys that much. And here is a little photojournal of that day.

Major bragging rights... I got to serve as a "body double" for Lillian's dress. The alterations weren't done and Lillian was on the East Coast, but her dress was here. So the seamstress fitted the dress to me instead. I kept joking about being Lillian's "stunt double." Who knew having an identical twin could be so handy?

^^Note my mom's wedding dress in a photo in the background. Clever!

^^Caroline and Joe goofing around in the limo on the way to the church. There was awful traffic in Chicago on Saturday, so the ceremony started around 3:15 instead of 3:00. As one friend said, "Thank goodness this wedding is running on Cuban time!"

Photos of the ceremony after the jump.

^^Matt's parents. They are darling. We love them and are thrilled to have them joining our family. In fact there was serious talk amongst the bridal party of starting a Facebook fan page for Matt's dad. He's been a farmer all his life and he dispenses the funniest, cleverest nuggets of wisdom. At the reception he gave a legendary wedding toast that began with the line, "In Hollywood they say to never to follow an act with kids or animals. They should also say never to follow Lillian's dad..." and included a story about the time he and Matt got arrested while dirt biking and many other gems. The man is a legend.

^^My parents, who are something of legends themselves. :)

^^Frank walked with Kayla, Matt's beautiful sister. She is a sweetheart and we loved getting to know her throughout the wedding planning process.

After the ceremony, my grandma reported that my grandpa (who has Alzheimer's) was in great consternation that Frank was walking with another girl. Apparently he muttered as they walked past, "Should I pop her off??" Yeah... I pretty much died.

^^I could not wipe that grin off my face. What a day.

^^Our cousins Manny and Alyssa were the readers.

Lillian, like me, decided to use the traditional mantilla in her ceremony. The two madrinas, or godmothers, of the bride and groom pin a lace veil around their shoulders that stays on throughout the Eucharistic liturgy. It's an old Spanish custom, derived from Hebrew Scripture, that symbolizes the bride and groom coming together under one roof.

In this case, the madrinas were our grandmothers.

This veil has a special significance because it was used at our parents' wedding in Miami, Florida, and at our grandparents' wedding in Havana, Cuba. It was one of the few things my grandparents were able to take with them when they escaped Cuba.

And here they are: husband and wife!

^^I love how they are just looking at each other as the rest of the world rushes around them.

When the photographer called for Lillian's immediate family, Frank hung back at first, saying, "Does that include me?" My dad started laughing and making jokes about how it's "too late to back out now!" Yes, I would say Frank is immediate family. ;)

The reception was in the Marquis Room at the Marriott Hotel in Oak Brook. The Marquis Room has an elegant and dramatic feel with draped fabric overhanging the walls and ceiling—very Lillian. And there were lilies and pale blue hydrangeas everywhere.

Cuttin' the cake...

Father-daughter dance...

And the sweetest first dance as husband and wife. The way she is looking at him... it just kills me.

It was such a beautiful day, and I'm so excited and happy for them!

By the way, I've been thinking about sharing my Maid of Honor speech on here. Like a nerd I typed up the whole thing a week in advance (I might even have practiced it with a tape recorder) and it gives some fun background on Matt and Lillian. Let me know if you're interested!