Save the date: 8-8-08

By TREVON MILLLIARD Chronicle Staff Writer

When it comes to weddings, the date is everything.

And, today it the Triple 8 - Aug. 8, 2008: the eighth day of the eighth month of the eighth year of the 21st century.

“It’s all about the invitations,” wedding planner Katalin Green said. “It’s novel to say, ‘My anniversary was on 8-8-08.’ That would just look so awesome on the invite.”

And couples can take it very seriously, she said. She already had the date booked when another couple requested it, she said.

“Someone came in and said, “We’ll buy out their contracts,’” Green said. “It’s incredible. Brides can be fairly aggressive. You have no idea.”

Chuck Campbell, who owns the wedding venue The Woodlands at Cottonwood Canyon, said reservations for summer weddings must be made a year in advance. But the Triple 8 went faster than usual, particularly considering that most weddings are on Saturdays, not Fridays.

“We got multiple calls, but obviously can only give it to one,” he said.

There’s no way to see how many weddings will happen in Gallatin County today, because couples can get married anytime within 180 days of obtaining their marriage license, but it’s definite that some people make it a big thing.

“What’s incredible is that I’m already getting calls for 9-9-09,” Green said. “Oh my god, I haven’t even gotten through 8-8-08.”

Eager couples don’t stop at booking the day. They sometimes make it a wedding theme.

Green planned a Triple-7 wedding last year that had 77 guests, seven flowers in all the centerpieces and more, she said.

“The groom’s grandfather was a big Mickey Mantle fan,” she said.

Some people even believe there’s magic to the numbers. In Chinese, the number 8 sounds very similar to the phrase for fortune and prosperity, and triple 8 is a lucky number combination that means “three times the prosperity.”

When the number is turned on its side, it’s also the symbol for infinity.

Some newer superstitions have come to light, one having to do with Sept. 11.

“It was a very hard date to sell for many years,” Green said. “When that fell on a Saturday, no one wanted that day.”

Green is always busy on triple-number dates. One bride has already booked Nov. 11, 2011.

The woman is obsessed with the number 11. She makes a wish whenever the time is 11:11 and plans to get married at 11 p.m., Green said.

“She has the day booked,” Green said. “Now she just has to work backward and find a husband.”

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