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Wednesday, August 14, 2013

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!

21 comments:

  1. This looks like such a beautiful, stunning wedding! And can I just say I am IN LOVE with Lillian's veil (I have always secretly loved the more old-fashioned wedding dress trends: long sleeves, capped veils etc...). I love that you stood in as a body double - handy having an identical twin! Anyway, I'll stop gushing about these lovely photos (I could go on and on) - I just hope you and your family had a wonderful day! All best wishes and prayers for Lillian and Matt as they begin their lives as husband and wife xxx p.s. please do post your MOH speech!

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    1. Thanks, Meabh! I always enjoy your sweet comments. :) Isn't her veil stellar? And I agree, the old-fashioned dresses are so romantic — I'm glad they've come back in style! We are so grateful for your good wishes and prayers! Please do let me know any time you are in the States xxx

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  2. So beautiful. What a happy summer it's been for your family. Another thing -- your parents look SO YOUNG!!

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  3. Wow, what a beautiful day! I, personally, would love to hear your maid of honor speech!

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  4. Lillian and Matt look so happy. :) What a lovely couple! Praying for them (and, yes, please do post your speech).

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  5. Lillian and Matt look so happy. :) What a lovely couple! Praying for them (and, yes, please do post your speech).

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    1. Thank you, Grace! Aren't they darling? We are so grateful for your prayers—I will definitely pass them on to Lillian!

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  6. I LOVE the bridesmaid dresses and she looks so beautiful! Congrats!

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    1. Aren't they perfect? At least 3 people came up to me at the reception asking where they were from (Lord and Taylor!). They are really the ultimate wear-again bridesmaid dresses. In fact I'll probably wear mine for church this Sunday!

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  7. So beautiful! Please, please, please post your speech!

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    1. Thank you! It's up—hope you enjoy it! :)

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  8. Positively stunning! It looks like a joyous celebration. I would love to read your maid of honor speech, and the continuation of your courtship story if you're still interested in posting it. I'm on a "reading real life love stories" kick these days. :)

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    1. Thanks for the reminder, Cassie—I really do need to finish writing it up. That's another project that's difficult to complete because of how much is involved in it. The story is very long, and rather than leave out any details (that are probably only important to me, but still!), I would probably have to make it a million parts long. But I am determined to finish it at some point, hopefully soon!

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  9. Gorgeous, stunning, amazing, all of the above! Wow!

    I love that you both used the same veil for your ceremonies. The Philippines has a very similar tradition since there is so much Spanish influence there so we had one, too! I was able to use the gorgeous Belgian lace veil that Chris' grandma and mom wore on their wedding days. It had been accidentally dyed previously so I couldn't wear it with my dress, but it was perfect for the veil and cord tradition.

    I'll say it again, Lillian's dress is perfect!

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  10. That is one of the prettiest wedding gowns I have seen for ages!!!!

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    1. Isn't it stunning? The off-the-shoulder look is perfect with that veil... Lillian has such great style!

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  11. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. Gorgeous bride, church, family, flowers. However, I have a complaint: I don't think we saw even half as many pictures from YOUR wedding. More about your wedding, please!

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    1. Colleen, you're right! My bad. I want to do a thorough re-cap with tons of pictures and a play-by-play of the whole wedding day, since there is so much from that day I want to remember. :) But I think I'm getting overwhelmed at the magnitude of the project (there are thousands of photos to go through!) so I've been putting it off. I need to just buckle down and do it. Thanks for the reminder!

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  12. Lillian's veil is absolutely stunning!

    On a separate note, I've lost your number. Text me? We have so much to catch up on. Xoxo

    P.s. isn't about time you visited Frank's family?!

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  13. How beautiful and lovely!! This must have been such a glorious summer for you, beginning with your own wedding and ending with the wedding of your twin sister. Happy times! <3

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  14. Wow! It’s your twin’s wedding! And I think it won’t be hard for you to find your own wedding dress. You can re-use it if you want to! Haha! It’s a good thing that you were there to be a stunt double for your twin. Otherwise, the wedding dress may have not fit!
    Carroll @CelestinaBridal.com

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