Can your wedding date predict your likelihood for divorce?

Ah, Valentine’s Day. That most romantic of holidays and a particular favorite for couples tying the knot. So what could be wrong with choosing February 14th as your wedding day? According to researchers, a lot.

A recent study coming out of the University of Melbourne has identified a link between romantically and numerically special wedding dates and an increased likelihood of divorce. Relying on Dutch marriage and divorce registries from 1999-2013, researchers compared marriages that began on Valentine’s Day and other numerically special days (e.g. dates with the same or sequential number values like 10-11-12 or 9-9-99) with marriages on other dates. The results surprised even the researchers.

Turns out, marriages that began on auspicious dates like Valentine’s Day showed an increased risk in the odds of divorce of 18-36%. Even after controlling for specific couples’ observable characteristics, the risk was still 11-18% higher than for those couples who married on ordinary dates. The risk also happens to be higher for couples who have not been previously married.

This research joins other studies that have found that expensive weddings and costly engagement rings lead to higher incidents of divorce, while formal weddings and high wedding attendance resulting in lower divorce rates.

So perhaps couples who really want a special date for their wedding would do well to plan a formal wedding with a huge guest list. You know, just to offset the higher risk of divorce that comes along with marrying on a day when Cupid is flying about with his bow and arrow.

Read the full study here.

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