When Michelle Vu and Taylor Cox planned their wedding for this Sunday, they simply thought it would be fun to get married on New Year’s Eve.
The couple met in Chicago in 2015 and started dating the next year, so they decided to have their wedding in Chicago, too. They now live in Rochester, New York, where they’re doing their medical residencies.
“I had always dreamt of having this glamorous big black-tie, New Year’s Eve wedding,” said Vu, 29. “I feel like there’s so much pressure to have plans on New Year’s Eve, but people are off and want to have a good time. I think it’s a perfect excuse to throw a big party.”
It wasn’t until after the two settled on New Year’s Eve that they noticed the number pattern in the date.
“Now, a lot of people have brought it up to us, and it’s such a cool anniversary,” Vu said.
Nationwide, couples are flocking to Las Vegas to get married on the unique date — and Sin City could even have its busiest wedding day ever, breaking the record of 4,492 marriages in Las Vegas on July 7, 2007. The second-most-popular specialty wedding date on record there is Nov. 11, 2011, when 3,125 couples tied the knot.
“It’s definitely a big date for the wedding industry,” local wedding planner Carolyn McGee said.
“You have some couples that wanted it for the date, and then you had some that wanted it just because it was New Year’s Eve, but I think it’s pretty cool to have the date line up like that,” said McGee, who had six inquiries for New Year’s Eve this year.
Nicole Fauls, owner of Urban Allure Events, a Near North Side events planning company, agrees.
“The way the numbers line up is definitely appealing to people,” Fauls said.
Compared with last year, Fauls said the number of inquiries for Dec. 31 weddings this year doubled. In total, Urban Allures has four weddings planned for New Year’s Eve. There are typically more weddings on New Year’s Eve because people usually have time off for the holidays, Fauls said.
Arin Busch, wedding planner with Big City Bride, said the Lincoln Park business saw a slight uptick in interest from couples looking to tie the knot on Dec. 31 this year — 15, up from the typical 10.
“People are drawn to the numbers. They think that’s a lot of fun. People usually seek out New Year’s Eve. But the fact that the numbers [line up this year] just kind of add to [the fun].”
Some venues likewise saw a slight increase in inquiries for the date. Hannah Chmela, catering sales manager at the Chicago Athletic Association, said the historic venue had about two dozen inquiries for Dec. 31, compared to eight to 12, typically.
Karla Kalfus, 43, and Leonard Hinton, 45, wanted to have their wedding on New Year’s Eve but realized the special number pattern a few months later.
“It felt magical,” Kalfus said of the date.
Kalfus said they chose New Year’s Eve as the date for their wedding because it’s “supposed to be a happy time.”
“We love to celebrate; we love to bring family and friends together,” Kalfus said.
The celebration aspect of New Year’s Eve is what appealed to Jillian Devine and Michael Terralavoro. The River North couple plan to celebrate their marriage at the Union League Club of Chicago with a “timeless” and “traditional” elegant party. At midnight, they’ll have a champagne toast after counting down to 2024.
The date being 1-2-3-1-2-3 was a “bonus,” Terralavoro said.
“I like numbers to be kind of symmetrical,” Devine said. “I thought the date [made a pretty] sound, almost symmetrical.”
While 1-2-3-1-2-3 has a nice ring to it, Busch said there was another date locally this year that was more popular.
“September is always the most popular month to get married [in Chicago],” Busch said. “It’s the most reliable when it comes to weather. And so I feel like people are just drawn to it. And so 9-23-23 was a huge one.”
While it wasn’t intentional for many to get married because of the 1-2-3-1-2-3 pattern, one thing’s for sure: It’s easy to remember.
Contributing: Associated Press
Correction: This story has been updated with the correct name for the Chicago Athletic Association.
