--- description: Key takeaway: if you want them to say yes, choose a romantic setting title: These Are the Top 5 Reasons People Reject Marriage Proposals image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7ac396b036a413b/6987639b524fc04507dea280/160677865.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # These Are the Top 5 Reasons People Reject Marriage Proposals by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 30, 2014 9:16 PM CUT  Man Proposing To Woman On Knee Man Proposing To Woman On KneeGetty Images by [Samantha Grossman](/author/samantha-grossman/) ## Samantha Grossman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 30, 2014 9:16 PM CUT If you’re thinking of proposing to someone soon, then you’re presumably hoping they will say yes. Or, better, yet, “Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!” or some other dramatic thing. If that’s the case, a recent study conducted by [VoucherCloud ](http://www.vouchercloud.net/ "undefined")about why people choose to reject proposals might be of use to you. The company surveyed 2,144 American residents, both male and female, who were 21 years or older and had previously rejected a proposal, Bustle [reports](http://www.bustle.com/articles/46763-rejected-marriage-proposals-the-top-5-reasons-people-say-no-to-getting-engaged "undefined"). The participants didn’t have to choose one specific reason — instead, they were asked for all the factors that contributed to their rejection. These were the five most reasons: 1. **Unromantic proposal setting:** 67 percent 2. **Poor ring choice:** 53 percent 3. **Bad wording of the proposal:** 51 percent 4. **Lack of trust in the relationship:** 39 percent 5. **Scared of the commitment:** 36 percent These results may seem a bit surprising. The reasons seem fairly: poor ring choice? Lame location? “As much as it seems silly to turn down the big question because the cost isn’t high enough, it’s important to remember that getting engaged is a huge moment in your life,”VoucherCloud’s Matthew Wood told Bustle. “It’s an investment and should be treated as such.” Of course, he added that there “are ways to make a person feel special during a proposal without going bankrupt.” So, take all of this with a grain of salt, of course, but it couldn’t hurt to pick an extra romantic proposal location. Just in case. ([h/t Bustle](http://www.bustle.com/articles/46763-rejected-marriage-proposals-the-top-5-reasons-people-say-no-to-getting-engaged "undefined")) _Read next:_ [_This Ridiculously Romantic Ad Aims to End Divorce_](http://time.com/3542053/this-ridiculously-romantic-ad-aims-to-end-divorce/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3549609/marriage-proposal-rejection-reasons/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3549609/marriage-proposal-rejection-reasons/"},"headline":"These Are the Top 5 Reasons People Reject Marriage Proposals","datePublished":"2014-10-30T21:16:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:14:14.028Z","description":"Key takeaway: if you want them to say yes, choose a romantic setting","url":"https://time.com/3549609/marriage-proposal-rejection-reasons/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Marriage","Dating","relationships","Weddings","Proposal","engagement"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7ac396b036a413b/6987639b524fc04507dea280/160677865.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Grossman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-grossman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte7ac396b036a413b/6987639b524fc04507dea280/160677865.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Marriage proposal","caption":"160677865","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3549609/marriage-proposal-rejection-reasons/","name":"These Are the Top 5 Reasons People Reject Marriage Proposals"}}]}] ```