COEUR d’ALENE — When it came time to exchange rings with his new bride, Sean Buck feigned dropping the wedding band.

Then he pulled the ring out of his pocket for real and slipped it onto Grace Cooper’s finger.

It was fitting for a wedding already full of laughter — one that culminated in a long kiss between two people who’ve endured their share of tragedy and would now embark on the rest of their lives, together.

The newlyweds were among many couples who married at the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel in Coeur d’Alene on Feb. 22, 2022.

Weddings were scheduled at the Hitching Post from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the unique date. It was unclear exactly how many couples got married.

“We don’t do numbers,” Lynn Knapp said coyly, though she revealed more couples got hitched “Twosday” than on Valentine’s Day, a reliably popular wedding date.

For Sean and Grace, it’s been a whirlwind romance. They dated for only a few months before marrying; that was all the time they needed to know they want to share their lives.

Both recently widowed — Sean in 2020 and Grace in 2021 — the pair attended the same church and met at Bible study.

At first, Sean said he only intended to pursue friendship with Grace. He understood what she was going through after losing a spouse.

But they soon found that they had much more in common than grief. Love bloomed.

By early December, Sean knew he wanted to marry Grace.

“I already had the ring,” he said.

They got engaged three minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day.

They decided to marry on 2-22-22 both because they liked the symmetry of the numbers and because the date marks Pluto’s first revolution around the sun since 1774. It seemed like an auspicious time to wed.

“The stars aligned,” Sean said.

In a modest chapel filled with the couple’s loved ones, minister Don Knapp spoke of love.

“Marriage is the most special, the most beautiful relationship that you’ll ever have with a person in all of your life,” Knapp said. “You are blessed.”

The newlyweds know just how blessed they really are.

Grace said she’s frequently amazed by Sean’s capacity to listen and truly hear her, whether the matter is big or small. It’s not something she’s used to.

“He listens and then he takes action,” she said. “It speaks to my heart.”

Meanwhile, Sean said he admires Grace’s generous nature.

“She’s so self-sacrificing,” he said. “She’d do anything for the people she loves.”

That includes wearing a sleeveless wedding dress and open-toed shoes on the coldest day of the year, Grace pointed out with a laugh.

She said she felt as if a weight had been lifted in the moment she and Sean were pronounced husband and wife — a final piece falling into place.

“I’m just excited for what lies ahead,” she said. “We get to do life together.”