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The number eight has long been considered fortuitous in China, where people pay extra to have it in phone numbers and license plates — and the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympic Games falls on Aug. 8.
Emily Kirchner doesn’t sugarcoat the reason she chose today to tie the knot with her fiancé of nine years.
“I wanted our anniversary to be on a day he would remember,” said Kirchner, 38, of La Crosse. “That was it.”
After their engagement, fiancé David Blom, 39, of La Crosse, suggested a Las Vegas wedding. Kirchner stumbled upon an Aug. 8, 2008, wedding special when searching for chapels.
Kirchner and Blom are among 88 couples who will marry at 8:08 p.m. today on the 108th floor of the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas strip.
The ceremony will cost them $8.08.
“The price really sold me on it,” Kirchner said. “And this is something we’ll never forget.”
In the United States, the wedding and gift registry site WeddingChannel.com has seen a 213 percent increase in weddings for Aug. 8, 2008, compared with the same Friday last year on Aug. 10, said Summer Krecke, the deputy editor.
And some marrying couples are carrying eight even further with eight-course dinners, eight bridesmaids, 8:08 p.m. first dances.
The triple-eight wedding date doesn’t appear to be as popular in the U.S. as 7-7-07, one of the busiest for weddings last year, said Sally Kilbridge, deputy editor of Brides magazine. It helped that 7-7-07 fell on a Saturday, though Fridays are gaining popularity for weddings, she said.
Turning 88 on 8-8-08
When she celebrates her 88th birthday today, Charlotte Mangan, of La Crosse, will have plenty of eights on her mind. Mangan, who lives at Bethany Hearten House, said she will celebrate with friends and family and — as often is the case during big events — likely will spend time at the piano.
“I love to play the piano,” said Mangan, who learned to play by watching her father. “I can’t read music, but there are a lot of songs I know how to play.”
Mangan is a retired music teacher who spent 25 years directing choirs at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in La Crosse and was involved in various musical groups, plays, opera and ballet.
Mangan’s daughter-in-law, Kim Mangan, said the family will bring a cake to Hearten House to help celebrate one of the most unique birthdays in some time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
