Double Vision: Wilmington twin sisters accept proposal from twin brothers

Identical twins Briana and Brittany Deane, who grew up in Wilmington, were ready for their closeups.

Dressed in matching cerulean blue gowns with matching winter white jackets, the sisters thought they were about to film a commercial with their boyfriends for Twin Lakes State Park in Virginia, where the women now live and work as lawyers.

The park had been the site of their first date with Jeremy and Josh Salyers, twins from Tennessee whom the women had met six months before at a twins festival in Twinsburg, Ohio.

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As the director yelled "action," the men dropped to their knees and proposed. For real.

“We both screamed yes," Briana said. "It was almost like an out-of-body experience. We were both just blown away. It was like watching your dream play out.”

Their proposal was filmed for "Inside Edition" as their Valentine's Day special and ran Wednesday. The Salyers had called the show, which helped them pull off the surprise proposal Feb. 2. The men wore matching gray suits with matching blue ties that matched the sisters' dresses to pop the questions.

Both sets of twins, since childhood, had always hoped to marry another set of twins.

“We kind of always knew that we were never getting married unless it was to twins,” Josh said. Other women didn’t understand the relationship he had with his brother, he said. They are 34 and have just moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, where they work together in the same manufacturing plant.

“Ever since we were little girls, we have always known that there were identical twin boys who were going to marry us one day,” Briana said. They are 31, work in the same Virginia law firm and decline to give their town's name, because they've had to deal with a stalker.

The brothers gave the sisters identical, double-infinity, diamond rings, symbolizing that they are forever twins.

The four plan to live together after their wedding in August in Twinsburg.

The brothers and the sisters have only lived apart a short time in their lives. Jeremy and Josh lived separately for a time in their 20s, but didn't care for it. Neither did the Deanes, who played lacrosse for Wilmington Friends when they lived in Delaware. They lived in different states when they went to law school, Brittany in Wyoming and Briana in Texas.

“Being separated was like learning how to walk again," Briana said. "I had never done something like that. It was the first time I had experienced loneliness."

The sisters' parents, William and Debra Deane, still live in Delaware. They have two brothers, William and Bryson, also raised in Wilmington and now in their 20s.

During the sisters' separation, they started a tradition of attending the Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio to feel more connected to each other and other “multiples.” The festival attracts about 2,000 pairs of twins.

While there last year in August, Brittany suddenly grabbed Briana’s wrist and said, “Oh my gosh. I just saw the most handsome twin men.”

Briana spotted them later and agreed.

The next day the sisters were walking down a hotel hallway and saw Josh and Jeremy on their way to check out and return to Tennessee.

“We struck up a conversation about their twin relationship and life, and we found out they were very similar to us,” Josh said. “I was instantly drawn to Brittany. We actually stayed a little longer to try and talk with them some more.”

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“It was one of the most magical moments," Briana said. "For me, it went in like slow motion, like a movie. We all believe in soulmates and we all felt that instant connection.”

The four began the conversation as a group, but then they paired off in birth order. Jeremy and Briana are twin As, born first, and Josh and Brittany are twin Bs.

“It just felt like the most natural thing in the world,” Briana said.

Later, Josh messaged Brittany first on Facebook, and then Jeremy and Briana struck up their own conversation. A few weeks later, the Salyers drove to Virginia to go on their first date with the sisters at Twin Lakes.

“After the first date, we were driving home and we knew that these were the girls we were going to marry,” Josh said.

The two sets of identical twins said they can’t explain why they chose one twin over the other, but it felt like a natural pairing. Briana and Jeremy have been amazed that Brittany and Josh seem to share the same nature.

“It takes all the stars aligning for everyone to feel a connection,” she said. “For me, I am not someone who jumps into things hastily. Neither is Brittany. So this is a rare thing for me. When you know, you know.”

All agreed that there are a lot of relationship dynamics happening at once when they're together.

“There is my twin relationship, my romantic relationship, and a brother-like relationship, where it feels like I am sharing my twin with him,” Briana said.

They are, of course, having a double wedding.

The Twinsburg town committee approved the ceremony taking place in the town square during the Twins Days Festival. The couples will invite all twins and multiples at the festival to attend.

“We hope to have all of our actual family there, and our twin family, too,” Briana said.

With the help of their mother and the brothers' mother, the sisters have started looking for identical dresses.

Both sets of twins want to live in a house together after the wedding, but they haven’t decided where. At least one set of twins will have to move.

“There is a strong sense of peace," Briana said. "We’ve waited so long for them to find us. We are ready."

Contact Josephine Peterson at (302) 324-2856 or jhpeterson@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @jopeterson93.