GETTING MARRIED ON 8-18-18? LUCKY YOU!
Whether it’s the luck of double 18s or the easy-to-remember palindrome, thousands of couples across the country are heading to the altar Saturday
Summer Saturdays are always busy for Ivy Ha, an Oakland wedding planner who handles everything from hair and makeup to photography and cake for Bay Area couples on their big day. But this Saturday is going to be nuts.
It’s the 18th of August, in the 18th year of the millennium — 8-18-18 — an auspicious date for weddings.
Whether it’s the easy-to-remember palindrome, or the luck of the double 18s, couples across the country are elbowing their way to the altar.
“Everyone is getting married on that day,” said Ha,whose Ivy Bridal is in overdrive this week helping to organize 10 weddings on Aug. 18, more than double her typical summer Saturday.
It’s not just Ha who is inundated with requests. Tuxedo Fashions in San Jose doubled its tuxedo rentals for this weekend compared to last year. The Knot, a social network for those planning weddings, reports that nearly 30,000 couples across the United States registered to get married Saturday, more than any other day this year and nearly five times as many weddings on the average day.
Even Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending an Aug. 18 wedding — the Austrian foreign minister is getting married at a vineyard in the Austrian Alps.
Why the excitement over this date? Ha
chalks it up to tradition, if not light superstition. “Eighteen is a lucky number, especially with Chinese people,” she says. In Mandarin, “18” sounds very much like a phrase meaning “certain prosperity.” The number “8” in Mandarin also sounds very much like the word for prosperity, which
together, makes 8-18-18 a very lucky date.
One couple who came into Tuxedo Fashions gave owner Bart Willner another insight: “The eight is like an infinity symbol. Three eights is super lucky.”
Jewish culture also recognizes the significance of the number 18. The Hebrew word for “life,” pronounced “chai,” has a numerical value of 18. It is, however, less likely that Jewish couples — especially religious
ones — will be married on 8-18-18, since the lucky date happens to fall on Shabbat, the day of rest.
But that isn’t slowing the procession to Nevada for 8-18-18 weddings. The Arch of Reno wedding chapel is gearing up to wed a new couple every 15 minutes, from the early morning until midnight. The Viva Las Vegas wedding chapel is offering an “8-18-18 Elvis” wedding package for only $350, complete with an Elvis-impersonator
minister who sings two songs.
Anticipating the tidal wave of couples eager to tie the knot, the San Mateo County Clerk’s Office will be staying open on Saturday to marry some eager lovebirds.
San Mateo’s offer to marry a couple every halfhour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. received so much attention that the office was fully booked within a few hours of announcing the offer. As
a result of the demand, the County Clerk’s office will continue performing ceremonies from 4-6 p.m. on a first-come first-serve basis, said Jim Irizarry, the County Clerk Recorder for San Mateo.
While many will be searching for luck Saturday, for some, it will fall unexpectedly in their laps. Sheila DeGuzman didn’t know that the date of her wedding was so lucky when she decided on it with her fiance, Brennan Foley, and their wedding planner. “I just thought it was easy to remember,” DeGuzman said.
It was only when she started sending out invitations that her guests filled her in. “Everyone said it was a lucky number,” DeGuzman said. Her accidental happening on the coveted day seems an auspicious sign in itself.
“I’m sure the luck will rub off,” she said.