Today is July 7, 2007 - or 07/07/07!!! I did not even realize this was coming up until my cousin pointed it out: it is her birthday today.

I hope you have a great one, Christine!

IT'S THE JACKPOT OF WEDDING DAYS
Chris Zdeb, The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - Desperate Housewife actress Eva Longoria and San Antonio Spurs basketball star Tony Parker may be the most famous couple exchanging 'I dos' on July 7 but they're not alone. Tens of thousands of couples are also getting married that day.

More than 37,000 couples -- a 300 per cent increase from the average Saturday in July -- have signed up with theknot.com, a wedding planning website, saying they plan to marry that day. More than 530 registered users of weddingbells.ca plan to tie the knot then too.

The reason for the crush is that July 7, 2007 or 7/7/07 is considered by some to be the luckiest day to get married this century.

Actually, the number 7 is not so much a number of luck, but of completion and perfection, says numberologist Colin Maxwell. It comes from the Bible and reference in the Old Testament to the 7 days of creation including the day that God rested; the number symbology of 7 throughout the New Testament, he explains.

Still, the date falling on a Saturday, during one of the most popular months of the year to get married, is like the jackpot of wedding days, says Alison McGill, editor-in-chief of Weddingbells magazine.

Some couples have been waiting up to two years for the big date hoping it will make them lucky in love. But most are choosing it because 7/7/07 is a novelty, McGill says.

Edmonton bride-to-be Kathleen Conway says she and fiance John Brough accidentally fell into the swirl of the day. They were simply looking for a day after the end of June but early in the summer that would be convenient for out-of-town family members.

"When we realized it was 7/7/7 we thought that was kind of neat and would be a good way to remember our anniversary," Conway says.

"We had no idea it was going to become the wedding phenomenon that it became."

Does it give them an edge over other couples?

"I think we're lucky already," Conway says. "I think we've always thought so, so it's hard to feel any more lucky than we feel now."

According to numberologist Maxwell, "Some people getting married on that date will more likely succeed based upon the particular numerological cycle year that the person is in based on their birthdate."

Although 7/7/07 is nearly numerically perfect, the triple 7 can lead to miscommunication, and interactions between the partners can be strained, one numerologist told divorcelawyersguide.com.

Nonetheless, the popularity of the 7th is definitely a boon to the bridal industry, especially in the U.S., and particularly in Las Vegas where it's being described as the most popular wedding day in the city's history. The Little Chapel of the Flowers alone has more than 110 weddings booked -- four weddings, held every 30 minutes, from 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight. In Chicago, 7 couples will marry in the lawn and garden section of 7 Wal-Mart stores as part of the chain's Lucky in Love Wedding Search.

Closer to home, Bridal Debut in Sherwood Park is dressing 58 brides for the big day. "And we're only one bridal salon," says owner Heather Dymchuk. "Usually, we have 20 on a Saturday, 25 if it's a long weekend.

"The last time it was this busy was the millennium year, 2000," Dymchuk says.

Rebecca Manchul and Jeff McKay originally planned to wed in August but moved the date after realizing the first Saturday in July was loaded with 7s.

With almost half of weddings endings in divorce these days, a bridal couple can use all the help they can get, including a lucky number, Manchul quips.

She admits to being a little superstitious, but 7 has been McKay's lucky number since his birth on December 7, 1977.

"I always have the number 7 on my hockey jersey and try to incorporate it somehow in anything to do with numbers," he says.

Manchul says she's always liked the number 7, noting the couple met on June 7, five years ago, and both of their first names have 7 letters.

But the main reason they're getting married July 7 is because "we thought it would be a really cool thing to have that as our wedding date," McKay says.

It takes more than lucky numbers for a marriage to succeed, McKay says. It takes things like friendship and communication and selflessness.

Manchul and McKay also have two young sons Tyson, 3, and Carter, 1, who will be part of the wedding ceremony. (According to an online survey by Weddingbells magazine, 71 per cent of brides-and-grooms-to-be already live with their fiance or significant other.)

The couple have invited 170 people to their ceremony and reception at the Ellerslie Rugby Club. They'll sit down to dinner at 7 p.m. and bride and groom hope the luck of the day rubs off on their guests as each are given an instant lotto scratch-and-win card and a penny to scratch it with.

Theirs is a fiscally restrained wedding as far as weddings go. The average couple spends about $17,300 on their big day, finds a Weddingbells online survey. But on the higher end is the Lucky No. 7 Wedding Package offered by the Ritz-Carlton New York in Central Park. For a group of 77, the posh hotel is offering a 7-bottle champagne toast, a 7-tier wedding cake and 7 Tiffany & Co. diamonds for the bride. Room 2007 will be available for the bridal party to get ready in, and afterward, the couple gets a 7-night honeymoon at any Ritz-Carlton hotel -- all for $77,777 US. A 7-day advance payment is required.

Besides being a day to remember, 7/7/07 makes it harder for new husbands to forget their wedding anniversary in the years to come.

"I'm usually pretty good with dates, but this will help," McKay acknowledges.

As for whether the day itself will boost their chances for a long and happy marriage, "just being with her is lucky enough for me," he says.

czdeb@thejournal.canwest.com

© The Edmonton Journal 2007