Oliver Berg / EPA

A bridal couple leaves the town hall after their marriage in Cologne, Germany, on November 11. The carnival season kicks off in Germany on the same day.

William West / AFP - Getty Images

Miko and Billy Tsang of Hong Kong walk down the steps of Victoria's State Parliament after being married in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 11. Thousands of couples around the country have chosen the auspicious date of 11.11.11 to marry, believing it will bring them good luck.

Mohd Rasfan / AFP - Getty Images

A general view shows newlywed couples during a mass wedding ceremony at the Thean Hou temple in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Nov. 11.

AP reports:

Place your bets! Tie the knot! Make a wish! Friday is the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011, and around the country, many people are planning to mark the triple convergence of 11s with a splash, hoping it will bring them good fortune or at least amuse them for a day.

Marjaneh Peyrovan, who just moved to New York, plans to buy 11 lottery tickets (each, of course, including the number 11). She will check out apartments she has been eyeing. And precisely at 11:11 a.m., she will walk into the office of Diane von Furstenberg, the fashion designer for whom she has long dreamed of working. Continue reading.

Adrienne Mong

Wedding couples jostle with fishermen on Beach Number 2 on a sunny Sunday aternoon in Qingdao.

Adrienne Mong

Check out the guy stirring his meat marinade in the bottom right.

Adrienne Mong

Waiting to pose.

Adrienne Mong

Even a white horse gets in on the wedding action.

QINGDAO, SHANDONG PROVINCE, CHINA –“Beach Number Two,” said my colleague Ed Flanagan.

Of the six public beaches along Qingdao’s 26-mile long boardwalk—perhaps the world’s longest—Beach Number Two was Ed’s vote for the nicest, quietest place to soak in the rays.

He was half-right.

It was the nicest.

Which was why it was also not the quietest, because on this beautiful Sunday afternoon all along the rocky cliffside and the stretch of flat sandy beach were dozens Chinese couples posing for their wedding portraits.

Qingdao apparently is THE place for memorializing one’s nuptials.

Women in huge meringue-like dresses fought the wind, which occasionally blew up their skirts, revealing jeans and sneakers underneath.

Photographers sprawled on the sand, pointing their expensive cameras up at beatifically-smiling brides and grooms.

A man led a white horse towards the shade after its photo shoot.

Another man on the sideline stirred a bowl of marinated kebab meat—perhaps lunch for the photography team.

Some couples waited patiently, unfazed (unlike me) by the spectacle of it all.

By the way, Qingdao does a roaring business in weddings. The morning I arrived, a white limousine with pink garlands snarled up traffic on the way into the city. My cab driver said couples spend at least $1,200 to rent one for their wedding day. That's in addition to the "Audis, Benzes, and BMWs" the cabbie said the betrothed also hire for their families on the big day.

And the hotel at which I stayed held four wedding banquets on Saturday and three on Sunday. At $53 a head with an average of 300 to 400 guests, couples spend anywhere from $15,900 to $21,200 just on the hotel banquet facilities. That’s very steep given that the average employee’s yearly income in Qingdao is $2,312.

Eric Feferberg / AFP - Getty Images

Women run to find wedding dresses at the annual "Running of the Brides" sales event at Filene's Basement in New York on Friday, June 3. The annual sale is known for its long queues and frantic shopping among brides-to-be hoping to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars on designer wedding gowns.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

A shopper tries on bridal dresses during the Filene's Basement "Running of the Brides" bridal dress sale in New York on Friday.

Eric Feferberg / AFP - Getty Images

Women search for wedding dresses at the annual "Running of the Brides" sales event at Filene's Basement in New York on Friday.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

A shopper carries bridal dresses during the Filene's Basement "Running of the Brides" bridal dress sale in New York on Friday.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

A shopper tries on bridal dresses during the Filene's Basement "Running of the Brides" bridal dress sale in New York on Friday.

Justin Lane / EPA

Avernell Joseph, of Brooklyn, New York, has a moment of indecision while trying on a wedding gown in the men's shoe department during the 'Running of the Brides' at a Filene's Basement store in New York on Friday.

Shannon Stapleton / Reuters

Shannon Osborne carries a bridal dresses during the Filene's Basement "Running of the Brides" bridal dress sale in New York on Friday.

It appears that wedding season is, well, off and running. Full story here.

Oh, the joys of getting royally married! AFP moved this portrait today of Prince William and Kate Middleton lookalikes posing with handcrafted dolls of the royal couple on their wedding day. You can check out more of our royal wedding coverage here.

Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images file. Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images

Left: Prince William and his fiancée Kate Middleton pose for photographers during a photocall to mark their engagement, in the State Rooms of St James Palace, central London, Nov. 16. Right: Kate Middleton and Prince William lookalikes aka Kate Bevan and Andy Walker pose for photographers with hand knitted figures depicting Prince William and Kate Middleton on their wedding day during the UK toy annual trade show in central London, Jan. 25.