Leap Day: When She Can Propose To Him!

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It might be the stuff of legend and lore, but who cares? When it comes to Leap Day and all its traditions surrounding love and proposals, however they may have come about, it’s all good fun to us. And, to a lot of couples who take advantage of the rare date to make their relationship milestone extra memorable.

As the stuff of legend and lore goes, today, on Leap Day, the 29th of February, the lady may propose to the guy. (It also says that if he turns her down, he must provide a rejection gift, such as a gown of silk or somesuch, which we think is awesome and appropriate and certainly called for.) And you do see this happen every once in a while: One of Philadelphia wedding planner Gina Sole‘s brides surprised her groom-to-be last Leap Day at his office with lots of red roses—and a proposal.

But Sole says that mostly, couples who either get engaged (even if it’s just plain old boy-asking-girl) or married (which she actually says is more common) on 2/29 are doing it because it really does make that date in their history that much more special and memorable. “It’s an even bigger celebration to look forward to—and never gets forgotten,” she says. “One of my couples who got married on Leap Day actually renew their vows every Leap Day.” Other couples mark their every-four-years-anniversary by going on a big vacation. Plus, it’s an automatic fun theme for your wedding day: Invitations, save-the-dates, place cards, favors and cake designs that might otherwise be decked with a couple’s initials or monogram all become centered around a customized and personal stamp of 2/29.

We actually know of one Philly couple who not only celebrates their Leap Day betrothal every year—in a way, they got the best of both traditions the day they got engaged. While sipping cocktails on a sun deck after a long day of skiing on a trip to Aspen in 2008, Amy Langsam’s now-husband Andy asked a guy sitting next to them if he’d take their picture, informing him that his girlfriend would be getting down on one knee for the snapshot, what with it being Leap Day and all. Embarrassed, Amy was a sport and did it anyway—and after a few shots, as she stood up, Andy swapped places with her and got down on his knee—with, of course, a ring in hand—as their new friend took a few more. “We celebrate every year in February on the sun deck on the same mountain with the same drink,” says Amy. “We just got back on Monday.”

Do you have any Leap Day proposal stories? Or know of a couple who celebrates their anniversary in a big way every four years? We want more fun stories!

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