The China Mail - Nigerian twins Taiwo and Kehinde marry... Taiwo and Kehinde

As twin sisters Taiwo and Kehinde Adediran walked down the aisle arm in arm with their father at a church in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria, to tie the knot with twin brothers Taiwo and Kehinde Oguntoye, guests rose from their seats, lifting smartphones to capture what many described as a once-in-a-lifetime wedding.

"Twins marrying twins, really? This is my first time seeing this!" shouted a passerby outside the church as crowds gathered around the newlyweds for photographs after the ceremony.

For many attending, the union of Taiwo and Kehinde with Taiwo and Kehinde felt almost too perfectly symmetrical to be real.

"We have always wanted to marry together and to marry twins," said Taiwo Oguntoye, beaming after the ceremony. "And by the special grace of God, it happened. I am so happy to marry the love of my life!"

- When Taiwo and Kehinde met Taiwo and Kehinde -

Both sets of twins are from Ibadan, in a region famous for its unusually high number of twin births.

The brothers, known locally as the Oguntoye Twins, have built careers around promoting twin culture.

Active in tourism and cultural initiatives, they are the founders of Twins World Creations and initiators of Twin Tourism, celebrating the region's twins.

Their love story began years ago, when a professor at the University of Ibadan told the brothers she knew a pair of twin sisters they should meet.

The four became friends, but when the brothers suggested taking the relationship further, the sisters were unconvinced.

"We said no, we don't want to date twins!" said bride Kehinde Adediran, laughing.

The friendship faded. Years later, the brothers reached out again.

This time, the answer was different.

- Symmetry -

In Yoruba culture, twins hold a special place.

Regardless of gender, the first-born twin is traditionally named Taiwo, while the second-born is called Kehinde.

It is common to see twins dressed alike from childhood, sometimes down to matching shoes, jewellery and accessories.

That sense of twinning shaped every moment of the wedding weekend.

During Friday's traditional engagement ceremony, the couples appeared in matching red outfits as relatives danced around piles of gifts -- from yams and drinks to fabrics and suitcases -- presented by the grooms' family to the brides'.

Wedding portraits were carefully choreographed, as guests repeatedly stopped to compare the similarities between the siblings, who are in their early 40s.

The Oguntoye brothers are fraternal twins, while the Adediran sisters are identical twins.

On Saturday, the celebration moved from church pews to a sprawling Yoruba "owambe" reception.

Smoke machines filled the entrance as the couples emerged through flashing lights to cheers and a sea of raised smartphones.

Among the guests were dozens of fellow twins.

"I've always wished to marry a twin as well," laughed Kehinde Akanji, 26, a friend of the grooms attending with his own twin brother. "It's our first time seeing something like this."

For Dupe Aduroja Giwa, the Alaga -- the master of ceremonies of the traditional wedding -- a lifetime of nuptials had not prepared her for this one.

"Twins from the same family marrying twins from the same family?" she said. "I have never seen this in my life. It is a privilege to be part of it."

After all, it is not every day that one Taiwo marries another Taiwo, and one Kehinde marries another Kehinde.

W.Cheng--ThChM