Las Vegas: Getting married on 11-12-13? They did, and so are others

Bryan Porter just wanted a wedding date he could remember. So he and Darlene Hielscher flew to Las Vegas to get married at a burger joint at the stroke of midnight on 11/12/13, one of the last remaining sequential dates this century.

The couple from Ormond Beach, Fla., married Tuesday at a Smashburger restaurant with a wedding “cake” made of -- yes -- a stack of burgers. And Elvis (a.k.a. Brendan Paul) officiated over the ceremony, according to a news release. But they aren’t the only date-crazy newlyweds in Vegas.

“Anecdotally, we know every chapel/wedding location [in Las Vegas] is booked solid with weddings every 30 minutes,” a Smashburger spokeswoman wrote in an email Monday. “The Marriage Bureau is open 24 hours, and it’s packed too.”

Indeed, about 3,000 weddings are expected to take place Tuesday, according to a survey by Pennsylvania-based bridal store chain David’s Bridal.

“Iconic dates have become a trend in the United States, reaching new heights when over 65,000 couples tied the knot on 07/07/07,” Brian Beitler, chief marketing officer for the company, said in a statement. “11/12/13 is a sequential pattern, and we have learned that couples love dates that have patterns.”

But back to Porter and Hielscher. Aside from the date, they chose a burger-themed wedding because they had reconnected over burgers and beer years after a high school romance. That’s what prompted them to enter the Smashburger contest about “why they loved burgers and one another.” The wedding took place at the 5130 S. Fort Apache Road restaurant. (There are several Smashburgers in Vegas.)

Those who miss out on 11/12/13 have one more shot this century: 12/13/14. “It falls on a Saturday, so we predict this date could reach record-breaking numbers,” Beitler said.

mary.forgione@latimes.com

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