IS TODAY YOUR LUCKY DAY?
Love is enough, but a little luck can’t hurt.
Barring any massive outbreak of cold feet — and with the ongoing heat wave, that seems unlikely — more nuptials are expected to be exchanged today than on any other date in Las Vegas history, according to wedding chapel owners and recent marriage statistics.
The Clark County Marriage Bureau expects 3,000 couples hoping the date 7/7/07 will bring good fortune to their unions, to tie the knot today, spokeswoman Susan Wohlbrandt said.
A typical July Saturday last year saw fewer than 700 couples wed. The most marriages in recent memory came on Valentine’s Day 2006, when 1,228 couples got hitched.
Hundreds of couples waited more than 2 1/2 hours in triple-digit temperatures outside the courthouse Friday to get marriage certificates with the fortuitous 7/7/07 date. After five people in the line passed out because of the heat before 11 a.m., court officials opened up half of the first floor of the courthouse, said spokesman Michael Sommermeyer.
The court nurse tended to those in need, but quickly ran out of cold compresses, he said. Officials snaked more and more of the line inside the courthouse as the day grew hotter, Sommermeyer said.
Still, the brides- and grooms-to-be were willing to brave triple-digit temperatures for a triple-seven wedding.
"It’s supposed to be the luckiest day of the year," said Lori Manual, who flew in from St. Louis with her fiance, Andrew Harmon, for their wedding today at the Hollywood Wedding Chapel.
"She thought I’d be able to remember it," Harmon said of the date.
While 7/7/07 might be hard to forget, most couples said they were drawn by the luck all those sevens symbolize.
"That’s been my lucky number since forever," said April Sievert of Grand Rapids, Minn. She and her fiance, Jerrad Schaar, got the last wedding reservation today at the Little Chapel of the Flowers.
"Even our reception is on the 21st (of July), so seven times three," said Schaar.
Today was shaping up to be a lucky one for wedding chapel operators.
Cliff Evarts, founder and CEO of the Vegas Wedding Chapel, said he will be doing a couple hundred ceremonies. That’s relatively few compared to other chapels because he’s not doing any group weddings, he said.
"This is the biggest wedding day in the history of the world," he said.
"It is the busiest day of my whole entire life," Charolette Richards, owner and minister of the Little White Wedding Chapel, said Friday as she prepared for today’s ceremonies.
As of Friday afternoon, Richards had 465 couples signed up to be married today and was sure she would break 500. She said she would have 14 ministers on hand to perform the ceremonies.
"This is by far the most weddings ever," the 48-year veteran of the local wedding industry said. "Never in my wildest dreams did I believe we could be this busy."
Court officials expect another busy day today issuing marriage certificates.
"This is unprecedented," said court administrator Chuck Short, who expected long lines today.
Lynda Gray Foresta, department manager of the Clark County clerk’s office, estimated there were about 300 people in line at any given time on Friday. Officials said the wedding bureau issued about 100 licenses an hour.
Foresta said the bureau issued 1,155 marriage licenses on Thursday. The office, which usually closes at midnight, stayed open until 3 a.m.
"Everyone is saying it’s going to be the luckiest day to get married," Foresta said. "Personally I think it’s the luckiest day to go to the casinos."
Little Chapel of the Flowers offered a package for the day: a $777 wedding, said Whitney Lloyd, director of sales and marketing.
"There’s a popular belief that seven is a lucky number and our brides are hoping it will give them good luck for a great marriage," she said. "Grooms I think they chose it so they can remember their date."
