How to Get Married in Stardew Valley (2026 Guide)

Marriage is one of Stardew Valley’s longest-running player goals, and it is also one of the easiest to get stuck on halfway through. Between bouquets, pendants and house upgrades there are four separate gates standing between a first conversation and a wedding on the farm. This guide lays out the full sequence in order, names every eligible candidate, and covers what actually changes once the ceremony is done.

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How to get married in Stardew Valley: the four-step sequence

Raise a candidate to eight hearts, give them a Bouquet from Pierre’s General Store to start dating, raise them to ten hearts, then give them a Mermaid’s Pendant bought from the Old Mariner on the beach. The wedding takes place three days later. The one requirement players forget is the house: you must have completed at least the first farmhouse upgrade from Robin before your partner will accept the pendant. That upgrade costs 10,000g and 450 wood, and it takes three in-game days to build, so start it early.

Step one: pick from the twelve candidates

Stardew Valley has six bachelors — Alex, Elliott, Harvey, Sam, Sebastian and Shane — and six bachelorettes — Abigail, Emily, Haley, Leah, Maru and Penny. Every candidate is available to every farmer regardless of the character you created. You can date several people at once, though doing so triggers a jealousy event once multiple partners reach ten hearts, and the villagers will call you out for it at the Flower Dance. Gifts are the main lever: two gifts per week, with birthdays worth eight times the normal friendship value. A comfortable setup matters for a game you will sink hundreds of hours into, and our gaming laptop buying guide covers machines that run Stardew perfectly while handling heavier titles too.

Step two: buying and giving the Bouquet

The Bouquet appears in Pierre’s General Store for 200g, but only after at least one villager reaches eight hearts. Hand it to your chosen candidate the same way you give any gift and their heart meter turns from grey to pink, unlocking hearts nine and ten. Importantly, the Bouquet does not count as one of your two weekly gifts, so give it and a birthday present on the same day if the timing works. Dating also unlocks the eight- and ten-heart cutscenes that give each character their best writing, so do not rush past them.

Step three: the Mermaid’s Pendant and the Old Mariner

The Mermaid’s Pendant costs 5,000g and is sold by the Old Mariner, a hooded figure who appears on the far western part of the beach, past the broken bridge. You must repair that bridge with 300 wood before you can reach him, and he only shows up on rainy days between 6am and 8pm. Rain in spring and summer is common enough that a week or two of watching the TV forecast usually pays off. He will refuse to sell if your partner is below ten hearts or if your farmhouse has not been upgraded. Once you have it, give the pendant to your partner and the wedding happens three mornings later, with the whole town gathering on your farm.

Marrying Krobus and the multiplayer wedding ring

Krobus, the shadow merchant in the Sewers, cannot be romanced but can become a roommate once you reach ten hearts with him and have the upgraded farmhouse. He moves in with his own room, does chores, and functions much like a spouse without the marriage framing. In multiplayer, players marry each other using a Wedding Ring crafted from five Iridium Bars and a Prismatic Shard, using a recipe sold by the Traveling Cart for 500g. Co-op farms are one of the best reasons to own a second controller; our PC gaming controller buying guide compares pads that work well for couch co-op on Steam.

What changes after the wedding

Your spouse moves into the farmhouse and gains a personalised room attached to the kitchen, decorated to match their personality — Sebastian gets a workshop, Leah gets a studio, Harvey gets a hot air balloon. Spouses water crops, feed animals, repair fences and occasionally cook breakfast. They also keep a private heart track that continues up to fourteen hearts, unlocking a final cutscene. Neglecting a spouse by never speaking to them causes friendship decay, and a badly neglected partner will start commenting on it.

Having children after marriage

Once you reach fourteen hearts with your spouse and have completed the second farmhouse upgrade — 65,000g and 100 hardwood from Robin, which adds the nursery and cellar — your spouse will occasionally ask about starting a family while you sleep. Accepting produces a child fourteen days later; a second child can follow once the first grows up. Children pass through crib, crawling and toddler stages and then stop developing. There is no way to have more than two.

Divorce, the Dark Shrine and starting over

If you change your mind, the divorce book sits on the desk inside Mayor Lewis’s manor and costs 50,000g. Your ex-spouse moves out, their room is removed, and their memory of the marriage stays intact, meaning they will be noticeably cold toward you. The Dark Shrine of Memory in the Witch’s Hut, fed a Prismatic Shard, wipes that memory and resets them to a neutral state so you can date them again. Long sessions of grinding for that kind of gold are easier with good peripherals, and our mechanical keyboard buying guide covers quiet switches for late-night farming.

Speed-running the marriage: a practical timeline

A focused player can be married by the end of summer in year one. Start gifting on day one, learn your target’s two loved gifts, and prioritise the 10,000g for the house upgrade over tool upgrades. Spring crops such as cauliflower and the Salmonberry season help fund it. Bank an extra 5,200g for the pendant and bouquet, keep 300 wood aside for the beach bridge, and watch the weather channel every evening for rain. Playing on a big screen makes those tiny heart meters far easier to read, and our gaming monitor buying guide explains what panel size and resolution suit pixel-art games best. If you play docked on Switch, our Switch accessories buying guide is worth a look for grips and screen protectors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get married in Stardew Valley without upgrading my house?

No. The Old Mariner refuses to sell you the Mermaid’s Pendant until you have completed at least the first farmhouse upgrade from Robin, which costs 10,000g and 450 wood. The upgrade adds the kitchen and the space where your spouse’s personal room will eventually be built.

How long does it take to get married after giving the pendant?

The wedding is scheduled for three in-game days after your partner accepts the Mermaid’s Pendant, and a countdown appears on your calendar. The ceremony takes place on your farm in the morning, most of the town attends, and the day is otherwise playable once the cutscene finishes.

Can I date more than one villager at the same time?

You can, and the game allows multiple bouquets, but there are consequences. Once two or more partners reach ten hearts, a jealousy cutscene triggers in which the villagers confront you publicly, friendship points drop with everyone involved, and the Flower Dance dialogue changes to reflect your reputation.

What happens if I ignore my spouse after the wedding?

Spouse friendship decays if you go days without talking to them or giving gifts, and their dialogue turns increasingly resentful as hearts fall. They may stop doing farm chores such as watering crops. Speaking to them each morning and gifting weekly is enough to keep the relationship at maximum.