With the holidays fast approaching, we’re actually heading into engagement season, when about 37% of couples get engaged, which means you’ll probably start getting a lot of calls from friends saying their man has put a ring on it. And while you’ll mostly talk about how the proposal went down, and what the ring looked like, you may not realize all the effort that went into getting that proposal just right.
According to a new survey by The Knot, most proposals are far from spur of the moment decisions. In fact, 25% of grooms say they “meticulously” plan their proposal “down to the last detail,” with the average groom spending about 4.4 months planning it, and 7% spending at least 12 months coming up with how to pop the question.
And of course, a lot goes into finding that perfect ring. The study finds that:
- The average cost of a ring is now $6,351
- Men spend on average 3.5 months looking for a ring
- They look at 26 rings before making a purchase
- 45% of rings are custom designed
- A round cut is the most popular stone (52%)
- The average carat size for a center stone is 1.2 carats
- White gold is the most popular ring setting (61%)
But even with all of that, a lot of men aren’t making that ring decision on their own. The survey finds that 33% of couples will shop for their ring together, with 89% of grooms happy that their S.O. has a say in the ring. But it doesn’t seem like too many women agree. Only 6% of brides say they wish they were more involved in the process.
- As for the actual proposal, 60% of grooms say regardless of how meticulously they planned their proposal they still felt nervous beforehand. Meanwhile, a lot of people are going with tradition when asking, with 91% still using the words “will you marry me?,” and 87% popping the question on bended knee. And family is still a big deal, with 77% of grooms still asking their partner’s family for permission to ask for his gal's hand in marriage.
Source: The Knot