Whether you’re tying the knot with the one you love or helping a friend or family member plan their wedding, there are a lot of numbers to get straight in the process. Thankfully, there are tons of statistics to help inform your decision-making and spark creativity. You’ll be surprised by some of the marriage proposal stats!

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Each year around the holiday season, social media posts are filled with pictures of rings, proposal videos, and changed relationship status. We are presently in the middle of the most popular proposal time of year with nearly forty percent of all engagements occurring occurring between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day. This time period is often called the proposal season. As the time frame coincides with traditional holidays that are family gatherings, it seems a natural time for couples' proposals because they want to share their love commitment with those they love.

Recently, I ran into my dear friend, Merissa. She is alocal photographer in Bozeman, Montana, who photographed some family photos for my family, and my husband and I’s wedding. As we caught up on how our lives were going, Merissa shared some shifts in the wedding industry and how her business changed with this year's trends. An increasing trend she is seeing is twofold: 1) a new way to define elopements and 2) increased popularity of elopements.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

We just wanted all of our loved ones, a place to dance, and an open bar.

The second you say the word wedding, what should be a wonderful celebration comes crashing down around your feet in a flurry of multi-thousand-dollar estimates, tangled branches of the family tree, and a never-ending list of logistics. I never even knew what Chiavari chairs were!

The wedding world is in a different universe, and as much as you might envision that magical day, I do not believe any amount of pre-planning prepares you for when you dive into it.

Right after the proposal, everyone wants to see the ring, know the date, ask about the venue. As a newlywed couple, it’s easy to feel like you’re suddenly sliding down a steep slope to “I Do” without a moment to pause.

Swept up by the excitement, Emotional Intelligence tends to get pushed aside. (Related: What is Emotional Intelligence?)

You know when you’ve been staring at a screen too long and you suddenly wake up to your surroundings? Your eyes re-adjust. You realize you’re down some dark rabbit hole of Google or Instagram or whatever. You know that you’ve gone past the point of [...]