1 in 4 Marriage Proposals Happens Abroad on Holiday

Posted by Sue Anderson, 3rd Jun 2015

Asking someone to marry you is a big deal, so it makes sense to try and make the setting of the proposal as romantic and memorable as possible.

We already knew that a lot of engagements happen on holiday, but we wanted to look into this trend a little more to see just how popular popping the question abroad was. We polled 2,154 recently married Britons and asked them about the circumstances in which they became engaged.

Was it all candles and roses, or was it more of a low key affair down the local pub? Here is what we found out...



Majority of proposals happen at home and 8% happen over the phone



First of all, everyone taking part was asked 'Where did the marriage proposal take place?' and respondents were asked to pick from a list of answers or select 'other' and specify their own. According to our results, proposals are most likely to happen in the following top five places:

1. At home - 26%

2. On holiday abroad - 23%

3. In a restaurant (UK) - 16%

4. Somewhere scenic (UK) - 11%

5. Over the phone - 8%

Beach is the top spot for holiday proposals, followed by a meal out



We asked anyone who said that their marriage proposal had taken place on holiday abroad about the circumstances in which the question was popped. The most common responses were as follows:

1. On a beach - 42%

2. During a meal - 21%

3. In our hotel room/accommodation - 12%

4. On a busy street - 9%

5. At a scenic viewpoint (e.g. top of a building, hillside...) - 7%

Other answers from the 'other' category included in bed, at the airport and on the plane!

51% of the respondents who said their proposal had happened on holiday said that it had been very public in terms of the number of people looking on. However, 22% of the holiday proposals were spontaneous, meaning there was no ring at the time.

Caribbean most likely spot for holiday marriage proposals



The top destinations in which holiday proposals took place were revealed to be the Caribbean (26%), America (13%), France (11%), Italy (11%) and Spain (5%).

What better place to pop the question then on holiday? You're both bound to be at your happiest and most relaxed - unless you're the one doing the asking, which case you could end up a bag of nerves! However, the settings on offer during a holiday are often hard to beat.

Whether you're at the top of the Empire State Building, about to be hurled into the atmosphere on Space Mountain or on a secluded beach watching a sunset; it certainly beats proposing over a pint and a packet of crisps down the local pub. The Caribbean is clearly a favourite place for romance to strike, so those heading there this year with their significant other could perhaps be coming back engaged.
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