“I’m married to Denis; Anton is my brother and he married Oksana, Denis’s sister.” Ksenia Stepanenko – née Khlivna – has outlined the scenario as simply as possibly, but it still takes a few seconds to mentally absorb.
Indeed, Dublin witnessed a very unique wedding ceremony last month when brother and sister Oksana Stepanenko and Denis Stepanenko married another brother and sister, Anton Khlivnyy and Ksenia Khlivna.
Twenty-three-year-old Ksenia had known Denis for two years, but the pair also “knew each other a little bit” as youngsters in Argentina, where their two Ukrainian families had emigrated to.
After the Stepanenkos moved to Ireland, Denis reconnected with Ksenia through a Russian language social networking site and this culminated in Denis inviting Ksenia to Ireland.
Remarkably, this connection ignited two love stories, as Ksenia explains: “When I came here I was talking to my family by Skype, Oksana went on the camera and Anton saw her… they began to talk on the internet.”
In time, Anton came to Ireland and he and Oksana started a relationship.
As the couples’ relationships progressed, the four twenty-somethings decided upon a double wedding which took place in Dun Laoghaire Evangelical Church on 5 March, followed by a reception at the St Stephen’s Green Hibernian Club.
Passers-by were fascinated by the sight of two brides and two grooms, says Ksenia, creating something of a ‘wow’ factor.
It was a particularly emotive occasion too, suggests Ksenia, who refers to the double wedding’s “double emotion… it was really cool.”
Interestingly, the two new brides also share the same first name – Oksana is the Ukrainian spelling of Ksenia, the Russian version.
“It is destiny,” she concludes.
The newly marrieds, perhaps unsurprisingly, all live together in Finglas.
