Lucky in Love: 7/7/07 popular wedding date

Nationwide, tens of thousands of brides-to-be are planning one of the most special days of their lives around a very lucky date: July 7.

Forget the recommended year of planning, some of the nearly 38,000 brides registered to exchange vows on 7/7/07 - that count includes high-profile summer bride Eva Longoria - have been eagerly awaiting this exact date for years. So many are seeking this date that the Rev. Amy Miller is planning a marathon of marriages, of sorts, at the Phoenix Zoo for Valley couples looking to stay lucky in love.

“This is a hugely popular day to get married, or even to renew your vows,” said Miller, who has rented the two chapels to perform as many private and group marriages as possible on July 7.

Plus, the luckiest day of the century happens to fall on a Saturday, which could also account for the date’s average amount of projected weddings nearly tripling. But for most, it’s the sheer reputation of the No. 7 that has them flocking to the altar, including Ahwatukee Foothills couple Mindy and Michael Findtner, whom will be renewing their vows at one of Miller’s ceremonies.

The Findtners moved to Ahwatukee Foothills from Oregon several months ago, leaving their family and friends far behind and starting their life together anew in a strange city.

“We moved here together and didn’t know anyone,” said Mindy Findtner. “We went from a city of 140,000 to 4 million. We thought it’s a new city, and this is the luckiest date to renew (our vows) and start anew.”

With some quick research, Findtner found Miller’s Web site, www.lucky777wedding.com, and realized a seven-centric vow renewal date was still available.

“Ours is a private session, we’ll have a little ceremony where we’ll say our previous vows and maybe add to them a little,” she said. “We’ll leave it up to Amy to structure the rest.”

For the all-day event Miller will have the help of wedding officiant the Rev. Marnie Olsen to take over two chapels at the scenic pavilion located inside the Phoenix Zoo.

“Couples can have personal wedding ceremonies with up to 20 guests starting at 12:07 p.m., and we’ll do a ceremony every half hour until 9:07 p.m.,” Miller said. “We’ll do the group ceremony after that.”

Cost for the private ceremonies is $500, and includes a bottle of champagne, a personal wedding cake, a disposable camera, free admittance to the zoo for all wedding guests and special 7/7/07 party favors for the couple. The group ceremony is $250 and includes champagne, park admittance and favors.

“There has been so much interest in this lucky date,” Miller said, “and it’s a beautiful location, it’s going to be a great event.”

Findtner admitted she’s not much of a gambler, though her husband does bet from time to time. Asked if she chose the date for him, she laughed, “He doesn’t care either way - I think I’m definitely more excited about this than he is.”

For more information on the ceremonies, visit www.lucky777wedding.com, or call Miller at (480) 752-3733.

Lauren Vasquez can be reached at (480) 898-7917 or lvasquez@aztrib.com.

THE POWER OF THE NO. 7

From mythology to psychology, chemistry to religion, the No. 7 remains a mysterious and powerful prime numeral. Here are just a few interesting facts about the luckiest number.

The atomic No. 7 is nitrogen, a constituent of all living tissue.

Sir Isaac Newton, who believed the No. 7 to be very special, identified seven colors in the rainbow; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet.

There were seven days of creation, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and there are seven seals in The Book of Revelation. Conversely, there are also seven deadly sins.

There are seven wonders of the world.

There are seven gods of luck and happiness in Japanese mythology.

There are seven notes in the musical scale.

There are seven seas.

There are seven holes in a human head.

There are seven basic principles of the Bushido, the philosophy and ethical code of conduct formulated for Samurai warriors in the 11th through 14th centuries

UNLUCKY 7

U.S. Forest Ranger Roy Sullivan was struck by lightning on seven separate occasions from 1942 to 1977 - he survived all of them. He was dubbed “The Human Lightning Rod” and began carrying a bucket of water with him at all times after the fourth incident to put out any fires to his clothes or hair. Sullivan succumbed to a self-inflicted gun shot wound in 1983 (he was born on Feb. 7, 1912).