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3 Sisters Married On Same Day 40 Years Ago

HAM LAKE, Minn. (WCCO) -- You think planning one wedding is stressful, imagine having to plan three in one day. It was challenge 40 years ago for three sisters. On Sunday, they celebrated their wedding anniversaries in Ham Lake, Minn.

Susan and William Hildebrand, Marla and Michael Konkol, and Carol and Dan Gutt looked back on that day at a Catholic church in Park Falls, Wis.

"Susan's favorite color was green. Mine was blue. Carol had pink," Marla Konkol said pointing to a scrapbook from her wedding.

The three sisters were three brides with their own personal styles and their own personal stories.

Carol got her ring just before Marla.

"So Marla came on board and said 'Maybe we could think about a together wedding, as a double,'" remembered Carol Gutt.

After dating the same guy for eight years, the last sister started to feel a little pressure.

"Then, we got Susan on board," Marla Konkol said.

On June 12, 1971 the priest performed three ceremonies in row.

Forty years has created an even closer bond. Not just for the sisters. Their husbands are basically brothers. Between the three couples, there are now nine children and nine grandchildren.

"Carol had the two boys, Susan had the two girls. And I had the five. I was blessed, I wanted a large family, a little of each," Marla Konkol explained.

In four decades, they have learned what works in a marriage.

"You remember the good times of the past and you live for today and you look forward to the good times in the future," said Dan Gutt. "Once you make the right choice, it's easy."

To celebrate 40 years together, the six will all spend a week in Montana at a lodge this August. The women helped plan the trip this time after their husbands planned their first anniversaries. That's when they all ended up in Canada on a fishing trip.

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