Twins Married to Twins Say 'Togetherness' Is the Best and Hardest Part of Quaternary Marriage at Thanksgiving
It's all hands on deck this Thanksgiving for identical twins Briana and Brittany Deane Salyers and their husbands, identical twins Jeremy and Josh Salyers, as the couples prepare for a big family feast at the spacious Virginia home they all share.
"The best thing about being in a quaternary marriage around the holidays is the togetherness," says Brittany, 36, using the term that describes when identical twins marry identical twins. "And that means getting to divide up work and do it together, which makes every task just more joyful."
Another perk? "The people you're closest with," says Brittany's husband Josh, "are already here."
KAYTLIN LANE PHOTOGRAPHY Brittany, Josh and Jett at their home, Smith Mountain Manor.
This year's celebration is particularly meaningful. For the first time since the two sets of siblings met in 2017 at the Twins Day Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio — where they returned a year later to marry in a joint ceremony — the couples will host Thanksgiving for their extended family.
The Salyers' table will be set for 19, they tell PEOPLE. Both sets of parents, most of their siblings and their families, as well as the Virginia couples' two young sons, born about four months apart, will be together for the holiday.
Salyers Twins/Salyers family Josh, Brittany, Briana and Jeremy Salyers in their home, with a preview of what they will be serving on Thanksgiving
The boys — Jett, who recently turned 2, and Jax, who will turn 2 in the spring — are cousins but also genetic siblings known as "quaternary twins."
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"It's going to be a big dinner," says Jeremy. "We've never had anything like that here before now."
Planning the menu, however, is the easy part, according to Brittany, who tells PEOPLE, "the four of us twins have similar tastes, and so it's pretty rhythmic with us already knowing what we all like."
LuAnn Hunt From left, Jeremy, Briana, Jax, Brittany, Jett, Josh Salyers
She and her sister will make sides, including mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, candied yams, stuffing (with celery, carrots, corn, pomegranate seeds and breadcrumbs) and deviled eggs.
Meanwhile, their husbands, both 39, are tasked with dessert. Josh and Jeremy will make blackberry cobbler and chocolate lava cake because, says Briana, "I'm insisting on that."
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KAYTLIN LANE PHOTOGRAPHY Briana, Jeremy and Jax cozy up inside their home
"We do everything as a family, we're really inseparable," Briana previously told PEOPLE in their Real-Life Love that featured exclusive photos of the family at home. "It's like this magical existence."
Still, the togetherness of a quaternary marriage that the couples cherish so much does present some challenges when their loved ones come together for the holidays — especially now that they have their boys.
"Not everyone is used to how we work together as twins and now as a family of twins," says Brittany. "We have a lot of unspoken communication between ourselves and understand each other well."
"It's difficult to switch gears and discuss a lot of planning and details around holidays with family and friends," she continues. "This is the biggest family gathering in a long time, and the biggest since we've had the kids, so it's been more chaotic than ever."
KAYTLIN LANE PHOTOGRAPHY The mother-son pairs — Briana and Jax (left); Brittany and Jett (right) — rock coordinated outfits.
The two couples' lives are so interwoven that their sons share the same room in the home the couples bought together and turned into a wedding venue called Smith Mountain Manor, which Josh and Jeremy primarily run.
Brittany and Briana, meanwhile, are attorneys who work for a Roanoke law firm.
All four share parenting duties when it comes to raising Jax, Briana and Jeremy's son, and Jett, whose mom and dad are Brittany and Josh. The boys are bonded to all four adults and have no problem telling everyone apart, despite their moms' and dads' striking resemblances.
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"Sometimes they both want one mom, or they'll turn around and both want the other mom," Briana previously told PEOPLE.
In a sweet moment the family shared on their Instagram account in July, ever-smiley Jett looked back and forth at Josh and Jeremy and called them "two dadas," before calling Brittany and Briana "two mamas."
When asked if they are going to have more children, both couples said they are open to it.
"We're also happy raising our two boys," says Briana, who adds, "we'd be thrilled if it happens."
"It's important to really look and see what you have," adds Jeremy, "and be thankful for what you do have."
For now, the couples are bracing for an extended phase of the "terrible twos" with Jett and Jax so close in age. But they're all in it together.
