Mumbai:
Couples may be rushing down the aisle on 12/12/12 this Wednesday in hope of an auspicious union, but one Indian bride and groom can claim an even rarer set of special dates.
Brandon Pereira and Emilia D'Silva celebrated their engagement on 10/10/10, had a registered legal marriage on 11/11/11 and will finally have their big white wedding in Mumbai on 12/12/12.
"On 12/12/12 at 12.00 in the afternoon we will be man and wife," D'Silva told AFP.
She said she had declined Pereira's offer of marriage many times before he persuaded her in their 10th year of dating, when the first lucky date was approaching.
"10/10/10 was on a weekend, and we said why not do it on that date," she explained. "We needed to announce it to the world. We were looking for a date for celebration."
The couple wanted to save a big wedding for when they had the time and money -- but with Pereira, 33, tied to a engineering job in Bahrain, they decided to formalise their union to make travelling easier for D'Silva, 28.
This time 11/11/11 happened to be close and convenient so they booked it for their legal marriage.
"We don't really believe in astrology or anything of that sort, we just went with it because it fitted with our plan," she said.
After two significant special dates, the bride said it felt right to wait for Wednesday's rare alignment of 12s, when she will walk up the aisle at Mount Mary Church in the city's Bandra suburb.
"I hope all our days are as special as tomorrow," said D'Silva. "We really don't know how this worked out, but it did."