PHOTO BY KRISTY LUMSDEN PHOTOGRAPHY

Getting married on a Leap Day means a “real” anniversary every four years. Christina Gilpin and Donna Hayes planned for this when they got married on Leap Day in 2020 and decided to celebrate their anniversary with a vacation.

“We call it the big year,” Christina says. “On the off years, we just go out to dinner or something super casual.”

Originally, the two were thinking of celebrating their “big year” with a trip to Australia, but they just spent the last year remodeling and moving into a new home in the San Francisco Bay area, so they settled on Maui instead.

“Hawaii is a little more accessible to us,” Christina says.

The couple planned five days of fun together, where they don’t have to worry about anything and can just enjoy each other’s company.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTINA GILPIN AND DONNA HAYES

“We plan on just reading books and laying out on the water, and I think Donna’s gonna do some snorkeling … the rest of the time we are literally going to wing it.”

For the actual anniversary day, they planned a whale-watching tour.

“For the past week, [Donna] has been counting down the days,” Christina says. “We’re pretty much always gonna choose a beach destination for anniversaries … every four years, we’re gonna do something bigger.”