But is proposing old hat? Today is leap day, when women are encouraged to propose to their male partners. But with marriage rates falling across the world, many fear the ship has sailed.
Leap of love: the day women pop the question
I do? : Amy Adams proposes to Matthew Goode in the 2010 romantic comedy Leap Year. Glossary
Gregorian - It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582.
Superstitions - Belief or practices that are not entirely based on facts or reality.
Lavish - Spending more money than is reasonable.
Progressive - In a political context, the belief that society can be transformed in the interests of ordinary people. It is normally associated with the politics of the left.
Dowry - A payment made by the bride's family to the groom's family.
Jane Austen - An English novelist most famous for writing Pride and Prejudice.