By Sue Crawford

Last updated at 10:46, Friday, 07 December 2012

A record number of brides and grooms are to marry at the Gretna Green Famous Blacksmiths Shop on December 12.

Michelle Hall

Twenty couples from all over the UK are heading to the village to tie the knot over the centuries old wedding anvil on the symbolic 12.12.12 – the last triple-digit day of the century.

Michelle Hall, wedding organiser at the Scottish marriage destination said: “Brides started calling us about two years ago asking us to reserve this date.”

For bride-to-be Donna Haeney of Wallasey, Merseyside, the date really is written in the stars.

“I believe in astrology and read my horoscope every day,” she said.

“All those 12s – wow – there won’t be another triple date for 100 years and my fiancé Sean can’t forget that anniversary date!”

UK astrologer Lyn Birkbeck examined the marital omens after studying the day’s planetary alignments.

Interestingly, there is a significant planetary pattern on 12.12.12 which includes a number of heavenly bodies in tight formation.

He said: “The Moon and Mercury are in a good aspect to Uranus so trust your intuition.

“Because we will be in a Balsamic moon phase lovers should relax and let any difficulties wash over their heads.

“With Saturn and Venus in Scorpio they should also understand what real intimacy means to forge a successful long-lasting relationship.

“As couples grow closer and closer lots of positive changes within them will occur.”

In some parts of the world mystics and healers are organising pilgrimages to sites of spiritual significance on 12.12.12 including Stonehenge in Wiltshire and Machu Picchu in Peru.

While some people claim that 12.12.12 is the last date of the Mayan calendar – the end of the world as we know it and the beginning of a new spiritual and evolutionary cycle in the Age of Aquarius – other observers say the date is 21.12.12.

Hoping that neither predictions come true, The Famous Blacksmith Shop said 12.12.12 had taken on a life of its own.

“We are now at full capacity for weddings on that day and the anvil will be busy from 9am in the morning to 6.30pm in the evening,” Michelle said.

The Famous Blacksmiths Shop has been marrying couples over its anvil for more than 250 years.

Its global fame started in 1754 when the age for marriage in England without parental consent rose to 21 – a law which did not apply north of the border – and young lovers eloped in droves.

Michelle added: “The Famous Blacksmiths Shop is very atmospheric and romantic so it should be a real day to remember providing the world doesn’t end then, of course, otherwise none of us will remember it.”

First published at 10:43, Friday, 07 December 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk