WHEN Eva Longoria, the actress in Desperate Housewives, the TV series, gets married in July, she will be in good company. A joyous chorus of “I do” is expected to resound around the world as unprecedented numbers of weddings take place on one of the “luckiest” days of the century: 7/7/07.

For Longoria, 31, July 7 will simply be a romantic day in Paris. For her superstitious fiancé Tony Parker, a 24-year-old basketball star, and thousands like him, it will be a magical opportunity to take advantage of all the lucky sevens.

“Eva is relaxed but if it makes Tony feel better on the big day then she is willing to play along,” said an associate of the bride, who plays the more cynical sexpot Gabrielle in the television comedy.

Last year some pregnant women hoped to avoid giving birth on June 6 — or 6/6/06 — fearing that the three sixes associated with the devil represented an inauspicious start to a baby’s life. Hollywood cashed in by releasing a remake of The Omen, the devilish thriller, on that day.

This year the portents are more cheerful as Hollywood promotes License to Wed, a marital comedy starring Robin Williams.

Official figures are not yet available but according to The Knot, an American wedding magazine, the number of couples who are planning their nuptials for the first Saturday in July is up by 250% on last year.

“Lots of people are seeing 7/7/07 as their lucky, lucky day,” said Kathleen Murray, the magazine’s deputy editor. “Brides and grooms are very superstitious, so when a date comes along once in a century that seems so inherently positive they feel they are hitting the jackpot.”

In small towns across America churches, hotels and boats suitable for receptions have been solidly booked for months. One couple slept outside a San Clemente hotel in California to book their dream suite when the resort’s new year diaries opened the next morning.

In Las Vegas venues such as The Little White Wedding Chapel, where Britney Spears embarked on a 48 hour marriage, will be opening early and closing late. Ron Decar, an Elvis Presley impersonator, officated at 45 weddings on Valentine's Day, but is booked for 120 on the "really big day".

Britons are not immune to the craze. Dean Yardley, managing Director of hitched.co.uk, a wedding website, said that thousands of extra couples intend to get married on July 7 this year. Typical is Eleanor Dixon, 28, senior stylist at Cosmo Bride magazine, who is marrying David Shere, 32, a film special effects expert, on the Isle of Man. "I'm not superstitious, but I do hope that it turns out to be a lucky day," she said.

According to Ed Vallowe, the author of Biblical Mathematics, the lucky reputation of the number seven is based on scripture: "It is used throughout the Book of Revelation. There are seven churches, seven spirits, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven dooms and seven new things. It symbolises spiritual perfection. All of life revolves around this number."

Some brides have a more practical reason for picking tthe day, however.

"Men love numbers," said Barry West, who is arranging the flowers for a 7/7/07 wedding in South Carolina. "So it's a good way of making sure that they don't forget the anniversary."

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