Twosday 2-22-22 palindrome popular for New England weddings

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What is a palindrome? It’s a man, a plan, a canal, Panama

What is a palindrome? It’s a word or number that is same when read forward or backwards.

Wicked Local

When Carrina Jablanski walks down the aisle, a sandy one on a beach in Cancun, it will be 2 p.m. on 2-22-22.

“The more twos the better,” laughed the bride-to-be from Fiskdale, Massachusetts. 

Jablanksi is far from alone in choosing the symmetrical wedding date. In fact, the last Tuesday of this month is set to see wedding pandemonium – from New England to Las Vegas all the way to Singapore. 

Feb. 22, 2022 is a “ubiquitous palindrome date,” explained Dr. Aziz Inan, a University of Portland professor who has been studying palindrome dates for the last decade. It’s a palindrome across the globe no matter how the date is written, he said – whether in the format of month-day-year; day-month-year; or year-month-day (2-22-22, 22-2-22). 

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Palindromes are words or number sequences that can be read the same backward as forward. The symmetry and auspicious nature of palindrome dates have always been a major draw for couples looking to say their vows on a particularly unique day, and perhaps one with a little additional luck circulating in the universe, as some believe.

In the case of Feb. 22, it’s loaded with the number two, which in Chinese culture is thought to be a lucky number. And if that isn’t enough, the date is falling on a Tuesday, resulting in a social media craze calling it “Twosday.” 

“It’s very different, it’s not something you come across often,” said Samantha Joder, founder of Kaleidoscope Events, a Massachusetts-based wedding planning company with offices in Somerville and the Berkshires. “It allows (couples) to standout and be unique.” 

Las Vegas is gearing up for what could be its busiest wedding day ever, officials have said. So much so, Clark County is opening a temporary marriage license office at Harry Reid International Airport to help couples coming to Vegas to be wed.

In California, at the state capitol in Sacramento, 222 couples are encouraged to bring their marriage licenses and come dressed to impress for a “once-in-a-lifetime collective wedding event.” The event will start at 2 p.m. and conclude at 2:22 p.m., followed by a celebration. 

‘Twosday:’ 2-22-22 palindrome date explained

One would be hard-pressed to find an individual more enthusiastic about palindrome dates than the University of Portland’s Inan, an electrical engineering professor. For him, such dates have “magical numerical power,” and the ability to foster social interaction.

“Any time I share these with other people, whatever age, I get their attention and they are interested,” he said.

This February happened to be full of palindrome dates – 10 exactly, in the month-day-year form.

Feb. 22, Inan explained, expressed in short as 2/22/22, is the second ubiquitous palindrome day to occur this year, the first being Feb. 2 written as 2/2/22.

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They are ubiquitous palindrome dates “because whether you’re in Europe, Asia or America, it’s a palindrome date,” meaning they’re read the same backward and forward no matter what date system is used. 

There will be other ubiquitous palindrome dates like this year’s 2/2/22, such as 3/3/33, 4/4/44 and 5/5/55, occurring every 11 years. However, Inan said, no palindrome date like 2/22/22 will occur again in this century.

“Symmetry is so powerful,” he said. 

New England couples getting married on 2-22-22

Carrina and Jammin Jablanski are already legally married, but Feb. 22 will be their formal wedding day –  a date they started eyeing back in 2018 when they decided they wanted to get married barefoot in Mexico. First they looked at Feb. 2 – another palindrome date – but when Carrina saw the opportunity to add another two, they went for it.

“We’re super stoked and it’s coming so quick,” she said. They’ve had “so much fun” sending out their save-the date notifications and wedding invites, getting amusing reactions in return.

The couple has three children from previous relationships who will make the trek down to Cancun with them for an intimate ceremony with just 17 guests. 

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The Jablanskis’ wedding cake topper? The palindrome date, of course, Carrina Jablanski said. They plan to celebrate a second time back home with a local reception in Sturbridge.

Kaleidescope Events’ Joder said symbolism is extremely important to some couples – from how the numbers in their date align to certain cultural traditions, such as Chinese dragon dancers thought to bring good luck or seven chairs representing the seven Jewish blessings.

In Joder’s case, she and her husband got married on April 14, 2018 because they liked even numbers and “4+14 equaled 18,” she said. In 2020, Joder’s company received several inquiries for Feb. 29 because people liked the idea of getting married on a Leap Day. 

But not everybody getting married this Feb. 22 was so intentional from the start. Some stumbled upon the date and decided to go with it. 

Megan Flanagan and Michael Chappell originally wanted a fall wedding, but their chosen photographer was booked. They quickly shifted to planning their ceremony on an “off-day.”

“Both of us love winter; winter is our season,” said Flanagan. “It just kind of worked out that it happened to be 2-22-22 on a Tuesday.”

They’ve still had fun with the palindrome. The couple’s engagement pictures featured a letter board that read “Twosday.”

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They’ll tie the knot in a backyard ceremony in Pittsburg, New Hampshire at a property they purchased last year. After the “I dos,” they’ll celebrate with 75 guests at their local snowmobile clubhouse. Flanagan said she’s most excited for their families to come together. 

“We saved quite a bit of money, which is a huge part of it,” she said. “And I think there’s some symbolism in the No. 2 when it comes to couples. One and one is two, kind of fun and sweet.”

For Plymouth, Massachusetts couple Betty Padon and Gaddiel Rodriguez, their August 2020 wedding was postponed due to COVID. They chose to wait it out until their closest family members could gather safely.

“Then we realized we had a unique opportunity to get married on quite a cool day,” said Padon. 

They’ll marry on Feb. 22 at the Plymouth Town Hall at exactly 2 p.m., surrounded by immediate family. They’ve been together for nearly 14 years and first met in high school.

“It’s just kind of funny to us,” Padon said. “We always wanted to make our day special, and I knew that was going to be a memorable date.”

“I’m really excited. He’s my soulmate.”

$22 elopement deal on 2-22-22

The wedding frenzy around 2-22-22 presents an obvious opportunity for wedding officiants like Mary Kernander.

A justice of the peace for more than 20 years, Kernander is offering a $22 elopement deal for couples in the Seacoast New Hampshire region. She runs Kindred Spirits Weddings with her daughter as a side business, and has officiated weddings at public parks, lighthouses and more.

“Elopements particularly are what I love,” Kernander said. “The focus is truly on the marriage as opposed to the wedding.”

Kernander also loves numbers, she said, and has past experience with couples who have their heart set on a particular calendar date or a time on the clock.

She fielded many calls for ceremonies on 11-11-11 and 12-12-12, and recalled one time she stood in a couple’s living room listening to the tick of the clock before pronouncing them married at a chosen time.

Of her $22 elopement deal, Kernander said, “When I realized the 22nd of February of 2022 was also a Tuesday, I said, ‘What better way to do something?'”

Rhode Island-based wedding officiant Tressie Seymour has two wedding ceremonies booked for Feb. 22 – back-to-back elopements that evening. 

“They were both very adamant about getting somebody to do this date,” said Seymour, who goes by “Rhode Island Minister,” performing ceremonies in mostly Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

Neither ceremony will probably take longer than 10 minutes, she said, and they’ll be intimate. One will take place at Lover’s Bridge in Providence’s Roger Williams Park and the other at the couple’s home.

“I think really it’s just cool to say, ‘I got married on 2-22-22,'” said Seymour, who lives in West Warwick. “I married a couple on 2-2-22 and they were super excited.”

Businesses have been hopping on the bandwagon, too. The Kimpton Marlowe Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts is using the date as a big wedding promotion – offering 22% off an entire wedding bill if couples book their 2022 date before Feb. 22. For couples who sign a wedding contract specifically on Feb. 22, they’ll receive customized Converse sneakers for their wedding party.