‘‘[The numbers] 3 and 7 have always been lucky numbers for me,” Goodwin explained.
The bride originally wanted to be married on Aug. 8, 2008 (8⁄8⁄08), but after being engaged for a year, Goodwin said it seemed appropriate to ‘‘bump the date up” to 7-7-07.
The number seven played into their wedding day in other ways as well. Goodwin has known Dove for seven years and on 7-7-07, their family combined to total seven people. Without including the flower girl, Dove said her wedding party included seven people.
Dove said Goodwin thought it would be good luck ‘‘having all those lucky numbers working for us.”
Many other couples also tied the knot on ‘‘lucky” Saturday. According to wedding Web site, TheKnot.com, the average number of weddings registered across the country for any Saturday in July is usually about 12,000. However, weddings registered for 7⁄7⁄07 tripled to 38,000.
‘‘Some say it’s the luckiest day and some just want to be able to remember the anniversary,” said Lynfield Event Complex events coordinator Dorlah Listenberger.
She said that the facility, located off U.S. Route 15 between Frederick and Thurmont, hosts wedding receptions year-round, and turned down at least seven couples who requested the popular date after it was booked up.
‘‘There weren’t this many [weddings scheduled] for 6-6-06,” Listenberger said.
The Lynfield Event Complex held two receptions on Saturday including Dove’s and Goodwin’s celebration.
Planning ahead is a challenge for any couple, but the special date added some stress to the process.
Martin’s Caterers in Walkersville, which hosts events including weddings nearly every weekend, was unable to open their catering hall for the 7⁄7⁄07 craze, due to the fire company carnival.
‘‘I received a dozen calls,” said Martin’s Katie Arendt, adding that all receptions in their hall, adjacent to the Walkersville Volunteer Fire Company’s grounds, had to be turned down.
Canapés Catering managed to coordinate three weddings on 7⁄7⁄07, according to staff member Jill Christianson.
The company set up one ceremony at their site, The Lodge at Blue Ridge Summit, and two others in Frederick on Saturday, said Rick Cook of Canapés.
A staff of eight handled the first wedding, while another team of employees oversaw the two evening weddings in Frederick, he said.
According to Cook arranging the three weddings was ‘‘very hectic,” but everything went well with ‘‘no problems or glitches.”
Holly Hills Country Club special events director Margaret Kostolansky said the Ijamsville facility only hosts one event each day and was fortunate that the couple tying the knot on 7⁄7⁄07 was extremely organized.
‘‘If you didn’t get started a year ago, I think it was a problem [to schedule],” she said, adding that the ‘‘organized” bride reserved Holly Hills for the reception two years in advance.
For Frederick bride Sarah Chapman, 7⁄7⁄07 was a lucky day to celebrate her second marriage, as well as her birthday.
‘‘Everyone kept asking, ‘What are you waiting for,’” said Chapman, 63, who had been engaged to Bob Whiting, 64, for 2 1⁄2 years before they married Saturday.
‘‘When it was triple sevens we knew,” she said.
When Chapman called a year in advance to make reservations for the ceremony, one woman asked, ‘‘Don’t you know this is going to be the busiest time?”
Chapman replied, ‘‘No, I didn’t, I just knew it was my birthday.”
Despite the complications, Chapman said getting married on Saturday was worth it.
‘‘I just hope it’s as happy and joyous that day for everyone else getting married, as it will be for us,” she said.
