Doubling Up
Two sisters marrying two brothers in one ceremony sounds like grounds for twice the romance.
But when Tara and Tanya Spirk married Dennis and Richard Coyne in a combined wedding Sept. 13, 1997, at St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church in Wexford, it was a case of practicality over sentiment according to the sisters, both Seneca Valley High School graduates now living in Georgia.
Tanya, who is nearly four years older than Tara, started dating a Coyne first.
“They actually lived in the same place in Seven Fields as us,” said Tanya, describing how she met the Coyne family and eventually her husband, Rick.
“I knew the younger two brothers,” she said. “My dad was a state trooper and would take his police car to the Sunoco station where my (future) husband worked a second job in the evening driving a tow truck. I knew who he was, but I didn't know him until my father was talking about meeting one of the Coynes.”
Rick and Tanya started dating in 1994.
Tara and Dennis became a couple later. “I first met Dennis when he was living in Georgia,” Tara said, “he had a job with Delta and came up to Pennsylvania to visit family.”
“We all went out that night, so that was the first time I met him. It was in 1994 or '95. I was in college by then. I was at Slippery Rock,” Tara added.
By late 1995 or early 1996, Tara and Dennis were in a long-distance relationship.
Meanwhile Rick had taken a job with AirTran.
“They (the brothers) were both airline mechanics,” Tanya said.
And both were living in Georgia.
“For spring break in 1996, we came to visit for a week, hung out,” said Tara. The sisters ended up moving to Georgia that summer.
“I wasn't completely done with Slippery Rock,” she said. “I finished at the University of Georgia and got a different degree in veterinary technology from Gwinnett Technical College.”
Tara knew she wanted to marry Dennis after dating him about a year and a half.
“I knew it when I met him,” she said.
As the prospect of nuptials for both sisters to both brothers became more of a reality, the idea of a double wedding seemed to make the most sense.“I think I would say it was mutual idea,” Tara said. “We had thrown the idea out a few times. We had family scattered around the U.S. If Tanya and Rick got married first, it was crazy to have them come back for another wedding. We just really didn't think they would make the trip back.”“They were more into it than I was at first,” said Tanya, who by then was living in Oklahoma. “But the more I thought about it, the more practical it was. We were in Tulsa, they were in Atlanta, we were getting married in Pittsburgh. This cut down on the costs.”“There were two brides, two grooms, two best men and two matrons of honor,” said Tara. “Together we had six or seven bridesmaids and the same number of groomsmen.”Planning a double wedding went rather smoothly, according to Tara.“We really didn't disagree. We felt pretty similar on things. It was easier for me to get up to Pennsylvania to plan some things,” she said.“Rick got transferred around with his job. I was here (Georgia). She was in Oklahoma and the wedding was in Pennsylvania,” she added.“I had more time to scout out photographers and cake people. We kind of took each thing as it came and tried to make it work for everybody,” Tara said.
The sisters somehow picked nearly identical wedding gowns despite the fact Tanya bought hers in Oklahoma and her sister found hers in Georgia.“We found out after we sent each other pictures after everything had been paid for and altered,” said Tanya. “Even the veils were the same. The only difference was the sleeves. I had long sleeves. She had short sleeves and wore gloves.”The hardest part, Tara said, was finding a priest willing to do a double ceremony.“We luckily found a priest. But the original priest got very sick just before the wedding. He found a friend of his that felt comfortable doing a double wedding,” she said.“My dad walked me down the aisle first because I was the oldest,” said Tanya. “Then he goes back and gets Tara.”It was easy to get Dennis Spirk to pay for the double wedding and the reception aboard a Gateway Clipper boat.“He was just thrilled they decided to have it on his birthday,” said his wife and the girls' mother, Carol Spirk.It was “my dad's 50th birthday,” said Tara.“We had two separate cakes instead of one big one. I guess some things were cheaper,” Tara said. “We really paid for one reception,” she added “we did a side-by-side bouquet toss.”The sisters didn't share a honeymoon. As a matter of fact, neither had one immediately after the wedding.“Ours was postponed until I was done with school. It was a year to the day later that we went to the Grand Canyon,” said Tara.“We didn't go anywhere either,” Tanya added, “we saved for a house. We had moved to Indianapolis. Rick was working for United. We built a house there in 1997, just after the wedding, and we lived there for five years.”But then the sisters got closer once again.Rick and Tanya moved back to Georgia in 2003. “We lived in Loganville for eight years,” she said. “We used to be five miles from one another. Then we moved to Marietta, which is an hour and 20 minutes away.”Tara has a daughter who turns 7 in April.Tanya has four children ranging in age from 4 to 16.
As for the double wedding that started it all, Tanya said, “It was neat. It was different. I can't say I wouldn't do it over, but part of me feels that I did miss out because we did everything together, everything was as a pair.”“In all honesty, it was sort of stressful, being out of state,” said Tara. “If the circumstances were different, and I was able to plan it, I would have my husband and 20 friends of ours and go to a beautiful, small, quiet inn, just us and a few friends.”The night had some added magic for another Coyne brother, Tommy.“We had a tour bus. We couldn't afford all the limos,” said Carol Spirk on moving the wedding party from the church to the river boat.Spirk said a young woman was on the bus to decorate and serve drinks during the trip to Pittsburgh.Tommy and the young lady exchanged numbers.“Now they've been married 13 years and have four children,” Spirk said.
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