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What Proposal Statistics You Need to Know this Engagement Season

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marriage proposal statistics you need to know

When you run a business in the wedding industry, you learn pretty quickly that staying a few steps ahead plays to your advantage. From anticipating your client’s needs and solving problems before they are a thorn in your side to preparing for different scenarios and making sure you are equipped for an influx of new couples to onboard, looking ahead (and getting your plan in place) is one of the best favors you can do for your future self. The thing is, there can be a lot of guesswork when it comes to deciding what to focus on. So today, we wanted to share some important marriage proposal statistics from our annual engagement and jewelry survey to help you hone in on your next move.

Read on for the most up-to-date wedding market research, and be sure to use the insights to prep your business and team for an influx of inquiries.

 

Mark your calendar for these popular proposal dates

First things first–when are couples actually getting engaged during Engagement Season? According to our findings, couples are getting engaged right before or right on important holidays like Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Thanksgiving. And that makes sense. Typically, these are days when people are together with their families, so popping the question becomes that much sweeter. Below are the most popular dates from this past year.

  • December 25
  • December 24
  • January 1
  • December 18
  • February 14

December being on this list three separate times isn’t a coincidence. Out of the 38% of couples who get engaged during Engagement Season, 20% of them happen during this month.

 

Proposals are planned with more than a ring alone

Customization and personalization of wedding-day details have been steadily increasing over the years, and now we are seeing the trend in proposals too. Nearly 1 in 4 proposers told us they feel pressure to plan something unique—and they are following through. About 1 in 3 engagements take place on a planned trip and 1 in 5 proposers are enlisting the help of professional vendors to plan or photograph it (up 8% since 2019). In addition, 90% of couples publicly share the details of their engagement on social media, with 78% making the announcement on Instagram and 77% doing so on Facebook.

 

When it comes to engagement ring shopping…

Gone are the days of being totally surprised by a proposal! Now, 3 out of 4 people who are being proposed to have some sort of involvement in selecting or purchasing the engagement ring (a 10% increase since 2015). In addition, nearly 80% of people told us they dropped hints about what kind of ring they wanted—1 in 5 actually visited a ring retailer on their own to look. 

When it comes to ring aesthetics, some changes are slowly taking place. While diamonds are still the most popular option for a center stone (86% of engagement rings), moissanite is growing in popularity (especially with Gen Z). Yellow gold is also trending upward, with 11% more couples choosing it over white gold since 2017.

Did you know? Engagement ring purchase data predicts a surge of proposals this coming engagement season. 

 

Ring budgets are increasing

One of the wedding industry statistics you might be most interested in revolves around spending habits, and the engagement ring is what kicks spending off. And this year, couples spent an average of $6,000 on an engagement ring (consistent with a pre-pandemic spend of $5,900 in 2019). Roughly 2 out of 3 couples set and stuck to their budget but nearly 30% spend more than they had planned (up 9% from 2020).

 

Couples are ready to start wedding planning

This brings us to the (most) exciting part—couples are ready to hit the ground running! In fact, 89% of them talk about at least one aspect of their wedding and 68% actually start something before even getting engaged (80% if they’re a part of Gen Z). Another important wedding proposal statistic for you to know? Roughly 85% of couples start wedding planning in less than 2 months of getting engaged and 60% within a month of getting engaged. 

 

Additionally, 75% of couples are going to turn to The Knot and WeddingWire to start looking for vendors during their, on average, 14-month engagement. This means that A LOT more people are going to be looking for businesses like yours soon. To get ahead of this influx of people looking for pros to make their wedding visions a reality, be sure to make these important updates to your Storefront, learn how couples use The Knot and WeddingWire to research and plan their weddings, and how advertising with WeddingPro can help you get found by this record number of engaged couples!

 

Photo Credit: Molly Anderson / Shutterstock.com

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