In her wedding held Sunday, September 7, former first daughter Barbara Pierce Bush found a way to honor her namesake, former first lady Barbara Bush, who passed away earlier this year.
The bride, 36, wore an ivory silk crepe gown by Vera Wang for the occasion, accessorized by a sentimental “something borrowed” that belonged to her late grandmother. The piece, a bracelet that her grandfather, former President George H.W. Bush, gave his wife for their 70th wedding anniversary, was just one touching way the bride opted to honor the elder Barbara Bush, who died at age 92 this past April.
Bush’s twin sister, Jenna Bush Hager, told NBC’s Today show Monday that the wedding, held at the family’s Walker Point compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, was “a very secret wedding, a little bit like my elusive sister.”
“But also,” she pointed out, “just family in a place that means family love, and it was just beautiful.” Hager served as Bush’s matron of honor, and also shared a few poignant photos from the weekend on her social media pages.
“Happy tears, heart exploding as I watched this beautiful girl get married in the place that means love and family,” she captioned a touching shot of the two sisters embracing while gazing out at the waves. “I’m so proud to be this beauties sister.”
The bride’s “something blue,” according to People, was a pair of earrings from Hager. Of course the Kennebunkport affair was enjoyed by other key members of the political family. Hager’s two daughters served as the ring bearer and the flower girl.
In another photo shared by Hager, the bride walks through the grass barefoot with little Mila and Poppy with the sun twinkling off to the side. “My heart exploded last night as I watched my dearest sissy get married in Maine,” Hager captioned the photo. “It was just like her: private (only family!) and full of love (and yes lots of tears!).”
Perhaps one of the sweetest photos, however, came not from Hager but from Bush’s father, George W. Bush, who shared a picture of him proudly walking his daughter down the aisle.
“Barbara is named for a unique and strong woman—and rightly so, because she is unique and strong,” he captioned the photo. “@laurawbush and I are so proud of our compassionate, daring, fierce, kind, intelligent, loving daughter. And we’re thrilled to welcome Craig Coyne to our family.”
Bush is the co-founder of the public health nonprofit, Global Health Corps, and Coyne, 37, is a screenwriter whose most well-known project was perhaps the 2005 film Jarhead, starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
The pair will live in New York after their nuptials, according to The Associated Press.
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