The looming doomsday prophecy – the end of the Mayan calendar on December 21 – did not deter almost 700 couples in the city from tying the knot on Wednesday, when the special “triple 12” date appears for the last time in a century.
But the total number of 12-12-this year weddings – 696 couples – fell well below the 1,002 pairs who exchanged vows on November 11, last year, and the 859 on October 10, 2010 – two dates that fell on a more convenient Friday and Sunday.
Asked about the Mayan calendar, Yung Yu-shing, 28, said, “I say we get married even if it’s going to be the end of the world.” He married his fiancée Tam Hiu-dan, also 28, on Wednesday.
“No matter what happens, we will spend the rest of our lives together,” said Yung, at the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry on Wednesday morning.
"Why marry on the date 12/12/12?" Video by Hedy Bok
They chose that date for their wedding because it would be easy to remember, he said. Initially they feared a booking for their marriage registration would be hard to secure on that date, but their application went through smoothly at the end of August.