Some couples might never consider heading into a marriage with zero chance of a first, second or even third anniversary.

But others would take the leap — no question.

Joey Ivansco/AJC (ENLARGE)

Don and Phyllis Pruitt were married on Leap Day in 1964.

Allen Sullivan/AJC (ENLARGE)

Betsy and Kimio Young dine with one of their two daughters at Oz Pizza in East Point. They were married twice on leap days.

Craig Chambers (ENLARGE)

Cindi and Craig Chambers have been married for 16 years.

HOW THEY CELEBRATE Cindi and Craig Chambers: A special dinner every February or March -- on whatever Saturday falls closest to what would be Feb. 29. On leap years, which they call "on years," they travel. They are a planning a trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley wine country. Betsy and Kimio Young: Between leap years, they celebrate on Feb. 28 and March 1 by dinners and other romantic gestures. On leap years, they go on trips. This year, they are going to Macon and revel in Otis Redding-inspired exhibits and activities. Phyllis and Don Pruitt: They typically honor their anniversary with a special dinner on or around the 29th. This year, they will likely go out for ribs. • More photos • More Living news

Feb. 29, a rare enough birthday, is an endangered species when it comes to weddings, which are typically Saturday affairs.

But an East Point couple in their 50s have pulled it off twice. Kimio and Betsy Young were first married on Leap Day in 1976, a spontaneous decision under the cloud of disapproving parents. The second was a more formal affair, in 1992, the last time Feb. 29 fell on a Saturday. There have been only two Saturday leap days since World War II — the other in 1964.

"Our anniversary has always been special on the regular years and magical on the leap years," said Kimio Young.

On Feb. 29, 1992, 355 couples said "I Do" in Georgia, according to an AJC analysis of marriage records. Couples didn't appear to target Feb. 29; there were only nine Saturdays in 1992 with fewer weddings, Dec. 26 and Halloween Day among them.

"I think Leap Day weddings attract a certain kind of person, the type of people who don't like to blend in the background," said Patrick Cuccaro, general manager of "Affairs to Remember" catering company in Atlanta.

Here are tales of other couples who took the leap on Leap Day:

24, and still not married? Egads!

For Phyllis and Don Pruitt of Lilburn, tying the knot Feb. 29, 1964, reflected a far different era when brides and grooms jumped into marriage shortly after high school. At 24 and still-single, Phyllis was nearing spinster status in her circle of friends.

Friends teased her. They said her only shot at couplehood would be on Leap Day, also called "Sadie Hawkins Day," a cartoon-inspired holiday urging women to run after single men and propose.

It was January when Phyllis met a young Don Pruitt during a night shift at Southern Bell. They chatted about both being in the Navy and serving as radiomen. And within a matter of weeks, the two strolled into a Justice of the Peace and proved Phyllis' friends right.

"I thought 'This is perfect!'" said Phyllis Pruitt, now 67, about the moment she realized Leap Day 1964 fell on a Saturday.

It is on a Saturday? What about Feb. 30?

For Craig Chambers, however, enthusiasm for a Leap Day wedding was more tempered. In fact, during a drive home from a football game in 1991, the commitment-shy Georgia Tech student used Leap Day odds to put off marriage.

"I told Cindi, if Leap Year falls next year on a Saturday, I'll get married," said Chambers, expecting years of breathing room. "I thought I had about one in 28 chance." But it was 1992. Cindi thumbed through her calendar book and the banter got quiet.

Cindi could hear the bells.

After 16 years of marriage, Craig Chambers, who also jokingly tries to get out of celebrating anniversaries on what he calls "off years," has no regrets.

"I guess the stars just all aligned up right," Chambers said. "It's actually been really wonderful. And maybe my wife and I will go to Paris for our 20th anniversary — also our fifth."

When the first Leap Day doesn't take

For the Youngs, love, marriage and Leap Day intertwined twice surrounding some heartbreak.

The first union was in 1970s when Kimio and Betsy Young were in a college jazz band together. He played the sax. She played trombone. She was spunky. He was shy — too shy, in fact to kiss her on the cheek on their first date. (So he shook her hand instead.) Family raised concerns about the love affair, saying they were too young and not prepared for the challenges of an inter-racial marriage (He is of Japanese and African-American descent; she is white).

So when a preacher told them during the last week of February that he had an opening that Sunday, they jumped.

They celebrated their nuptials at Kimio Young's family home. He wore a blue suit. She wore a pink cotton dress. The day on the calendar seemed insignificant at the time.

"My parents just didn't think we had a clue what we were getting ourselves into," said Betsy Young. "... and they were right."

The Youngs moved from Oklahoma to an Atlanta suburb. They had two daughters. They said they faced racial harassment in their community, once discovering cow manure blanketing their front lawn.

They also struggled with each other. She stewed and didn't speak up. He didn't realize she was angry. And they eventually got divorced.

But six months later, after counseling — and picking up golf — they fell for each other again.

This time, they would wait for marriage, scheduling a wedding day three years out — on Leap Day.

The Youngs celebrated by riding in a sky-blue Ford pickup, stopping at a string of jazz clubs, meeting up with friends and dining on crab rangoon and apple cake.

They moved to East Point and as they got settled in their new home, Kimio Young suggested he and his wife perform a jazz duet.

"I said, 'Let's see if we still have it,'" he said.

She pressed her lips up against her trombone. He played the sax.

They did still have it. . After 32 years — and nine leap days.

—Megan Clarke, Joni Zeccola and Sharon Gaus contributed to this article.