Marriage in Stardew Valley follows a specific sequence: build friendship with an eligible villager, give a Bouquet at eight hearts, reach ten hearts, then propose with a Mermaid’s Pendant. A high friendship score alone does not start dating. This guide covers NPC relationships in the standard game, not marriage between multiplayer farmers.
Who can you date?
The twelve marriage candidates are Abigail, Alex, Elliott, Emily, Haley, Harvey, Leah, Maru, Penny, Sam, Sebastian and Shane. Your farmer’s gender does not restrict which of these characters you can date. Check the Social tab for the “single” label; a friendly villager is not necessarily a marriage candidate.
Build friendship without wasting gifts
Talk to your chosen character when you see them and use the Social tab’s Gift Log to review preferences you have discovered. Ordinary conversation adds friendship, while disliked or hated gifts can reduce it. An expensive item is not automatically a good gift, so check the person’s reaction rather than judging by sale price.
Normally, you can give each villager one gift per day and two per week, with the weekly count resetting on Sunday. A birthday gift is allowed even after the usual two-gift weekly limit and receives a much larger friendship effect. Keep an item you know the recipient likes or loves for that date.
One heart represents 250 friendship points. Do not assume that every interaction immediately produces a visible heart. Heart events also depend on their own location, time and other conditions; reaching the displayed threshold and triggering a scene are different things.
Eight hearts: buy and give a Bouquet
Undated marriage candidates stop at eight hearts. This is an intentional relationship limit, not a bug or evidence that your gifts have stopped working. After you first reach that threshold with a candidate, Pierre sends a letter about Bouquets, which cost 200g at his store.
Give the Bouquet to the person you want to date. Acceptance changes their relationship status and unlocks progress toward ten hearts. A Bouquet starts dating; it is not a marriage proposal and does not replace the pendant. If the final hearts still appear locked, check whether this character has actually accepted your Bouquet.
Ten hearts: prepare the house and beach access
Before buying the Mermaid’s Pendant, reach ten hearts with an eligible partner and upgrade your farmhouse at least once. You do not need the second upgrade just to marry. For the usual early route to the eastern beach’s tidal pools, repair the small bridge with 300 wood.
The Old Mariner sells the pendant for 5,000g on rainy days at the tidal pools. He will not sell it if the house or relationship requirements are missing, or if you are already married. If he is absent, check the weather first. Winter requires a Rain Totem to produce the rain needed for his appearance.
Give the pendant, then check the wedding date
Give your intended partner the Mermaid’s Pendant to become engaged. The ceremony normally occurs three days after the proposal, but a conflicting town-square event or Green Rain can delay it. Check the wedding icon on the calendar instead of assuming a festival day will work.
After marriage, the relationship can reach fourteen hearts. Keep talking to your spouse: marriage does not freeze friendship, and neglect still causes decay. The two-gift weekly restriction is removed for your spouse, although the one-gift daily limit remains.
If progress seems stuck
Eight hearts with no dating status: give a Bouquet. Ten hearts but no pendant purchase: check the farmhouse upgrade, marriage status and beach access. No Old Mariner: return in rain, remembering the winter exception. No heart scene: check that event’s conditions rather than repeating the proposal steps.
