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On 3/14/15, ‘Super Pi Day’ inspires weddings for couples who love numbers
Marc Umile, a pi enthusiast, has memorized more than 15,000 digits of the irrational number. He plans to perform a rap in honor of Pi Day 2015, which can be written as the first five digits of pi: 3.1415. Photo/Video: Jennifer Weiss
By VERONICA DAGHER
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True love never ends. A number of math lovers will bond in that belief this weekend, on a day of infinite significance for them.
Saturday’s numerical date of 3-14-15 matches the first five digits of pi, the mathematical constant whose value is obtained by dividing a circle’s circumference by its diameter. The coincidence has inspired couples with a special affection for numbers—and each other—to marry on what some have dubbed “Super Pi Day”.
“It’s a once in a lifetime occurrence,” says Theresa Fulton, 36 years old, who will wed on Saturday in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
She plans to take the connection to somewhat appropriate extremes, considering that pi can be carried out to a never-ending number of decimal places. There will be wedding pie, bouquets of 3.14 flowers, a veil with the Greek letter pi hidden in it. The ceremony will commence at the precise second when pi can be carried out five more places: 9:26:53 a.m.
Pi Day, which also happens to be Albert Einstein’s birthday, was officially declared by Congress in 2009 to encourage students to study math. Some teachers celebrate it with pizza and pie parties and pi recitation contests. Princeton, N.J., where Einstein lived, plans a number of activities Saturday, including a 3.14 mile walk, a pie-throwing event, and an Einstein look-a-like contest.
In 1706, mathematician William Jones first used the 16th letter of the ancient Greek alphabet to represent the value, according to Joseph Mazur, a professor emeritus at Vermont’s Marlboro College. It’s natural for math lovers to have a fascination for pi and its qualities, he says.
“Pi is a bit like love—its digits are mysterious and unpredictable,” says Mr. Mazur, author of “Enlightening Symbols: A Short History of Mathematical Notation and its Hidden Powers.” Also, pursuing a precise value out to many digits requires labor and devotion.
ENLARGEKris Finch and Theresa Fulton plan to get married Saturday—Pi Day—because the date, 3-14-15, matches the first five digits of the mathematical constant pi. PHOTO: THERESA FULTON AND KRIS FINCH
“Like marriage, it can really be a chore and you need to work at it,” he says.
Ms. Fulton credits a love for all things mathematical, including pi, to her father who schooled her in math and astronomy. After earning a degree in math, she took a job as a software engineer and launched pi memorization contests among colleagues. Each year, when March 14 rolls around, she uses Facebook to remind friends and family of the day’s significance.
When, on that day last year, her then-boyfriend Kris Finch presented her with a small bouquet of flowers, she knew he was the man to marry. It consisted of three calla lilies and a daisy with all but about 0.14 of its petals plucked off, she recalls.
That night they ate apple pie. He “made me feel like the happiest woman on the planet,” she recalls.
Mr. Finch, a 32-year-old portrait artist, says, “I never knew about Pi Day until I met her, but I loved her enthusiasm.”
When Ms. Fulton and Mr. Finch became engaged, they quickly decided 3-14-15 was the right day to seal their vows.
There could have been a snag in their plan: The inn they picked for the event already was booked for that afternoon. But for Ms. Fulton there was a perfect pi-lovers’ workaround—have the ceremony at 9:26:53 a.m. The pianist and violinist will start playing Guns N’ Roses “November Rain” at that moment.
ENLARGEMr. Finch, an artist, illustrated the couple's wedding invitation with a pi-themed proposal scene. PHOTO: KRIS FINCH
Ms. Fulton’s attendants each will hold 3.14 flowers, as will Mr. Finch’s boutonniere. She will walk down a 30-foot aisle runner that she has hand painted. “It has at least 100 digits of pi painted on it,” she says.
Mr. Finch sketched a design for their invitations, featuring him proposing and her with a piece of pie. After the ceremony, guests will dine on, among other things, “pi-erogis” and “pi-napple.”
Because the couple loves carnivorous plants, there will be Venus Flytraps at the wedding too, but they will be labeled with signs dubbing them “Venus Pi Traps.”
Guests will have 3.14 cakes and 3.14 pies to choose from and be treated to a pizza party later that night. “We wanted to show them how cool pi is and how you can really have fun with it,” says Ms. Fulton.
Having personalizing weddings is a trend that has been growing in recent years, says Anja Winikka, site director of TheKnot.com, a wedding-oriented website. “They’re looking to infuse their personalities into all of the wedding day details,” she says. She knows of several marriages planned for Pi Day this year.
For New York City schoolteachers Jason Lang and Lauren Moscowitch, the day was worth a wait. They knew nearly instantly they were in it for the long haul. So much so that after their second date, Ms. Moscowitch, knowing of Mr. Lang’s affinity for numbers, asked if he wanted to get married on Pi Day. The answer was easy.
“We looked it up and noticed that the next Pi Day to fall on a wedding-appropriate Saturday would be three years later, in 2015,” Mr. Lang says. “We’d known each other a week and decided that would be our wedding date.” Their ceremony will be Saturday.
Jareesa Tucker, a project manager with a background in chemistry, and William McClure, a mathematician, will also be tying the knot on that day, in Minneapolis. It was Mr. McClure’s idea, and having it be both “Super Pi Day” and a Saturday “was just too perfect,” says Ms. Tucker, 32.
She recalls being introduced to pi in seventh-grade math class and finding it “cool.” With a head for numbers, she memorized pi out to about 25 places in high school and college. “I’m pretty rusty now,” she says.
She connected with Mr. McClure, 33, through Twitter. They found they had a lot in common, including data analysis. “Science and math and other nerdy things have been a big part of our relationship, and Pi Day is the perfect day for us to highlight that,” she says.
The couple’s “Save the Date” mailing to invitees featured the pi symbol. At the rehearsal dinner, the bride and groom plan to wear Pi Day T-shirts, and they plan to give out mini-pies from a local bakery as wedding favors.
They have created a social media hashtag for the event that includes: “Pi Do,” a play on the traditional vow each will utter on Saturday. But those words will be serious, not frivolous.
“I hope our marriage is just as long as the number of digits in pi,” Ms. Tucker says.