A numbers game: Wedding industry can't wait for 7-7-07

Posted Jul 5th 2007 6:25PM by Julie Tilsner
Filed under: Magazines, Competitive Strategy

Sometimes, the numbers just wink at you. Ask any gambler. Or ask one of the many people scheduled to tie the knot this coming Saturday, July 7, 2007. They might tell you that there's a little extra magic to getting married on 7/7/7, a date that only comes around once a century. And heck, when it comes to marriage, half of which end in divorce these days, every little bit helps.

Seven seas, Seven Virtues, seven days of the week, all named for Roman Gods. Seven Dwarves. Lots of sevens in the Bible. Lots of good reasons folks think this date will be especially lucky.

The $80 billion American wedding industry doesn't ask why. It's simply gearing up for boffo boxoffice.

According to CNN, marriage planners nationwide are reporting huge demand to take the plunge on this auspicious date. Churches are booked, dress makers are working overtime, and just try getting a Limo that weekend.

In Las Vegas, home of the quickie wedding, casinos and wedding chapels are reportedly going to extra lengths to cash in on the triple 7 jackpot. More than 60 couples are scheduled to wed in a mass ceremony at Mandalay Bay (shouldn't there be room for 17 more ... for the golden 77 number?) and Caesars Palace hotel-casinos. The Flamingo has scheduled 77 back-to-back weddings, running virtually nonstop from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Venetian opened up a second bridge location to hold weddings and cut down its gondola-ride rites to 30 minutes in order to squeeze more beloved couples in.

The last time things were this busy in Vegas was September 9, 1999, according to a local county clerk quoted in an AP article.

Celebrities can't be asked to put superstitions aside, either. Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria and her sportif beau, Tony Parker (of the San Antonio Spurs), are set to marry in Paris this coming Saturday.

Will the many who marry this weekend beat the odds and stay married? Astrologers say no -- Mercury is in retrograde that day, so it's better to look back, not forward.

No matter. Wedding planners can look forward to two boom days in 2008: One is 06/07/08 (people just love order, don't they?), and the other is August 8, or 08/08/08, a date likely to be popular with people of Chinese decent, who believe eight is a lucky number.

Tags: 7/7/07, Eva Longoria, EvaLongoria, Las Vegas, LasVegas, Tony Parker, TonyParker, weddings

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-05-2007 @ 7:36PM

AT said...

hmmm...thanks for the reminder, as I better make reservations now for a honeymoon in Spain around 08/08/08. That does have a nice ring to it--and for a "third" time around, I would need all the luck I can get! :-)