Social - July 2003

Twin sisters share their wedding day

By DIANE TURBYFILL, LTN Staff Writer

Mouret’s “Rondo” began to play. Bob Ford escorted his daughter down the aisle.

Take two!

“Rondo” begins again and Bob makes a second trip down the aisle, with his other daughter.

Twin sisters Liz Ford Rui and Kathryn Ford Graham shared their wedding day June 21 at Bethphage Lutheran Church.

The brides say their wedding day was not compromised by sharing the ceremony.

“It was everything we dreamed our wedding would be,” said Liz.

The 24-year-olds said they never expected to share their wedding ceremony. It all came down to practicality.

“We planned to have things separately,” said Liz.

“It just happened to land on the same summer,” Kathryn added.

Liz and her husband Torgeir Rui first met at West Lincoln High School. Torgeir came to Lincolnton as an exchange student from Norway.

Their relationship progressed into a three-year engagement.

Torgeir was finishing his degree in Norway while Liz attended Western Carolina University. While at WCU, Liz became friends with Stephen Graham.

“She set us up,” Kathryn said.

Liz tried and tried to coerce her sister to come for a visit at WCU. She wanted her sister to meet her new friend.

“She never would come up, but when she finally came they hit it off right away,” Liz said.

Within a year, Stephen and Kathryn also were engaged.

Both couples were looking at wedding dates that happened to be during the same summer.

The notion of a double wedding came in to play.

“I thought it was probably the easiest thing to do,” said Stephen.

The girls’ guest lists had many of the same names. With out-of-town guests and family members, it seemed practical to combine the ceremonies.

“It was just a logical thing to do — being born together, going to school together and getting married together.”

Liz and Kathryn worked closely with their mother during the preparation for the ceremony. They had to agree on all the details — flowers, portraits, bridesmaids’ dresses, who walks down the aisle first.

They chose different gowns and had an extra large, symmetrical wedding cake with two tops.

And the wedding list grew.

“The wedding kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Liz. “We had people standing up in the choir loft.”

More than 250 people attended the ceremony which included Lutheran and Norwegian customs.

A reception followed at the VFW.

The ceremony was respectful and serious, but the usual wedding mishaps did occur.

Prior to the service, Liz decided to play a joke on the men in the wedding party. She switched some of the tuxedos, throwing her father into a panic.

Stephen actually did have a tuxedo problem and spent the morning of the wedding making alterations.

And Torgeir and Liz decided to take their first marital kiss before the minister instructed.

The Ruis and Grahams took separate honeymoons and live in separate residences.

But all agree that their wedding was all they hoped for, times two.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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