Nine Akron couples took a major leap over the weekend. They got married on Leap Day at a historic spot not usually open for weddings.
Carolyn and Geoff Chunyo were among the couples at Perkins Stone Mansion who wed on Saturday in a civil ceremony presided over by Akron Municipal Court Judge Annalisa Stubbs-Williams. The Judge says it’s good for her to be out in the public, and she’s performed weddings at places ranging from First Night to the Akron Civic Theatre. This is the first time Leap Day weddings have been performed at the mansion, which usually only allows ceremonies on its outdoor grounds.
So the Chunyos decided 10 days ago to get married on Leap Day, since it’s considered lucky, at the mansion that was built by one of Akron’s founding families.
“This was so kind of them – to open it up to do this. It makes what we had thought was going to be a quiet, sneak away thing [a] very pleasant memory.”
Each couple got a one-year pass for the mansion, and officials there say they’d be happy to host Leap Day weddings again in four years.
The Akron Municipal Court will again offer weddings at the mansion on St. Patrick’s Day, but the house does not re-open for the season to the public until April 1. For information on the March 17 weddings, contact the office of Judge Nicole Walker.
Leianne Neff Heppner, head of the Summit County Historical Society, outlines the history of the Perkins Stone Mansion:
