Romance, dates, and the road to a proposal
Who you can date, how to unlock each date type, and what the path from first gift to wedding actually looks like.
The short answer
Twelve of the 34 villagers are dateable. Dates are scheduled on Saturdays or Sundays, one per day, and each of the six date types unlocks through a specific item. A completed date is worth 60 heart points — the largest single award in the game — and ten hearts with a partner opens the proposal.
The 12 dateable villagers
Of the 34 villagers, 12 can be dated — the romance page lists all of them with their portraits and bios (romance page). Everyone else is a friend-only NPC, no matter how high their hearts get. This is worth knowing early: a lot of players put effort into a villager who will never return it.
The 10-heart events, proposals and weddings in 1.0 apply to these 12 only. The rest cap at the friendship heart levels.
How dates work
Dates can only be scheduled on Saturday or Sunday, one per day whoever it is with, and the same partner cannot be asked again for six days. A festival that occupies the day takes the slot instead — so a Saturday festival means no ordinary date that Saturday.
A completed date awards 60 heart points — three loved gifts’ worth, and the biggest single heart award in the game. That makes the weekly date the backbone of any romance plan.
The dateable progression in order: gifts and conversation raise hearts to the first milestones, dates accelerate from there, and 10 hearts with a partner unlocks the proposal. The gifting guide covers the point math in detail.
The six date types and their unlock items
Each date type unlocks through a specific item, most of which arrive through story events or the world rather than shops:
| Date | Unlock item |
|---|---|
| Inn Meal | Inn Menu |
| Beach | Lovely Seashell |
| Deep Woods Picnic | Picnic Set |
| Gem Cutting | Rough Gemstone |
| Park | Dollhouse Bench |
| Bathhouse | Bath Soap |
The Bathhouse date is the community favourite and the hardest to unlock — its item is a real investment. Each date has its own keepsake photo, and all nine photos (six dates plus three event dates) form a collectible set (romance page tracks them).
Three more dates are event-only and cannot be chosen from the menu: the Shooting Star Festival, the Harvest Dance and the wedding itself. They happen inside their events and consume neither the weekend slot nor the partner cooldown — so dancing at the Harvest Dance on a Saturday leaves that Saturday’s ordinary date still available.
Ten hearts: the proposal
At ten hearts with a partner you are dating, the proposal opens. The engagement ring becomes craftable at a forge, and proposing leads to the wedding — which is customizable (flower color, cake flavor, reception meal) in the days before. After the wedding, marriage unlocks the family side: the Mystical Feather item triggers the optional child discussion. The marriage guide covers the full arc.
Practical romance plan
- Pick one partner early — the six-day cooldown makes juggling multiple partners slow, and the 10-heart event needs focus.
- Gift + talk daily, date weekly. The 60-point date dwarfs everything else in the routine (gifting guide).
- Unlock the date items as they appear. Some come from events that only trigger once, so do not ignore the story quests that carry them.
- Use the calendar. Saturdays, Sundays and festivals decide when you can date; the calendar page plans the whole season.