---
title: What 24 Couples Actually Put on a Love Map
description: We read 24 delivered custom love maps and counted every milestone on them. Which stops are near-universal, which are rare, and the finding that surprised us most.
canonical: https://paperanniversarygift.com/love-map-data-study/
last-updated: 2026-09-09
---

# What 24 couples actually put on a love map

We read 24 delivered custom love maps and counted every milestone on them. Which stops are near-universal, which are rare, and the finding that surprised us most.

## Method

Every delivered map in a set of 24 was read and each stop on it recorded,
then the stops were grouped into 22 categories. Totals are
counts of maps containing a stop, not counts of stops, so a map with two
holidays counts once for "a trip or holiday". No buyer details are published:
the unit of analysis is the stop, not the couple.

| | |
| --- | --- |
| Maps read | 24 |
| Stops recorded | 191 |
| Median stops per map | 8 |
| Maps ending on a future stop | 17 |
| Distinct titles chosen | 6 |

## Which milestones make it onto a map

| Milestone | Maps | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The wedding | 19 of 24 | 79% |
| Where we met | 18 of 24 | 75% |
| The proposal | 17 of 24 | 71% |
| A trip or holiday | 16 of 24 | 67% |
| The first date | 15 of 24 | 63% |
| A home they bought or built | 13 of 24 | 54% |
| A child | 9 of 24 | 38% |
| Moved in together | 8 of 24 | 33% |
| The anniversary being marked | 6 of 24 | 25% |
| Moving country or state | 5 of 24 | 21% |
| A pet, by name | 5 of 24 | 21% |
| The honeymoon | 4 of 24 | 17% |
| University or graduation | 4 of 24 | 17% |
| Said “I love you” | 3 of 24 | 13% |
| Made it official | 3 of 24 | 13% |
| The lockdown | 3 of 24 | 13% |
| A first Christmas at home | 2 of 24 | 8% |
| The first flat | 2 of 24 | 8% |
| An ordinary ritual | 2 of 24 | 8% |
| Their own business | 2 of 24 | 8% |
| One big adventure | 1 of 24 | 4% |
| Grandchildren | 1 of 24 | 4% |

## What the numbers say

The median map carries 8 stops, which is why the offer is
5–8 milestones: it is the range real couples land on without being
asked to. The top of the table is near-universal, so those stops are worth
taking as given. The value is in the middle and the tail, the stops that are
specific to one couple, and those are the ones a brief has to name precisely.

17 of 24 maps end on something that had not happened yet, a
baby due, a house being bought, a trip booked. That is a deliberate choice
rather than an oversight: it turns a record into a road that keeps going.

Titles chosen across the set: Our Love Map, Our First Year, The Story of Us, Map of Us, Our Love Story, Unsere Liebeskarte.

---

Source: https://paperanniversarygift.com/love-map-data-study/
Updated: 2026-09-09