Michael Higdon / Nevada AppealPaula Lynn Marcus and Gary Richard Wood listen as a friend reads a poem at their wedding. Rev. James Breyer officiated the wedding at the couple's house Nov. 11, 2011, at 7 p.m. Thousands of people across Nevada were married Friday to capture the luck of 11-11-11.
Paula Lynn Marcus shrieked and stomped her feet, her friends and family watching, while her just-pronounced-husband leaned in for a kiss Friday night.
It had been a longtime coming for the Carson City couple. Fourteen years together and they, like thousands of others in the state, made 11-11-11 unique to them.
"It's to honor my mom," Marcus said. "Everything was in sequence with my mom."
She said her mom died on Oct. 11, 2009 -10-11-09 - and about two years later, she asked longtime beau Gary Richard Wood to marry her. And while the date was ultimately for her mom, Marcus also threw in a practical reason: It'll make the date harder to forget, she laughed.
Rev. James H. Breyer said he performed a handful of marriages on the date, like he did on the other quirky dates of 10-10-10, 7-7-07, and so forth. But Friday also held an additional meaning to some couples, he said.
"Today is supposed to be, numerology-wise, a very good day for luck," Breyer said.
It was something Carson City Marriage Clerk Carol Wells heard as she performed her duties for a higher-than-average number of couples.
She said her office performed nine marriages Friday morning and issued more marriage licenses for future ceremonies - just so those couples could make sure they had the 11-11-11 on their certificates.
They had planned to be quite busy Friday, she said, and even had the justice of the peace come in earlier than normal to sign licenses.
"We had several couples," Wells said. "(But we weren't) as busy as Reno or Las Vegas, obviously."
Stephanie Joseph, a supervisor in the Clark County Marriage Bureau in Las Vegas, said about 1,700 licenses had been issued as of mid-day Friday for 11-11-11 weddings, second only to the 2,598 licenses issued for 7-7-07 weddings.
"We think it'll be our second biggest day ever," she said, adding the number of licenses issued Thursday and Friday surpasses the 1,396 licenses issued for last year's 10-10-10 weddings.
A record 235 weddings were booked at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel on Friday, owner Ron Decar said, noting the figure surpassed its previous high of 160 weddings on 10-10-10.
"It's the biggest day in history for us," Decar said. "I think it could be because we're running out of triple-digit days and 12-12-12 will be the last triple-digit day for some time."
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.