Josh McConnell has had the same conversation so often it鈥檚 starting to feel like he鈥檚 reading off a script.

He and his wife are gearing up to celebrate their first anniversary, the Toronto-based writer will tell a co-worker or acquaintance. 鈥淚 thought you鈥檇 been married for years,鈥� they respond.

Both things are true: McConnell and his partner married on Feb. 29, 2020, so this is the first year they鈥檒l be able to celebrate on the same calendar day they were wed. It gives them an uncommon anniversary 鈥� and a fun talking point.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like it鈥檚 all rehearsed,鈥� he said in a recent phone interview. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something fun about that, which is kind of juicy.鈥�

In practical terms, McConnell and his wife do celebrate their anniversary every year. Their Feb. 29 wedding was held in her native New Zealand, when it was still Feb. 28 in his home country of Canada.

鈥淲e play the logical card,鈥� he said.

When they got married, they planned to splash out every Feb. 29 and keep their Feb. 28 anniversaries low-key.

That鈥檚 still the plan 鈥� for upcoming leap years. Family circumstances have led them to delay a planned New Zealand trip until 2025, so this year they鈥檙e going out for a nice dinner and they鈥檒l do something big again in 2028.

Even with the smaller-than-expected festivities, McConnell said he and his partner are taking this time to reflect on all the changes in their lives since 2020.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a real moment to be like: a lot has happened in four years,鈥� McConnell said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a cool way to mark the journey.鈥�

Though leap years serve a practical purpose above all 鈥� by keeping our annual calendar in line with the Earth鈥檚 365.242-day trip around the sun 鈥� they鈥檝e long been tied up with folklore, particularly around marriage.

Old European tradition held that women could propose to men on leap day 鈥� unlike the rest of the year, when men were expected to pop the question to their female partners.

In the modern era, some local governments are hyping leap day weddings 鈥� including the municipality of Kawartha Lakes, Ont.

鈥淟eap into marriage at Kawartha Lakes City Hall鈥� for just $400, city staff suggested in a recent press release.

A spokeswoman said the slots had all filled up 鈥� there will be seven weddings in the building on Thursday, including one 鈥渄ouble wedding.鈥�

Shana DeRoche, who runs the Brampton, Ont.-based wedding planning company Dream Weaver Events, said she鈥檚 never been asked to plan a leap day wedding, though she sees the appeal of getting married on an uncommon day.

But overall, she said fewer of her clients seem concerned with the significance of their wedding date these days.

鈥淧eople pre-pandemic really cared about when their anniversary was, tried really hard to find a date that would have meaning, or meant something to someone else in their family, or was the anniversary of their first date,鈥� DeRoche said.

鈥淧ost-pandemic, I think people care about it a lot less.鈥�

She鈥檚 not sure exactly why 鈥� it could have to do with the way the pandemic put the important things into focus, or maybe it was the backlog of delayed weddings in 2020 and 2021 that made it hard for newly engaged couples to find a date.

Cassandra Cleveland, who married her husband Mackenzie on leap day 2020, just before the pandemic put weddings on hold, said they鈥檙e thrilled they were able to squeeze their celebration in.

鈥淲e often refer to it as the last big party before the pandemic,鈥� she said by email from Vaughan, Ont., north of Toronto.

鈥淚t was the last time for quite a while that we saw many family members from all across the globe, and it was a really special memory to hold throughout the tough days of the pandemic.鈥�

The couple鈥檚 lives are looking pretty different these days. They got a puppy in 2021, and their daughter was born nearly two years ago. In 2021, 鈥�22 and 鈥�23 they celebrated on March 1 鈥� the day after Feb. 28.

鈥淪ince it鈥檚 technically our 鈥榝irst鈥� anniversary, we plan to celebrate with a big anniversary trip somewhere warm in the coming months,鈥� she said.

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