Thrice blessed in pursuit of everlasting happiness

Chinese couples rushed to tie the knot yesterday, believing the once-in-a-century date will make their union last an eternity.

According to traditional belief, 09-09-09, or "jiu jiu jiu" - which, in Mandarin, sounds like the word "everlasting" repeated thrice - is considered an auspicious day to wed, as the longevity of the marriage will be tripled.

The Department of Internal Affairs, which oversees registration of marriages, said its four offices in Auckland, Manukau, Wellington and Christchurch registered 36 marriages.

"There are 58 registries around the country, so the total figure could be up to 580," said a department spokesman.

"The people getting married are mostly Asian couples."

Marriages can also be registered through the Ministry of Justice and local councils.

The Internal Affairs Auckland office hosted more than a dozen ceremonies instead of the usual 10 - the first time it had done so.

The timeslots were booked almost as soon as they became available three months ago.

One of the first on the booking list was Fei Sun, 26, who married fellow ASB worker Eric Ouyang at 11am.

The couple are headed to Mr Ouyang's native Taiwan and then to Ms Sun's hometown in Shenyang, China, to continue celebrations.

"It was important to get the marriage registered on the triple nine, so now we can just concentrate on having everlasting happiness," Mr Ouyang said.

August Lin, 29 a sales rep, celebrated her marriage to fiance Luke with a dinner in a Chinese restaurant in Newmarket last night.

"I don't believe a date makes a difference, but my parents think otherwise and insisted that we hold our tea ceremony and Chinese wedding [yesterday] even though the registry didn't have space for us."

Wedding officials in other parts of the world were also kept busy yesterday.

Jessica Skrutvold of Las Vegas said she and her husband-to-be Chad Lyons were expecting nine guests for their 9pm wedding, which coincidentally celebrates her favourite number.

"The easiest day for my poor memory to remember was 09-09-09, and we've been doing everything last-minute ever since," said the 31-year-old who works for a local insurance agency.

"It was easy, and both of us can remember it and never forget."

Skrutvold called to book a chapel in March and found the only open slots were for 8.30 or 9 that night.

"We took the most obvious choice," she said.

Tony Thompson and his new wife Lisa of New York exchanged vows before life-sized figurines of Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez during a short ceremony at 9.09am at the Madame Tussauds wax museum on the Las Vegas Strip.

They were joined near a small stage by four couples renewing vows and an officiant - nine people in total.

"It seems like the whole town is celebrating, like we walked into this big celebration," Tony Thompson, 53, said.

"It's like totally out of the ordinary, everybody's getting married."

Chapels were steadily booked throughout the day from the Strip to downtown.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman planned to renew vows with his wife Carolyn in an evening ceremony conducted by an Elvis Presley impersonator at the Fremont Street Experience.

Another 99 couples were waiting until 9.09pm for a shared ceremony in the observation deck at the Stratosphere Tower. Each paid US$99 for their wedding package.

Spokeswoman Whitney Lloyd said Chapel of the Flowers booked 70 ceremonies for yesterday, compared with 12 on September 9 last year.

She said three 9am slots were booked at least a year ago - an eternity by Las Vegas standards.

"Grooms love it, because they'll definitely remember their wedding day," Lloyd said.

Employees normally off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the marriage services division of the Clark County clerk's office were called in to help quickly distribute licences.

Marriage Services Supervisor Mariah Consiglieri said 637 licences were issued on Tuesday, a boost from the average of 262 per day but far from the 1,623 issued on August 6, 2007, in anticipation of 07-07-07.

Another 975 licences were issued on August 7 that year - a Saturday.

Weddings have declined steadily in Las Vegas since 2004, when roughly 128,000 couples were married.

About 96,000 couples were married in Las Vegas last year, and officials expect fewer than that for 2009.

In Hollywood, the day was lucky for at least nine couples who won a 99 Cents Only Stores promotion in which they paid only 99 cents to be wed in the company's Hollywood store on 09-09-09.

For their 99 cents, the nine lucky brides received wedding gowns made of T-shirts, table cloths and other items sold at 99 Cent stores.

After exchanging their vows in Aisle 9, the brides and their husbands were to be treated to a reception inside the store.

They were also being awarded honeymoon packages worth a good deal more than 99 cents, including a hotel stay, dinner and professional wedding photos.

In Burlington, Vermont, Magic Hat Brewery - makers of an ale called No. 9 - seized on the date for an open-air party on the city's Church Street Marketplace pedestrian mall.

The planned "No.9tacular" starting at 6pm, was to include drink specials, a dance show, a laser light show, karaoke and a Guitar Hero challenge - all leading up to a 9pm toast, according to "Nine-ologist" Krissy Leonard, a spokeswoman for the brewer.

- with AP