Couples flock to courthouse for 2-22-22 wedding date

Love is in the air at the Collin County courthouse where a full day of weddings are scheduled. The couples who get married on Tuesday will have a hard time forgetting the date -- 2-22-22.

McKINNEY, Texas - Tuesday 2-22-22 is bringing many couples together.

The Collin County courthouse had a full day of weddings scheduled for the unique date.

"We learned our lesson first on 12-12-12, which was the first one that I did when I took office. And so, we were expecting 2-2-22 and 2-22-22, which happens to be a Two-sday to be busy days," said Judge Paul Raleeh, a Collin County Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1.

As the calendar started filling up with weddings, the county quickly realized it would have to clear the entire court schedule for the day to schedule nothing but weddings.

John and Shelby Byrons were one of the nearly 50 couples expected to get married at the Collin County courthouse on the palindrome date. They are hoping it means good fortune for their family, which includes a set of twins.

"It’s a fun part of the job, obviously," Judge Raleeh said. "I really enjoy it. You know, as a justice of the peace we’ve seen these weddings increasing more and more because I think the cost of traditional weddings are thousands of dollars. And so, people are choosing to get married by the justice of the peace and then saving their money for the honeymoon or in the case of the first couple we married, they’re going to buy a house."

The pandemic also forced many couples to choose smaller courthouse weddings, sometimes even virtually.

"So again, we’re seeing an increase but nothing like today," Judge Raleeh said. "These numerical lineups are big. The next one 11 years from now is 3-3-33."

Judge Raleeh is offering a bit of advice to all the couples tying the knot on Tuesday.

"I tell them it’s not about marrying the right person. It’s about being the right partner," he said.

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Dallas County Justice of the Peace Katina Whitfield married couples every 15 minutes.

"We had a busy day on 2-2-22, also usually in February. Valentine’s Day is a big day," she said. "It was nothing compared to today and 2-2-22.

Jonnathan Wynn salutes new wife Ariana as the couple is connected to the twos.

Couples flock to courthouse for 2-22-22 wedding date

Across the country and in North Texas, people are getting married in record numbers on 2-22-22, a date many are marking with an unforgettable event.

"So we used to run a small business and we used to always wake up every night at 2:22 for some weird reason," he said. "And then when it came up, I really wasn't thinking about it anymore. But then she said we're gonna get married on 2-22-22."

"Each wedding is special because that’s a different couple. That’s a different set of people you’re celebrating," Whitfield said. "They picked you to celebrate the most important day of their lives with."