Never mind that geeks term it Nerd New Year. The city turned into one giant wedding mandap on Friday as scores of couples lined up to exchange marriage vows on 11.11.11. The day witnessed a multi-religious celebration as Muslims and Christians also chose to tie the knot, though the numbers 1 and 11 are essentially auspicious by the Hindu calendar. Rather than astrological reasons, most were engulfed by the romance of the numerical sequence.

The poster boys of sequential wedding dates, the Nomani family from Santa Cruz, arranged the nikah of middle son Safi with Anab in Lucknow. His elder sibling Maneezah had married on 10.10.10 and the youngest one plans to keep the date on 12.12.12. The clubhouse opposite Lokhandwala Garden played host to the marriage of a young Muslim couple as well.

Each twosome wanted their wedding to be unforgettable and the wheels were oiled to clockwork precision. A quiet road in Juhu came alive at the unearthly hour of 1.11 am on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday as Rahul Rohra and his new bride Nupur took the pheras. “It was a beautiful full moon night and our priest marked the moment with a special sacrament. Also, the reception started at 11.11 pm on Friday,” said Rahul who drafted each minute detail seven months ago. “Given the importance of 1 and 11 to our culture, I realized that this is a date like no other.”

Nearby, Club Millennium played host to the wedding of college sweethearts Dr Suraj Dhirwani and Dr Kruti Mehta. “Of course, it is such a catchy date that I am hardly likely to forget my anniversary,” Dhirwani laughs.

Curiously, some newlyweds had a fortuitous connection with the previous sequence of 10.10.10. Margerie Ferrao and geologist Joshua Correa who got married at Juhu Hotel on Friday were engaged that day. “We waited a long time to be married. This is a perfect way to end the wait,” the bride said. Another couple who took their vows at St Anne’s Church at Pali Hill shared a similar story. “Irena has been so patient with my delayed decision to tie the knot,” Sebastian Mendes said. “I wanted to make the day special for her.”

Fashion model Shreshtha Sawant married solicitor Archit Jaykar, actress Smita Jaykar’s son, on Friday. But they had planned to do so on 10.10.10. “When we missed that date, my fiance rescheduled for 11.11.11,” she said. Like most, the Jaykars were not particularly looking for a mahurat; what drove their decision was that the date sounded “auspicious and attractive”.

New Delhi-based pandit Ravindra Nagar reported that over 10,000 marriages were organized in the capital on Friday. Going by anecdotal evidence, Mumbai could not have been far behind. Maheshwari apartment building in Andheri where Sawant lives also hosted the wedding of her neighbour Flavia D’souza with Savio William Peters. The couple has been dating since Std VIII and decided to seal the relationship with a flourish. “What better than this rare sequence,” Flavia said.

The November rush actually began months in advance. Wedding planner Cynthia D’cunha of Cute Cats manages three halls and grounds in Andheri (E), and all of them were sold out by March-April. “Such is the craze that we are already receiving bookings for 12.12.12 because that is the final sequence of this kind,” D’cunha said. For Rupali Goshalia, whose company Ornate Weddings organized the doctors’ marriage, 11.11.11 brought a semblance of relief as the feverish preparations melted into a picture postcard wedding. Now, the wait for the next year