By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

Some people are saying that 7-07-07 will be the most popular wedding date of the century.

Wedding venues across the nation say the 7-07-07 wedding date has booked up fast as couples set their sights on pledging their love on a "lucky day."

You can just imagine what a popular day that will be in Las Vegas, especially since 7-7-7 is a winning jackpot!

Ever wonder why else the number 7 is so hot? We have 7 wonders of the world, 7 seas and 7 continents. Superstitions abound about the numbe. From the religious and spiritual perspectives, here are some of the reasons it is considered sacred.

In the Bible. The number 7 is a perfect and important number.

From the Jewish perspective: The number 7 is prominent in the Torah and the Zohar. God rested on the seventh day of creating earth, and hence, sanctified and deemed Sabbath on day seven. There are seven blessings over the wine are recited under the huppa during the marriage ceremony.

From the Catholic perspective: There are Seven sacraments, we have Seven Deadly Sins (Lust, Gluttony, Avarice, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, and Pride) and Seven Virtues (Chastity, Moderation, Liberality, Charity, Meekness, Zeal, and Humility).

From the Christian perspective: In the New Testament, Jesus tells Peter he must forgive "seventy times seven."

From the Native American and Wiccan traditions: Their are 7 directions: east, west, north, south, Above, Below and Within. There are 7 sacred ceremonies.

From the Hindu tradition. There are 7 energy centers in the body called chakras. They represent both physical and energetic centers and they are: root, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, crown. In the Hindu wedding ceremony, the most important part is Saptapadi, the 7 steps around the sacred flame as 7 blessings are chanted.

From the Japanese Shinto religion: There are "Seven Lucky Gods" who preside over fortune.

In mythology: Innana, the Babylonian Goddess Queen of Heaven, had to descend 7 levels to the underworld stripping her jewels, clothes, crown, and ego (7 items in all) along the way in order to rescue her beloved Tamuz from the depths of hell.

Lucky 7

From sports to the stars: 7 comes up sacred again. In astronomy and astrology there are 7 planets that can be seen with the naked eye.In baseball, there was only one number 7 - Mickey Mantle.

Gambler's luck. In the game of craps, 7 wins in any combination. Lady Luck is a character who wears dice for earrings and they always have the number 7.

As you can see, ancient and popular thinking would seem to make 7-07-07 a helluva wedding date, a triple chance at good luck! If this is your wedding day, may it be a lucky roll of the dice!

Continue reading "Why is 7-07-07 Such a Hot Date for a Wedding?" »

Posted June 13, 2007 7:50 PM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

Everyone is talking about 7-7-07. Some call it "the luckiest day of the millennium."

Couples around the country are booking this wedding date like crazy. Las Vegas will host a huge number of nuptials that day. Come to town and you will likely see a sea of white dresses, tuxedos and limos parading along the Las Vegas Strip!

The Garden Chapel at Flamingo Las Vegas noticed a surge in wedding bookings for this day a while back and decided to shoot for the best luck possible. They came up with a very cool idea!

They will host 77 weddings on 7/7/07. They will utilize 7 venues on property, including a number of poolside weddings, to accommodate all those lucky couples.

Some local Las Vegas couples are among the lucky 77 but Kris LaBuda, Flamingo Garden Chapel Manager, tells us that 94 per cent of the couples are coming in from out of town to wed.

LaBuda and staff are gearing up to be “Wedding Central” on this day. On very busy Saturday during the peak of Las Vegas' wedding season there would be about 31 weddings. So they will be handling more than double the love -- and logistics!

We asked Kris LaBuda 7 questions about the Big Day:

Continue reading "The Flamingo Las Vegas Will Be Wedding Central on 7-7-07" »

Posted May 18, 2007 8:06 AM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

On happy note, love sizzled in the air in Las Vegas yesterday as thousands of couples took a gamble on marriage and got hitched on Valentine's Day. Congratulations to all the newlyweds!

There are about 122,000 or more weddings in Vegas each year and a huge percent of them on the holiday of hearts! It was BUSY! Some people just flew in and out to exchange "I dos." Some are still hanging around to enjoy the town, and the honeymoon!

Chapels filled with couples in love. Venues throughout Vegas offered special wedding perks and packages. Elvis sang his heart out. Hotels were crammed with instant-honeymooners who moved from chapel to wedding night, with maybe a little celebratory meal in between.

The clerk's office -- which recently underwent a budget cut and change in hours -- was open for 24 hours to accomodate the Valentine's Day crowd. With $55 cash, and a dream, couples lined up for hours awaiting their turn to fill out the paper work for a marriage license. Then off they went... to get married.

Sigh. This is what Las Vegas is all about!

If you missed it this year, no worries. The great thing is you can visit anytime and easily tie the knot.

Since the other thing Las Vegas is all about is gambling, check out your marital odds at Vegas Wedding Odds, a goofy website that can tell you if yours match is made in heaven.

Continue reading "Thousands Get Married In Las Vegas on Valentine's Day" »

Posted February 15, 2007 8:41 AM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

Brendan Paul with his little Elvises.

The first time I met with Dee Dee Duffy to go over wedding details, we were chatting in her office while her hubby Brendan Paul was finishing up a wedding. I’d never seen him in person.

Wow. When he walked out of the chapel, I couldn't not take my eyes off him. I just could not believe how striking Brandon is in person. Trim, tall, very sexy... Very Elvis!

I wondered how brides can focus on their husbands when Brandon is performing their ceremonies. It’s safe to say he is definitely the hottest Elvis in town. And many say he is the best. You will find him doing more than weddings!

He now has his personal website at BestElvis.com. Check out that Black Leather Elvis photo.

Posted January 24, 2007 2:16 PM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

Yesterday, my hubby and I celebrated the two year anniversary of our Elvis Wedding. It was a wedding that was many years in the making.

Rev. Laurie Sue, husband Rev. Vic Fuhrman & Rev. Norm "Elvis" Jones

It all began about fifteen years ago, when Bridal Guide Magazine sent me to Las Vegas to write an amusing article on the wedding chapels on the Strip.

I visited just about all of them. Back then, I was a full time journalist and 7 months pregnant. As I walked in and out of chapels doing my research, concerned chapel administrators and ministers offered me a seat, a glass of water, and a recommendation that my wedding should take place sooner than later. They thought I was a pregnant bride. It truly was a hoot.

Many of the chapels were a little (or a lot!) kitschy in 1991 and to be honest, people thought getting married in Las Vegas was something that was done on a lark (you know, the way Britney Spears did). There was this "myth" that in the wee hours, after meeting at a bar and perhaps imbibing a bit too much, couples would stumble into chapels to get hitched. In those days, you could still get a license in the middle of the night. And Las Vegas was famous for quickie celebrity marriages.

I myself was shocked to learn that most brides and grooms were not drunk – and they ain’t supposed to be! – and that couples actually planned weddings and invited friends and family. It was so much fun visiting all the famous wedding chapels on the Strip, and along the way I had an Elvis experience that really knocked my socks off!

Continue reading "My Elvis Wedding at Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas" »

Posted January 19, 2007 9:05 AM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

Wedding Goddess Wisdom

Here's an idea for any bride who would like to share the cost and the aggravation involved with planning a wedding: Share that walk down the aisle with a relative or two, and do it in Las Vegas.

That's what three sisters from Colorado did this past weekend, when they tied the knot in a triple ceremony at Victoria's Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas (www.avictorias.com) followed by a reception for about 100 at El Caribe Hall.

The Weingart sisters - Christy, 30, Amanda, 25 and Lindy, 27 - became engaged, in that order, and decided to share the important occasion with one another and save on wedding costs for themselves and their guests.

So they choose Las Vegas as the place to join six hearts and start three marriages.

All three daughters were walked down the aisle by their Dad for the simultaneous "I dos."

Another brilliant idea from the Colorado trio -- who all work in the family business -- was registering for their dream honeymoons - instead of new dishes and towels. They worked with www.TheBigDay.com, a honeymoon registry that allows guests to contribute to the honeymoon costs directly, as a wedding gift.

There is one thing the sisters did insist on: Separate honeymoons!

After the three twosomes were happily hitched, Las Vegas-style, they headed off to Cancun, Jamaica and one undisclosed location.

Posted August 7, 2006 4:17 PM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

Although I never was married at The Little Church of the West, I too attended weddings in the historic, oldest existing structure on the fabulous Las Vegas Strip. The western style, cedar "church" was built in 1942 and quickly became popular among Hollywood stars. Mickey Rooney, Betty Grable, Harry James, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Judy Garland, Cindy Crawford, and many other celebrities chose the Chapel to have a Vegas memory.

The Chapel was moved four times to allow for the expansion of hotels; the latest being the Mandalay Hotel and Casino and the Four Seasons Hotel. With each move, the simple design; creaky dark wood floor and seats, white flickering candles and white bows, remained in contrast to the ornate Las Vegas Strip. It Works! The memories for locals, visitors, and celebrities continue. Maybe all Vegas weddings don't last forever, but memories sure do.

Posted January 16, 2006 12:35 PM by Betty Archambault | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email This

Ever wondered what a fairytale wedding would be like? If you’ve wandered through The Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes, you’ve been an observer — perhaps a very curious observer — to just such an occurrence.

With picture perfect surroundings and the romance of an Italian wedding, who wouldn’t want to be married at The Venetian?

Of course, you get what you pay for, and true to form, weddings at The Venetian aren’t cheap.

Still, it’s a once in a lifetime, once upon a time, and they lived happily ever after moment, so why not indulge?

The Venetian Weddings website has all the info. Andiamo amore!

Posted January 10, 2006 11:53 AM by Pete Codella | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This