It’s time to start thinking weddings. Well, it is if you’re one of the thousands who will propose, or be proposed to, on Valentine’s Day. It’s pretty hard to put an actual number on the amount of questions that will be popped this February 14 but given the absolute dedication to this one day being all about love, there will be plenty who decide to plight their troth on this saint’s day.

Some estimates have up to a million proposals taking place on Valentine’s. However, as official numbers put the total number of people actually getting married every year at around 250,000 either plenty of them get told no or a frighteningly large percentage change their minds after saying yes.

Others put it at around 10% of all proposals taking place on Valentine’s Day every year which sounds a little closer to reality. However, it’s not the most popular day to ask that all important question. According to research by wedding venue Hensol Castle, the date you’re most likely to get engaged is Christmas Day, closely followed by New Year’s Eve. Valentine’s Day comes in third on that survey, followed by Christmas Eve and then Boxing Day.

So, basically, people are more likely to get engaged in December but if they’re going to be adventurous, Valentine’s Day it is.

What’s interesting about all those dates is that they fall in winter. Yes, special winter days and ones associated with fun, happiness and love. But winter, nonetheless. And it kind of makes sense. Most weddings take place in the summer (big hi here to all those couples currently trying to find a June Saturday in the next three years that doesn’t have a waiting list) so you need time to plan, right?

The difference between Valentine’s Day and the other four popular picks on that proposal list is that February 14 is also in high demand for weddings themselves (again, hi to those on that particular waiting list). The feast of St. Valentine is now so associated with love and romance that it’s become a natural focus for those making that most romantic gesture of all, marrying another person.

These few days will be the first real rush of weddings for the year and there will be thousands more (perhaps tens of thousands more) excitedly asking and answering questions that will put them on the path to a wedding. Which means that wedding season really is under way. T