The most popular time of the year to get engaged, and it's not Valentine's Day
It would seem like a no-brainer for the season of love - around Valentine’s Day in February - to be the most popular time that couples get engaged. But, according to new data, this isn’t the case at all.
In fact, the festive season actually trumps Valentine’s Day as the most loved-up time of year, according to jewellery brand Sacet. The ethical brand analysed its internal sales data and found that November is one of the most popular times for engagement ring sales as people gear up to pop the big question over Christmas.
In contrast, February isn’t a popular time to buy an engagement ring, falling behind July and August as well as November. Despite being the month with the most romantic day of the year, February isn’t a popular month for love at all - it was also one of the least popular wedding months this year.
January, December and February are the three least popular wedding months for 2023, according to data by wedding experts Hitched.co.uk.
Instead, May, June and July were the most popular months to hold a wedding over the last year, with the most popular wedding date falling on Saturday 27 May. Hitched also added that the three most popular wedding dates this year saw more weddings take place than the entire month of January.
To explain why Brits prefer to get down on one knee during the festive season, experts at Sacet said: "Many people may be surprised that the run-up to St Valentine’s Day isn’t the most popular time for engagement rings to be purchased.
"However, with a proposal, you want to add an element of surprise, and when it’s the most romantic day of the year, like St Valentine’s Day, the surprise may be lacking a little." In other words, it’s a little too obvious to pop the question on a day when romantic gestures are expected.
Because of this, many people look for alternative times of the year to ask their significant other to marry them. Additionally, November is when sale season begins ahead of the holidays, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals often running throughout the entire month.
It’s a good time to see if the ring you’ve had your eye on will go on sale, saving you some money for the upcoming nuptials instead.
"November is one of our most popular times for engagement ring sales and with it being a month before the most wonderful time of the year, many people may use the Black Friday sales to help them save some money whilst still choosing the perfect engagement ring in time for a Christmas proposal," say Sacet’s experts.
"With the festive season being renowned for friends and family travelling far and wide to be with each other, it makes it the perfect opportunity to propose because you’re guaranteed to have your loved ones with you both so you can all celebrate together."
Apart from the winter months, summer is also a popular time for engagement ring purchases - which experts believe could be due to the opportunity to get some beautiful holiday proposal snaps during summer getaways.
They say that the summer holiday season gives "Brits the perfect setting for their proposal, along with some gorgeous outdoor photographs of their engagement to make it a day they’ll never forget".
Watch: "I got married in secret like superstar Adele - with just my husband and our photographer on the guest list"
Read more about sex and relationships:
Counsellor reveals the six worrying signs you could be in a toxic relationship (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
How to navigate singledom after a long-term relationship, as Britney Spears says it's 'weird' (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
3 things to avoid when choosing an engagement ring, according to jewelers (Business Insider, 3-min read)
