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Best friends since Kindergarten, the two of you always said you were going to be brides at the same time and get married in a double ceremony. As you got older, it looked like your dream wasn't going to happen. But through some strange cosmic event, each of you was proposed to at the same time. You can have the double wedding you talked about after all. While double weddings are not very common, there are some benefits to having one. With someone to share the workload and the expenses, couples can have a bigger wedding than they ever thought possible. Plus, they have someone to share equally in their excitement. However, double weddings do take some work. A double wedding involves twice as many people. In addition to two brides and two grooms, there are two best men, two maids of honor, two sets of friends and family, and four sets of parents. Communication between the groups is of the utmost importance. In order for things to go smoothly, both couples need to have similar ideas regarding the wedding. All concerned parties should meet early on to discuss important issues, like dress styles, number of guests, style of the wedding, and ultimately, money. Once those issues are worked out, the couples will need to find an officiate who is willing to perform a double ceremony. Given that most churches have space limitations, both couples will need to set a limit on the number of guests to invite. As for invitations, each couple may choose their own and send them out separately, as long as they do so at the same time. Unless the location where the wedding is being held has two aisles, the couples will have to decide which bride goes first. According to custom, the oldest usually goes first. The order the brides come down the aisle generally determines the order the vows are taken and the register is signed. However, none of this is carved in stone. At the reception, the couples will need separate receiving lines and gift tables. Everything else is up in the air. If they want, each couple may have their own head table, wedding cake and performances of wedding traditions. On the other hand, they can opt for one large head table, wedding cake and simultaneous performances of wedding traditions. A double wedding involves twice as many people and often twice as much work. However, with some effort, the day can be twice as much fun and be twice as memorable. --By Ronda Addy