If you’ve recently found yourself wandering the virtual fields of your late grandfather’s run-down farm, chances are you’ve made your way into the friendly community of Stardew Valley. Full of rich storylines, diverse crops, and unique characters, Stardew Valley is a highly popular farming RPG that appeals to gamers of all skill sets. After familiarizing yourself with the layout of the farm and surrounding area, as well as how to do some basic things like growing and selling crops, chances are good that you’re wondering how to develop relationships with the inhabitants of nearby Pelican town. This is our Stardew Valley Marriage guide, it contains everything you need to know about wooing that certain villager you have your eyes on!

If you’re interested in more Stardew Valley content after reading this marriage guide, check out our following skill guides where we cover everything from the unlocks to which professions are the best to take!

Foraging Skill Guide

Combat Skill Guide

Farming Skill Guide

Fishing Skill Guide

Mining Skill Guide

Benefits of Getting Married

In most community-building games, players are rewarded for befriending the townspeople, and Stardew Valley is no different. Daily interaction with locals results in the accumulation of friendship points, which are measured by the number of hearts on the friend page. Deepening friendship causes villagers to be more helpful, friendly while interacting, and even sometimes send you gifts and recipes in the mail. As you accumulate more hearts, you have the chance to view cut-scenes called heart events which help you to better understand each character, offering a richer gameplay experience.

Villagers in Pelican Town can be quickly grouped into one of two categories: those who can be married and those who cannot. You can tell which category each villager falls into by viewing his or her profile on the friend page. If the last two hearts in the series are colored gray, the character can be wooed and eventually married.

If like many new players you find this process tedious, frustrating, or even unnecessary, you are not alone. However, the game becomes much easier with the assistance of gifts from friends. Additionally, hearts can be accumulated quickly by gifting villagers items that they love, especially on certain days, such as during the Feast of the Winter Star (Winter 25) or on the character’s birthday. On these days, gifts become extra valuable with modifiers of x5 and x8 respectively. By keeping track of the local calendar, you can quickly and easily build strong friendships with everyone, or perhaps with that special someone.

When you build a friendship or relationship with a character, you may find that they give you highly useful items, such as those needed to complete the Community Center. Additionally, some early quests, such as The Mayor’s Shorts, require access to a character’s home and bedroom, which can be gained after reaching two hearts with the character. If you neglect to continue to interact with a character, your friendship points can decay and hearts can be lost.

While the benefits of continuously building friendships are clear, the payoff is even greater if you pursue and marry one of the bachelors or bachelorettes in town. After marriage, your spouse may be willing to help out with chores around the farm, such as feeding/petting animals, watering crops, and preparing coffee or breakfast food. Additionally, a well-kept and happy spouse will freely give the gift of a stardrop, which permanently increases the player’s energy bank.

Players should note that spouses require regular interaction to be happy, as 20 friendship points are lost every day that the player neglects to speak or give a gift to their spouse.

Who Can Be Married

While every villager friendship is valuable and worth pursuing, players may want to primarily focus their efforts on the twelve single individuals available for marriage. The town boasts six bachelors and six bachelorettes for the player to interact with and befriend. After marriage, each character will move their things into the farmhouse, including a room which is specific to the character and reflects their interests and pursuits. You’ll find each potential suitor listed below alphabetically, as well as their birthdays and the best ways to win their hearts.

Abigail

Lives at the general store with her family. You’ll know her by her violet hair, though her mom calls it blue. Her favorite gifts are amethyst, blackberry cobbler, chocolate cake, pufferfish, pumpkin, and spicy eel. The most available favorites are amethyst, which is found while mining, and chocolate cake, which the player can make after learning the recipe through The Queen of Sauce. Her birthday is on the 13th of Fall.

Alex

Lives in the house southeast of Pierre’s shop. He enjoys sports and is extremely proud. His favorite gifts are the complete breakfast and salmon dinner. Neither of these gifts are easily accessible, as the complete breakfast recipe airs on The Queen of Sauce during year two and the salmon dinner recipe is a gift from Gus after 3 hearts. Instead, offer him one of his liked gifts, such as a standard egg and any universal liked gift. Alex’s birthday is on the 13th of Summer.

Elliott

Lives alone in the beach hut. His flowing locks and ethereal behavior make him seem mysterious and somewhat brooding. His favorite gifts are crab cake, duck feather, lobster, pomegranate, and Tom Kha soup. His most accessible gifts are the lobster, which can be caught in a crab pot in the ocean after fishing level 2, and the pomegranate, which grows in the fall. Elliot’s birthday is on the 5th of Fall.

Emily

Lives with her sister Haley in a house south of the town square. She works for Gus at the saloon but would much rather find work as a seamstress. Her favorite gifts are amethyst, aquamarine, cloth, emerald, jade, ruby, survival burger, topaz, and wool. Her most accessible gifts are any of the gemstones, which can be found in the mines. Emily’s birthday is on the 27th of Spring.

Haley

Lives with her sister Emily at 2 Willow Lane. Haley is beautiful, conceited, and judges others for superficial reasons, yet hides a secret soft side. Her favorite gifts are coconut, fruit salad, pink cake, and sunflower. None of her loved gifts are easily accessible in early game, but Haley likes daffodils, which grow freely in Spring. Stock up and you’ll be set until you can grow sunflowers in Summer and Fall. Haley’s birthday is on the 14th of Spring.

Harvey

Lives and works at the town medical center. He comes across as quiet and somewhat sad but doesn’t explain why. His favorite gifts are coffee, pickles, super meal, truffle oil, and wine. His most accessible gifts are coffee and wine, as coffee can be purchased from the Stardrop Saloon and wine can be made from any fruit with a keg. Harvey’s birthday is on the 14th of Winter.

Leah

Lives alone in a cabin southwest of town near Marnie. She is generally found wandering the backwoods, foraging and spending time in the outdoors. Her favorite gifts are goat cheese, poppyseed muffin, salad, stir fry, truffle, vegetable medley, and wine. Her most accessible gifts are salad, which can be found at the Stardrop Saloon, and most but not all forage items, which can be found around town in any season. Leah’s birthday is on the 23rd of Winter.

Maru

Lives north of town in the house attached to Robin’s shop. She is dedicated to her research and often volunteers at Harvey’s clinic. Her favorite gifts are battery pack, cauliflower, cheese cauliflower, diamond, gold bar, iridium bar, miner’s treat, pepper poppers, rhubarb pie, and strawberry. None of her gifts are very easily accessible, but if you buy strawberry seeds at the Egg Festival, you should be able to grow enough berries to give away and to sell for a profit. Maru’s birthday is on the 10th of Summer.

Penny

Lives in the trailer by the river. She enjoys cooking and spends her time tutoring young children in town. Her favorite gifts are diamond, emerald, melon, poppy, poppyseed muffin, red plate, roots platter, sandfish, and Tom Kha soup. None of her favorites are easily accessible, but some of her main likes, such as leeks, sweet peas, and crocus, can be gathered through foraging. Penny’s birthday is on the 2nd of Fall.

Sam

Lives south of town at 1 Willow Lane. He is friendly but somewhat distracted by his passion for music. His favorite gifts are cactus fruit, maple bar, pizza, and tiger’s eye. Only one of his favorite gifts, the pizza, is easily accessible as it can be found daily at the Stardrop Saloon. Joja Cola, one of his liked gifts, can also be purchased from Joja Mart. Sam’s birthday is on the 17th of Summer.

Sebastian

Lives in the basement of the house attached to Robin’s shop. Sebastian is a bit of a loner, often hiding in the basement playing video games or behind his swoop of dark hair. His favorite gifts are frozen tear, obsidian, pumpkin soup, sashimi, and void egg. None of his favorite gifts are easily accessible, perhaps with the exception of the frozen tear found in the mine from floors 40 to 79. One of his liked gifts, quartz, is a much easier find. Sebastian’s birthday is on the 10th of Winter.

Shane

Lives in a rented room in Marnie’s house. He spends his days working at Joja Mart and his evenings drinking at the Stardrop Saloon. His favorite gifts are beer, hot pepper, pepper poppers, and pizza. His most accessible gifts are beer and pizza, which can both be purchased at the Stardrop Saloon. If you’d rather grow your gift, hot peppers are another good option. Shane’s birthday is on the 20th of Spring.

Best People to Marry

Though any character from the list can easily be won through persistence, friendliness, and a few choice gifts, some are easier for new farmers to pursue than others. You may notice while reading the list that some favorite gifts are expensive, rare, or late-game items. For this reason, though all potential spouses require the same amount of friendship points, some friendship points are more easily bought than others. Below are two of the easiest candidates to marry.

Best Wife to Marry in Stardew Valley

The best female character to marry according to our Stardew Valley Marriage Guide is Leah. The salad, one of Leah’s favorite gifts, can be obtained daily at the Stardrop Saloon for 220 coins. After reaching three friendship hearts with Emily for the recipe and upgrading to the house with a kitchen, players can easily make salads from Spring forage materials. She is also fond of most foraged materials, and while liked gifts give fewer points than loved, they will add up quickly (and cheaply).

Best Husband to Marry in Stardew Valley

The best male character to marry according to our Stardew Valley Marriage Guide is Harvey. Coffee, one of Harvey’s favorite gifts, is available for 300 coins at the Stardrop Saloon at all times. Coffee can also be crafted using the keg and five coffee beans after purchasing a coffee bean from the Traveling Cart and growing it in spring and summer. Harvey is also generally easy to find, spending most of his time in the clinic.

How To Get Married

In order to propose marriage to a bachelor or bachelorette, the player must achieve several things. First, the player must reach 8 hearts with the chosen person. In the meantime, the player should gather 300 wood pieces and mend the bridge near Elliott’s beach hut. Additionally, they should gather money and resources to upgrade the house, as the suitor won’t accept a proposal unless the house has been upgraded. After reaching 8 hearts, they should purchase the bouquet from Pierre’s shop and gift it to their potential spouse. At this point, the player and character are dating. Players can date multiple characters at once, but this can cause tension during interactions between the townspeople.

After entering the relationship, the player should focus on gaining two more hearts. Once this is complete, they need to wait for a rainy day. If the 10 heart mark occurs during the winter, the player can use a rain totem to summon a rainy day, which will not occur otherwise. During the first rainy morning after reaching 10 hearts, the player should make their way to the beach to speak to the Old Mariner. After a short conversation, the Mariner will offer to sell a Mermaid Pendant for 5,000 coins. Players can present this to the bachelor or bachelorette of choice as a proposal, and if all previous requirements have been met, the character will accept. The ceremony will occur three days after the proposal so long as the ceremony does not fall on a holiday or special event. Following the ceremony, the character will move into the farmhouse.

How To Get Divorced

If the marriage goes south and the player decides to divorce their spouse, they can expect a costly process. A divorce can be obtained at the Mayor’s Manor in one of the two small books and will cost 50,000 coins. If the player changes their mind before 10:00 pm, the divorce can be canceled, but if it goes through, the spouse will move out, drop to zero friendship hearts, and be labeled “Ex” in the friend book. Any attempts to rebuild the relationship with gifts will be denied. This resentment can only be reversed through an offering of 30,000 coins at the Witch’s Hut.

How to Have Children

If, however, the marriage goes well, players may decide to add to the family. After a week of marriage, the spouse may randomly ask if the player wants to have children, provided the house has been upgraded twice to add the upstairs bedroom with children’s beds. If the player answers yes, the couple should expect a baby within 14 days. Opposite sex couples will have a biological child, while same-sex couples will pursue adoption.

Is Marriage for You?

At first glance, you might find that the overall process of pursuing, proposing, and marrying seems a daunting task. Hopefully, this Stardew Valley Marriage Guide can help you keep track of who likes what, take some of the mystery out of marriage, and make you more excited to pursue the Special Someone who has caught your eye. We hope we covered all of your questions in our Stardew Valley Marriage Guide, best of luck in your courting journey!