Jewelry For Bridesmaids

From the moment they're old enough to clutch a bouquet or hum Wagner's bridal chorus, most girls dream about their wedding day.

Most fathers? They usually aren't brought into the conversation until it's time to fork over the credit card.

But, Tom Kunkel's subconscious works on a mysterious level, which explains why he had a Nostradamus-like premonition three years ago while working at the University of Maryland in College Park.

"It was a very vivid dream taking place at the chapel at the university. I got dropped into the middle of a big, huge wedding. And, I started to realize it was a multiple wedding," said Kunkel, in his third year as president of St. Norbert College in De Pere.

"Little did I know until I started marching down the aisle that it was my daughter Katie, my daughter Claire, my daughter Helen and my daughter Grace."

Well, three out of four ain't bad.

Just as Thomas' dream eerily forecasted, sisters Katie, Claire and Helen Kunkel will walk down the aisle Saturday at Old St. Joseph Church at St. Norbert College for a rare triple-wedding spectacle that begins at 3 p.m.

Youngest sibling Grace, 21, will be present as maid of honor for all three. Mom, Deb, will have the requisite tissues handy ?times three. But, it's nothing compared to the d?j? vu Thomas is set to experience when the ceremony starts.

"It'll basically be three circles for him," Helen said, laughing at the thought of her dad escorting all three daughters down the aisle in succession. "He'll walk Katie down first, then he's set to go out a separate set of doors. Then, he'll just loop back around and grab the next one."

The wedding reception Saturday night also will be on campus.

What started as a joke between three sisters turned into a common-sense epiphany that seemed far more intriguing than improbable. After all, the Kunkel sisters had been known to share everything from clothes to jewelry to Barbie dolls growing up, so why not a wedding?

"Oh, my gosh, we share everything," said Claire, a high school teacher in Maryland. "Clothes. Friends. Katie and I had the same first confirmations. We were always celebrating our graduations or birthdays at the same time. We all went to the University of Maryland. Sharing everything is pretty normal for us."

Yet none of it could have been possible without all three getting engaged in a span of 16 days.

Thomas had an indication something special was brewing while preparing for Katie's graduation from George Mason University School of Law in May 2009. Before leaving, he received a call from Nick Stewart, Katie's boyfriend, about needing to discuss something important ? not-so-subtle code for a life-altering decision of the on-bended-knee variety.

Shortly after, Michael Lindsey, Helen's boyfriend, sent Thomas an e-mail indicating the same cryptic sentiment.

"And, I turned to (Deb) and said, 'You better buckle your seat belt,'" Thomas said.

The two conversations went as expected ? old-fashioned requests for a father's blessing from two future son-in-laws.

Then came a random phone call from Claire's boyfriend, Sam Kaiser, a few days later.

"We really didn't know about that third one," Thomas said. "But, it was Sam, and he spoke about being in love with Claire and wanting to spend his life with her and how he would like to have my blessing to propose.

"I just started laughing. I mean, I love Sam, and of course, I was delighted. But, I really didn't expect that. It was this bang, bang, bang of engagements. Talk about overwhelming."

"It really was this kind of perfect storm," Helen added. "My fiance and I had been going out four years at the time. Claire and her fiance were like two, two and a half years. Katie and her fiance were about a year and a half, but they'd known each other all throughout college.

"Really, it was the right moment for everyone. It was the right time in all of our lives."

If the idea of a triple wedding was a surprisingly easy sell to the sisters, their fiances and their immediate families, it had a confounding effect on the majority of those in their social circle.

"Nobody understood. They were like, 'What?', and I think brushed it off as being ridiculous. When we actually sent out invites and they saw that it was real, I still think they were like, 'Now ... how does this work?'" Helen said.

"It's one of those things where first glance, yeah, it looks like a normal wedding invitation. Then, you realize, wait, there's six names ..."

"They probably thought it was for a cult wedding," Thomas joked.

A "one-family stimulus package for Northeastern Wisconsin," as Thomas lovingly calls it, the Kunkel wedding is economical in more ways than one.

By uniting all three at a neutral site like St. Norbert, it provides a substantial savings for would-be travelers who likely wouldn't have been able to attend all three separately.

"Our family loves it," Thomas said. "They thought it was funny, but I also think they're very, very appreciative."

As for the guest list, it isn't as oversized as amateur wedding planners might think. About 300 are expected to be in attendance, well below the church's maximum capacity of around 450.

Each sister will have her own set of bridesmaids and groomsmen, her own priest, her own vows and her own mini-processional (oldest to youngest) with assorted trumpet music. All three bought their ivory dresses ? in an unplanned moment ? from Elaine's Wedding Center in Ashwaubenon. The bridesmaids' dresses are the same navy blue, the flowers orange and yellow. There'll be three wedding cakes, three groom's cakes, three first dances, or as you'd expect, "pretty much three of everything," Helen said.

Individual flourishes are also intact. During the father-daughter dance, Thomas will waltz with each of his girls before her respective husband steps in. Because Michael is in the Navy, his groomsmen will be in uniform and conduct a traditional sword arch for his exit with Helen.

"Our main thing is that we want each couple to feel like it's still their day, and it's not just a big circus," Helen said. "It took me a few days to not be overwhelmed by that idea, too. At first it was like, 'Oh, my God, there are so many people to think about. I don't know if I can do this.' But, once I calmed down and realized it was possible, I got really excited."

As if the coming week wasn't poised to be crazy enough, in a 24-hour reprieve from the mad dash to the finish line, all three couples were scheduled to fly to New York City on Wednesday for a morning appearance on CBS' "The Early Show" today.

The family had previously fielded calls from cable's TLC and other documentary/reality producers as their story gained national attention, but Helen said they wanted to maintain a respectable level of privacy.

"We don't see it as something that's interesting to other people. It's our wedding. So, (the attention is) weird to us, but at the same time, it can also be pretty exciting," she said.

Instead, the New York trip is a cherry on top of not only what has managed to be a less stressful journey than expected, but also one that couldn't have shaped up any other way than with three best friends who happen to be sisters' saying "I do" on the same day.

"The main thing to remember in all of this is that, yes, the spectacle will be amazing, and it's going to be a wonderful day. But, it's about three couples getting married," Thomas said. "Three couples who are well-suited for each other, love each other and make each other very happy. I couldn't be more delighted that my daughters are all marrying wonderful men."

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