Planning To Get Engaged? Reading This Article In November? No Coincidence!
Here’s a thing: most of us think of engagement as something that happens at any random time of the year, or if pressed harder, we might talk about springtime as “peak engagement” season. We hadn’t given it much thought until we looked back at our sales figures and saw that there was a definite bump in sales of engagement rings toward the end of each year. There's a definite trend to when people choose to get engaged.
But that didn’t tell us when the real peak time for guys to get down on one knee actually was. So, we decided to do a little digging. What we found was interesting, surprising, and definitely something to share with you!
The Most Popular Months To Propose Marriage Around The World.
We are based in the UK, and most of our clients are right here, but there are enough engagement rings flying from our storeroom to cities across Europe and even further afield that we decided to start by taking a look at what happens in other countries.
Here’s what we found, and we were surprised! We found a 2019 Global Wedding Report survey that made for interesting reading. Take a look here for the full run-down.
Given that the data came from a survey of over 20,000 couples from 14 countries worldwide, we did not expect this…
The most popular month to get married in all the countries surveyed, apart from one, was December! That was a surprise given that not all the countries have the same religious or cultural background; in fact very different. It isn’t even the same season in most of them, so images of romantic proposals in front of the warm glow of a wood-burning fire absolutely don’t apply. Sadly, the report did not go into reasons why December was so universally popular.
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The Indian Exception
The only country that did not have the peak for engagements in December was India. India’s most popular month is February, followed by January. According to the report’s authors, the reason is that February is considered well covered by auspicious days that bring good luck – however, those days change from year to year! For example, here is an article detailing the auspicious dates and times, shubh muhurat, for weddings in 2019 and engagements in 2023.
About The UK And December Engagements
Although the peak month for getting engaged is December, with around 18% of engagements in that single month, around 40% of all engagements happen between the last week in November and Valentine’s Day on February 14th!
But there’s more detail to be found, specifically for the UK. According to research by the British event-planning company Chillisauce, 43% of couples in the UK get engaged over Christmas. Seven of the ten most popular dates to get engaged are in December. The most popular days overall are Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day, Sunday before Christmas Eve, and the single most popular day of all is Christmas Eve, with 31% of respondents reporting that day. Perhaps it is not a surprise to see that Valentine’s Day is also a very popular day that closes the peak engagement season.
He Says, She Says!
One aspect of proposal planning that the Chillisauce survey picked up was the difference in opinion between men and women regarding when the best date to propose was.
Of course, it's an absolute truth that men and women don't always operate on the same wavelength, and it seems that some guys may be proposing marriage to their girlfriends too soon. The findings from Chillisauce showed that one-third of the men polled would like to pop the question on Christmas Eve. In contrast, 29% of women said they would want their boyfriend to pop the question on Valentine's Day, and 20% of those polled hoped to get engaged on the anniversary of their first meeting.
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Pre-Planning An Engagement
It seems that guys think ahead; engagement is not a spur of the moment thing. Around 45% of proposers begin looking for engagement rings about five months before they actually propose. 71% of proposers purchase the ring within two months of actually proposing.
Interestingly, although guys might be trying to keep a secret, 80% of women told the researchers that they dropped hints to their partners about what type of ring they wanted! So, not only do the women know they are going to be proposed to, but they manage to tell us what they want. Not only can’t we men keep a secret, but we also don’t even know when we are getting told what to buy!
As for the proposal itself, 87% of proposals were planned ahead of time, with 84% of men getting down on one knee and proposing with the ring in hand.
About The Right Engagement Ring, How Important Is It?
Here, of course, we are biased! We think it is very important to propose with the right ring. We have published articles and guides on choosing the right engagement ring, strategies to find the right size ring, and even your girlfriend’s ring preferences. Don’t leave it to her to drop hints to you if you’re trying to keep a secret!
But what if she doesn’t like the ring? Well, Chillisauce’s researchers have us covered here too! According to the research, 21% of women wouldn’t say or do anything if they didn’t like it. They’d just accept and wear it. Which seems a little sad when it is a ring she might wear every day for the rest of her life!
We think that an engagement ring should be an object of delight and joy, not something that one merely accepts or puts up with. Our British designers have worked very hard to create beautiful engagement rings in a wealth of styles and budgets. When you choose an engagement ring from our collections, you can return and exchange it if your new fiancée is not absolutely delighted. If you bought the ring as a surprise, now she can be part of the choosing process!
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Please take a little time and browse through our engagement ring collections. You’re sure to be inspired by what you see. Unlike a traditional jewellery store, you won’t be hassled by retail sales staff wanting to make quick sales. However, you are welcome to ask any questions about engagement rings using the chat service on each of our pages. You’ll get a prompt, helpful response from our expert team!
Don’t feel a need to follow the crowd when it comes to proposing to the person you love. Choose the day and the way that you prefer, that will delight your partner. The same applies to the ring you select, whether the choice is made by you alone or by both of you together. Do what gives both of you joy!
