The month of love is almost over. Has the earth moved for you?
More couples swan down the aisle in October than at any other time.
The grand tally in Australia this month will be 17,800, according to a survey.
The joys of a spring wedding are easy to comprehend.
What I find more difficult to digest is the amount of money people are shelling out to tie the knot.
The average spend has me staggering around in search of smelling salts - $48,296.
That's enough for a 10 per cent deposit on a $500,000 first home.
Call me unromantic, but I know which option I would choose - the DIY plan. I would recommend it to any of my kids prepared to listen, too.
Splashing out on a big wedding is great if you can afford it. But if it's a choice between that and a solid start in the housing market, I would fire up the barbie, fill a few Eskies and make a down payment on my future instead.
You're going to have a golden day anyway. It's the sentiment that matters, not how many floral bouquets are on the tables or how long the stretch limo is.
The total amount spent on weddings nationwide this October will reach $863 million, according to the Suncorp Bank report (I knew a bank would be involved in this somewhere).
The annual amount is $4.3 billion - about the same as Australia's international aid budget.
Love may be turbo-charging the economy, but as a public service let me pass on the following replies written by kids in an American survey I came across.
■• How do you decide who to marry? You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming. (Alan, age 10).
• ■No person really decides before they grow up. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with. (Kristen, 10).
• What is the right age to get married? Twenty-three, because you know the person FOREVER by then. (Camille, 10).
• How can a stranger tell if two people are married? You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. (Derrick, 8).
• What do most people do on a date? On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date. (Martin, 10).
•■ When is it OK to kiss someone? When they're rich. (Pam, 7). The law says you have to be 18, so I wouldn't want to mess with that. (Curt, 7).
■• Is it better to be single or married? I don't know which is better, but I'll tell you one thing. I'm never going to have sex with my wife. I don't want to be all grossed out. (Theodore, 8). It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them. (Anita, 9).
• How would you make a marriage work? Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck. (Ricky, 10).
Don't say you weren't warned.
Love may be the answer to everything, but judging by these responses, the same can't be said for marriage.
Put those wallets away, at least, and for heaven's sake don't have the wedding of the century on credit. Give your love its best chance.