Wedding frenzy on 08-08-08!

**Zeus** · January 6th, 2008 12:50 PM

Lucky date: Wedding frenzy on 08-08-08

By Tina Arceo-Dumlao
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:01:00 01/06/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- When childhood sweethearts Paul Alvarez and Sara Masakayan decided to get married, they chose a most auspicious date—Aug. 8, 2008.
Unfortunately, so have many other optimistic couples.
This is the reason why although the date is still more than seven months away, and falls on a weekday at that, the calendars of some of the country’s most popular churches for weddings have already been filled.
And since the Triple 8 combination—080808—will not be coming around for another century, it is believed that it will bring even more luck than usual, hence the mad scramble to book the special date not just by ethnic Chinese but Filipino couples as well.
Sara said she and her fiancé started looking for a church as early as August 2007 but the churches on top of their list were already taken.
Belen Gregorio, parish secretary of the historic San Agustin Church in Intramuros, among the most coveted venues for weddings, said one couple had even booked the date as early as 2006.
San Agustin normally holds 10 weddings a day, but Gregorio said the church will probably have as many as 12 on Aug. 8 because of the insistent demand.
Just to be married on 8/8/08, one couple agreed to hold their wedding ceremony at 8 p.m.
“The couples said they wanted the date because it is lucky,” Gregorio said.
The Chinese believe it important to select a date that is favorable and auspicious for special events such as weddings to increase success in life. Getting married on such well-chosen dates will bring more positive energy to bless and empower the event and help to start off the couple on their journey of marriage.
To the Chinese, eight is the most fortuitous of numbers—coveted for addresses, phone and bank account numbers—because it is associated with wealth, prosperity and good fortune.
The Chinese government itself believes so much in the auspiciousness of the date that it will open the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing on Aug. 8, 2008 at 08:08:08 in the evening.
Also booked solid for weddings on Aug. 8 are the St. James the Great church at Ayala Alabang village in Muntinlupa, which has scheduled three weddings that day, and the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, which will have six.
St. James the Great wedding coordinator Aycie Ropa said she began receiving reservations for Aug. 8 almost as soon as the parish opened for business this year.
“Normally, we have early reservations for Saturday weddings. It is only when the Saturdays are booked that we get reservations for Friday. But now, we already have reservations for that Friday,” Ropa said.
Pleasantly surprised by the number of bookings it has received is the San Lorenzo Ruiz Minor Basilica in Binondo, Manila.
Parish secretary Liezl Marquez said the Binondo church normally gets bookings for just one to two weddings on weekdays. But on Aug. 8, there will be five weddings at the church.
Also poised to rake it in on the coveted date are the hotels and restaurants where wedding receptions are usually held.
Charisse Chuidian, director of communications for the Mandarin Oriental, said the earliest the hotel received a booking for an Aug. 8 wedding reception was December.
“We usually get reservations about three to five months ahead of the date, so the booking eight months ahead and even more for those who penciled in early last year is unique to Aug. 8. And we are still receiving bookings for the date,” Chuidian said.
All the rooms at Discovery Suites in Tagaytay City are booked for a wedding party on Aug. 8 and 9, and guests are all citing “good luck” as the reason for having a party on Aug. 8.
Bookings for the Santuario de San Antonio church in Forbes Park, Makati, are already closed for Aug. 8 but this hasn’t stopped the more persistent couples from asking if additional slots could be opened.
Parish secretary Joan Rosales said she receives inquiries about reservations almost every day but the church is committed to having just two weddings on Aug. 8.
“It seems like everybody wants to get married on that day. They all say that it is a good day to get married,” said Rosales.
As for Sara and Paul, they ended up booking the Nuestra Señora de Gracia, a quaint, old church in Guadalupe Viejo, Makati.
And then they will have to hold their wedding ceremony at 2 p.m. because the “more friendly” hours had been taken as early as the middle of last year.
“It was either that or eight in the morning and that was too early,” Sara said.
She said she and Paul, sweethearts for the past seven years, are determined to hold their wedding on that date because it is “a good-looking number,” “easy to remember” and, of course, “lucky.”
With many marriages ending in separation or annulment, couples really need all the luck they can get.

Source: www.inquirer.net
Jan. 06, 2008

Saya naman nyan

**karlbo** · January 6th, 2008 01:03 PM

swelte 8 (otso) ehh.. hmm.. mukhang madaming mag papakasal sa araw na ito.. infinity ohhh..

**CVT** · January 6th, 2008 01:04 PM

I think the Olympic Games in China also starts on 08/08/08.

They say that the number eight is lucky because it sounds like prosperity in Chinese: 'ba' >> 'fa'. Also, it can be written in endless loop (infinity), and is symmetrical when cut in 2.

Others say it is just a regular number because it is not a prime number....

5000:boom:

**freefries** · January 6th, 2008 03:39 PM

hmnnnnn, don't know if its related though everybody wants luck for everyday living...well for me, its not the 8 that counts, its the strong relationship that build by the couple..pero sabi nga nila, wala namang mawawala kung susubukan...goodluck na lang sa lahat ng ikakasal...may swerte o wala, kayo naman ang nagpapasya sa buhay nyo