George W. Bush's Daughter Honors Late Grandmother & Namesake, Barbara, at Wedding
Former first daughter Barbara Bush, 36, married actor Craig Coyne on Sunday. With the loss of her grandmother and namesake still fresh in her mind, she paid tribute to the late Barbara Bush in a touching way.
The intimate Maine ceremony was performed in front of only 20 family members, and according to Barbara, it was “a very short, sweet ceremony.”
“We’ve been excited to do such a small wedding with just our family,” she told People.
The couple exchanged their vows in front of immediate family including former President George W. Bush, who walked his daughter down the aisle; former first lady Laura Bush; former President George H.W. Bush; and Barbara’s twin sister, Jenna Bush Hager, who served as the matron of honor.
Bush Hager’s daughters, Margaret and Poppy, were flower girls alongside Coyne’s niece, Emma. Dorothy “Doro” Bush Koch, the bride’s aunt, officiated.
Coyne’s brother, Edward Coyne III, served as the Atlanta native’s best man.
The groom’s mother, Darlene, and sister, Katie, each read during the ceremony, as did Laura Bush.
The couple got married just five weeks after their engagement.
The two met on a blind date set up by mutual friends in November 2017. By New Year’s Eve, they decided to officially date even though they lived across the country from each other: Coyne in Los Angeles and Barbara in New York.
During a family event at Kennebunkport in the summer of 2018, Coyne and Barbara were walking along the coastline when Coyne dropped to his knee and asked for Barbara’s hand in marriage.
It was the exact spot where Barbara’s grandfather, George H.W. Bush, had asked her late grandmother to marry him in August 1943, almost 75 years earlier.
“It’s just been a very sweet romance,” Barbara said. “And we’ve been long distance for most of it — he’s been in LA and I’ve been in New York — but we’ve gotten to spend a lot of time together.”
On the wedding day, Barbara decided to pay tribute to her grandmother, who died in April, by wearing a bracelet that held a lot of sentimental value.
“It’s really sweet. The ‘something borrowed’ that I’m wearing is this bracelet that my grandfather gave to my grandmother on their 70th anniversary,” she told People. Barbara also wore blue earrings from her twin sister to complete her overall wedding look.
The Bushes were ecstatic for her and excited to welcome Coyne into their family.
“Happy tears, heart exploding as I watched this beautiful girl get married in the place that means love and family. I’m so proud to be this beauty’s sister,” her twin sister wrote on Instagram.
Her father wrote, “Barbara is named for a unique and strong woman — and rightly so, because she is unique and strong. @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.”
Coyne played a role in the 2005 film “Jarhead” as well as several independent films, including “Look at Me” and “The Snowtown Murders.”
He relocated to Manhattan to live with his new wife the same week of the wedding.
Here’s to many happy years together!
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