Couples believe seven will be their lucky number

The bonanza of weddings scheduled for 07/07/07 proves couples are superstitious.
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
CHICAGO -- If one seven is lucky, three must be really lucky.
That's the thinking behind the bonanza of weddings scheduled throughout the nation for Saturday, July 7, 2007 -- or 07/07/07.
"Couples are definitely superstitious," says Kathleen Murray, deputy editor of TheKnot.com, a wedding planning Web site. "I think they're looking for a great fun date, and 7-7-7 is very lucky."
Among the brides and grooms who have registered at the Web site, 655 couples are planning weddings on next July 7, compared to the 424 who have selected one of the other three Saturdays that month.
In northwest suburban Elgin, Ill., 23-year-old Terra Hubble, a child-care provider, says her fianc & eacute; Tim Fick, a remodeler, wanted a date he could easily remember in the future -- either May 6 (05/06/07) or Sept. 8 (09/08/07) or July 7.
Hubble chose July 7, but says, "I didn't put together how popular the date was until I tried to book a hall." Luckily, she was planning an afternoon reception. "Evenings at wedding halls have been booked for two or three years," she says.
Part of her reason for selecting the date, Hubble says, was that, "as a Christian, I know the number seven 7 is God's number. God took seven days to make the Earth...."
Numerology has long been a tradition in marriage planning, Murray says. "In ancient China, a couple consulted an astrologer for the most auspicious wedding date," she says.
Avoid the 13th
Of course, there are some dates that tend to be avoided. Take Friday the 13th. Well, actually, not a lot of grooms and brides do. Among the 3,400 couples registered at TheKnot.com for next July, only 71 are planning to wed on the 13th, a Friday.
And Murray says she's surprised there are that many.
However, Alison Rodriguez, publisher of WeddingChicago.com, an online shopping guide for brides, says the date gets a bum rap. She was married on a Friday the 13th -- in October, 2001 -- and reports no ill effects.
"Our love is strong," she says.