Whether it’s auspicious or just easy to remember, couples are choosing to get married today because of the date — 11/12/13.
David’s Bridal estimates more than 3,300 brides will marry on 11/12/13 — a nearly eight-fold increase over the same date last year.
“11/12/13 is a sequential pattern, and we have learned that couples love dates that have patterns,” said Brian Beitler, executive vice president of David’s Bridal, in a release.
According to a David’s Bridal survey, 40% of brides said they would consider planning their wedding on a special date, like 11/12/13.
On past sequential dates, experts have made clear that the dates are simply a pattern with no particular meaning, a sentiment echoed by Geoff Chester, public affairs officer at the U.S. Naval Observatory, which is an official timekeeper for the U.S. government.
“I don’t think there’s any significance to this other than a curious quirk of the way Americans write calendar dates,” he wrote in an e-mail to USA TODAY.
But don’t tell that to the thousands of couples who are set to exchange vows today.
Brian Mills, general manager of Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel, said his chapel will perform 65 weddings today — compared with only seven last Tuesday.
Repeated numbers are also popular wedding dates, Mills said. 12/12/12 was the last date with three repeating numbers of the 21st century.
There are 12 sequential dates in this century. The next big sequential date is 12/13/14.
“That’s on a Saturday so we’re hoping to see even bigger numbers,” Mills said.
If you put any stock in the idea that sequential dates bode well for a long and happy marriage, though, you better start looking for that special someone — your next opportunity for a wedding on such a date won’t happen until 2103.
Source: USA Today