Lucky sevens
Area couples tie the knot on 7/7/07
by ELIZABETH TAUFA, Reporter

Several newlywed couples in Western New York should have no trouble remembering their anniversaries, as they were married on Saturday, July 7 - the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year.

July 7 has been a coveted wedding date, falling on a summer Saturday that is at the very least numerically significant and perhaps even lucky. But some couples, who took time for their pre-wedding preparations to talk to The Bee, said they had no trouble reserving the date at churches and reception sites.

"We chose the date in part because of the availability of the church and reception site; we had no real problems finding vendors," said Teresa Foy, an East Amherst native and Clarence High School graduate. "We were actually surprised that it was as easy as it was as the papers in New York City and Boston all had interviews with a ton of couples who have planned their 7/7/07 wedding years in advance."

While Foy and her fiance, East Amherst native Peter Romano, started planning their wedding 10 months in advance, other couples have been preparing for the day for much longer.

Andrew Kromer & Jennifer Lawler

"Two and a half years ago we made the big arrangements - church, reception hall, etc. - so we didn't have any problems getting the places we wanted," said Stephanie Rosenhahn of Tonawanda. Her fiance, David Stevens is a native of Troy, N.Y.

While Foy and Rosenhahn chose July 7 as a wedding date because of availability, both were amused as to the novelty of the day.

"When choosing our wedding date, I noticed that 7/7/07 was a Saturday, and David and I both agreed that 7/7/07 would be a fun day to get married," Rosenhahn said.

"We actually decided on the date because it was the only date in July that both the church and reception site were both available," Foy said. "We had settled on July for work reasons. It also has the added bonus of being close to July Fourth - which is my favorite holiday."

Remembering the day for the rest of their lives was also a factor for some couples - or at least the grooms.

"My future husband actually picked the date," said Julie Manfredo of East Amherst. "Together we thought it would be fun to get married on that day. But as he smiled at me when he picked the date, he thought it would also be easy to remember. That way he would never forget our anniversary."

Mrs. Sarah Korona

Foy echoed Manfredo's statement.

"Everyone teases him (Romano) that he has no excuse for forgetting our anniversary."

"I will tell you that from my point of view, the best part of getting married on 7/7/07 is that I will never forget my anniversary," said Lancaster native Andrew Kromer. "This is definitely a good thing."

Kromer's fiancee, Jennifer Lawler, is from Bronxville, N.Y.

While many people believe that seven is a lucky number, that superstition didn't play into the decisions for many of the couples.

"Seven can be a lucky number for some people, but that is not why we chose that date," Manfredo said. "Although everyone tells us we will have much luck on our wedding day because of the date."

"I don't really think seven is any more lucky than any other number," added Foy. "It actually didn't really register with us that it was 7/7/07 until after the date was set."

Mrs. Betsy Bargmann

For Orchard Park natives Betsy Connelly and Karl Bargmann, who had only been planning their wedding since August, the number seven turned out to be lucky, even though they didn't choose the day especially for the date.

"We booked the last opening for all of our vendors," Connelly said. "It all just fell into place."

For some brides however, the number seven had special meaning.

"Seven has been my favorite number since I was 7 years old," Rosenhahn said. "I have had the number seven on my soccer jersey since I was 7 years old starting my first sport, and I was lucky enough to wear it through college and even in the Empire State Games."

While the number seven is important personally to Rosenhahn, it didn't have a bearing on the wedding date itself.

"Honestly, we didn't want to be part of a big hype, and David doesn't need any help remembering dates," she said. "He is amazing at remembering important dates no matter when they are, which he proved when telling our priest that we have been engaged for two years, five months, seven days and 17 hours. We just thought it would be a fun day."

"My fiance and I actually started dating on July 7, 2000 so it will be seven years for us on 7/7/07 so that's an added bonus," said Jennifer Guppenberger, a Cleveland Hill High School graduate, along with her husband-to-be, Shawn Wheeler. "My fiance thinks it's really cool, like it was meant to be."

For West Seneca native Sarah Kazukiewicz's fiance, Adam Korona, the date was special to his family.

"The date is exactly 60 years from when his grandparents were married," she said. "So that's just a special touch to the day."

e-mail: etaufa@beenews.com