Q & A: 7/7/07 The Most Popular Wedding Date This Year

Dear E & V: I've got 4, yes, 4, invites to weddings on 7/7/07. Why the frenzy and how the heck am I supposed to decide which wedding to go to, since I haven't figured out how to clone myself? -- Exasperated in Elon

Dear Exasperated: Far be it for us to criticize a couple who thinks the triple-seven is lucky, since if you are planning a $27,000 (AVG!) event, luck shouldn't have anything to do with it, right?

It probably has more to do with the "once in a century" opportunity of the same number month-date-year falling on a Saturday that contributes to the couple's feeling that this is a special day, never to be experienced again, and therefore part of their unique story. (Of course, with the record numbers of weddings skedded for 7/7/07, "unique" is not the word we'd choose.) It's also quite possible that the couple just liked the way triple 07s looked on their save-the-dates and invites.

But the real question is: how do you deal with multiple invites? Say you’ve got three different invites for Labor Day (brides love to think that there’s no better way you’d want to spend a holiday weekend than at their wedding). Your little trick to deciding who makes the cut? Obviously the first rule should be your relationship to
the person. If you were getting married, would it really mean a lot if this person was there? The second rule should be reverse strategy: if you got the invite about three weeks before the actual date, face it: You’re a C-lister to her, so why bother stressing about showing up?

Send a lovely note with your decline, and don't forget the gift!