At Kuopio Cathedral alone, there were 12 weddings, held at half-hour intervals.

About 61 percent of Finns who get married each year - an average 17,237 couples - opt for a church wedding.

The date, with three sevens, is seen as lucky in the Western tradition. The symbolism is linked with factors such as the existence of seven days in a week, the seven continents of the earth and the traditional seven seas. Christianity mentions seven deadly sins, and the Catholic Church recognises seven sacraments.

Islamic tradition speaks of seven levels of heaven, an expression that has spread outside that cultural sphere.

A similar surge in weddings was noted one year, one month, and one day earlier, on June the sixth last year - in spite of the somewhat less wholesome implications of a date with three sixes. In both cases one can assume that the wedding anniversaries are easier to remember.