Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

I am probably the only wedding officiant on the planet who does not have a wedding booked on 7-7-07. Interestingly, I have barely gotten inquiries about that date.

I'm not worried though, I think God left my calendar free so I can trade my clergy robe for reporters pen and pad, and cover the exciting and possibly crazed wedding activities of the day. Whether it is the biggest wedding day of the century, or the biggest wedding hype of modern times, 7-7-07 remains a hot wedding story!

As a far as I can tell there are no formal national statistics on the actual numbers of people getting hitched but obviously, Las Vegas will see a healthy percentage of them, as one of the selling points of 7-7-07 is that it represents the winning numbers of a lucky jackpot.

Stories are spreading like wildfire and even those with a local angle often has a Las Vegas mention. See today's piece in the LA Times.

Estimates have been pouring out from TheKnot.com, the nation's leading wedding planning website. I've seen their estimate at 31,000 and, more recently, seems to be up to 38,000 "knotties" (the bride, and her groom) who plan to say "I do" on that day nationwide.

Continue reading "The Knot Says 38,000 Couples Will Wed on 7-7-07" »

Posted June 23, 2007 7:22 AM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

Everyone is talking about 7-7-07. Let's not forget 6-21-07.

It is Summer Solstice, traditionally a heavenly time to pledge your love.

And its a lucky day indeed. It is the longest day of the year, a time when the sun is at the height of it’s power, and good vibrations abound.

The folks at Chiff.com put it this way:

"Awed by the great power of the sun, world civilizations for many centuries have celebrated the Summer Solstice - otherwise known as Midsummer. The Celts and Slavs celebrated with dancing and bonfires to help increase the sun's energy, the Chinese marked the day by honoring Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light, and the Druids celebrated it as the wedding of Heaven and Earth, resulting in the enduring modern custom of a "lucky" wedding in June.”

Continue reading "A Midsummer Night's Marriage - As Lucky as 7-7-07?" »

Posted June 20, 2007 6:59 PM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

By Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway

I was interviewed today for an article about interfaith weddings and in sharing stories about some of my couples I was reminded of a really interesting wedding I co-officiated several years ago.

The bride, a recovering alcoholic, wanted a libation ceremony that honored her connection to the earth and would not make her family run screaming from the room (a wine ceremony might). So we used water, which I asked the guests to help me bless.

If you happen to be looking for a non-alcoholic libation ceremony for your wedding, try this!

Continue reading "Wedding Libation Ceremony - No Alcohol, Just Love" »

Posted June 19, 2007 6:32 PM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

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

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

I got a call from a bride who has been planning a Las Vegas wedding. She feels it will be less stress and more fun than spending a year and a year’s salary planning a big event in New York. It is important to her to do it her way!

Not all of her NYC based family and friends are happy about her decision. They feel they will be missing out on the opportunity to see her marry … and that she will be missing out on having them at her wedding. The drama that arose around this issue completely stressed her out, almost defeating her reason for wanting to marry here.

I was glad to direct her to my new meditation for stressed out brides. Give a listen at:
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/174/story_17479_1.html

It helped her calm down and get some perspective so we could come up with some creative solutions.

Continue reading "Do It Your Way!" »

Posted June 20, 2006 7:14 PM by Rev. Laurie Sue Brockway | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This

Vegas residents Mike Vaccari and Regina Bacolas had never been married. They were still in search of that someone special.

On Dec. 26, 2005 they were ‘matched’ by eHarmony, had their first date on Jan. 8, and six weeks later were married in Laguna Beach, Calif.

They both love the outdoors — biking, running, hiking and camping — and can’t get enough of the local health food fare.

So, it’s no surprise that the first thing that caught their attention online was that they both had Whole Foods Market listed as one of the top five things they just couldn’t live without.

After their first phone conversation they realized they lived just two miles from each other in Summerlin. eHarmony must have had a premonition about these two.

Continue reading "eHarmony makes match of Vegas couple" »

Posted March 27, 2006 10:40 AM by Pete Codella | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email This