Danielle and Tina Eckmann are practically inseparable.

The sisters from Stanley live together, work together and love to hang out together. So when they decided to get married on the same day, many people weren’t surprised.

“They’ve done everything together,” their father Lou Clausi said. “It kind of … is par for the course.”

Tina and Danielle grew up in Marshfield and moved to Stanley as teenagers. The two are four years apart, but are each other’s best friend.

“We helped each other out a lot,” Danielle said.

As children, the sisters dreamed of getting married on the same day, but never thought it would happen.

“We always wanted to have a double wedding,” Tina said. “We kind of talked about it when we were little.”

The two didn’t even think it would happen when they started dating best friends Andy Dahm and Todd Boos.

Tina and Andy have been dating for about three years, and Danielle and Todd have been a couple for about a year and a half.

Todd, son of Richard and Lori Boos, and Andy, son of Jim and Linda Dahm, are both from Cadott. They grew up going to the same schools, but didn’t become friends until high school.

Andy and Tina became friends before they dated, and Andy introduced Todd to Danielle.

“We’re best friends, and they’re best friends,” Tina said.

But still the thought of a double wedding didn’t occur.

Then the engagements happened.

Andy asked Tina to marry him on Jan. 11, and Todd and Danielle became engaged on March 25.

The two couples decided to get married a few months apart. Tina and Andy planned to wed on Aug. 31, and Todd and Danielle would follow in September or October.

As the planning for the two weddings began, Tina and Danielle began to realize they wanted many of the same things.

“We have a lot of the same style,” Danielle said.

They also thought that having family members trek to Stanley twice within a few months might be a burden on some. So they found a compromise.

“We just thought let’s do it together,” Danielle said.

The sister’s parents were relieved.

“We kind of pushed for it,” Lou said.

Lou and the girls’ mother, Diane Clausi, were worried two ceremonies within months of each other would have been too much to handle.

“It would have been difficult because we would have gotten things mixed up,” Diane said.

“It’s nice to get it all done at once,” Lou added.

The two couples stuck with Aug. 31 for their joint ceremony.

They will have the wedding at the Remnant Church of God in Stanley, where both women work, and the pastor was eager to take on the challenge — after all the pastor is their grandmother.

“It was pretty easy asking the pastor of the wedding,” Danielle said.

The Rev. Ruth Tetzlaff, who presides over Mass at the Remnant Church of God, obliged.

“I have to plan this to make sure it all goes (well),” she said.

It was Tetzlaff’s idea to perform the ceremonies back-to-back. Tina and Andy will be married first, then a song will play, and Danielle and Todd will be wed.

The couples share the same wedding party with seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen, two flower girls, two ringbearers and four ushers. The wedding party will walk down the aisle before Tina and Andy’s ceremony and remain in the front of the church for Danielle and Todd’s.

Both couples agree performing the ceremonies one after another as opposed to simultaneously creates a more intimate setting.

“Each couple wants to have their day,” Danielle said. “You will still get your time.”

Neither of the sisters said she would miss having her special day to herself.

“You don’t have all the attention on you. It’s kind of nice,” Danielle said.

With the wedding just weeks away, Tina and Danielle said most of the plans have worked out well.

“It’s fun having someone to share ideas with,” Danielle said.

Their biggest hurdle has been finding a location for the reception. With the guest list reaching past 300 as all three families contribute, the couples have had to change the reception halls twice.

Luckily, everyone reported all three families have been very receptive to the idea. The six parents and the two couples have met on a few occasions to iron out the obstacles that have arisen.

Lou and Diane agree that the planning has gone better than they expected.

“I thought there would be more problems,” Diane said.

“There was a lot of prayer that went into it,” Lou said.

As the planning has continued, Tina and Danielle said they have run into some interesting scenarios both with scheduling a double wedding and with the wedding occurring on a Sunday.

“We’re still kind of feeling our way with this,” Danielle said. “We’re finding stuff everyday that we didn’t think of.”

Both sisters have agreed, though, that they have to make some compromises to make this day work for everyone involved.

“You have to step back and think some things don’t matter,” Danielle said. “It’s not worth fighting over little things.”

After all, as their grandmother pointed out, this will be the last big event they plan together as single sisters.

“It’s the last thing you’re going to do together,” Tetzlaff said. “It’ll be the last thing you do before your lives separate.”