An engagement star map of the night you said yes

What is printed on it

The poster above is an example we made for a couple we called Maya and Chris, engaged at Kerry Park in Seattle on New Year's Eve 2025. It is our "Under the stars" design in Navy, 18 × 24 in, in the black frame.

• The sky over that placeEvery star brighter than magnitude 5.8, with the constellation lines, as they stood that evening.
• A heart on the proposal spotA small street map of the streets around the place you type, with a heart on it: the bridge, the overlook, the restaurant or your own porch.
• One line for the namesUp to 40 characters. "Maya & Chris" is the usual choice. "She said yes" fits, and so does the question itself.
• The place and the datePrinted in small capitals under the names. You can shorten the place to the park or the town.
• Three designs, six colors"The whole night" fills the poster with the sky. "Our star" circles the brightest star high overhead and names it. "Under the stars" prints the words "Under the same stars" above the names. Colors: Cream, Sage, Blush, Navy, Noir or Clay.

Proposed in the daytime, at sunset or at midnight

Every poster shows the sky at about 9 in the evening, by the sun at that place, on the date you type. You do not need the time of the proposal, and none is printed. What that means for the moment you asked:

• In the daytimeOn a hike, at brunch, at the beach in the afternoon. The poster shows the stars that came out over that spot a few hours later: your first night engaged.
• At sunsetOn Valentine's Day 2027 at Santa Monica Pier the sun sets at 5:37 pm, and by 6:31 it is dark enough for every bright star. The poster shows the pier at 8:53 pm, which is 9 o'clock by the sun there. The sky turns about 15 degrees an hour, so it has moved on from the first stars you could see, but the bright ones high overhead are still up.
• At midnight on New Year's EveOver New York the sky turns 45 degrees between 9 pm and midnight on December 31, 2026. The star the "Our star" design circles hardly moves: Capella is 72 degrees up at 9 and 74 at midnight. Type December 31 if you count it as New Year's Eve, or January 1 if you want the new year under your names. The two skies sit about a degree apart.

The proposal nights of this winter

If you are planning to ask on one of these nights, this is what the sky over New York does at 9 pm, which star the poster circles over nine US cities from Seattle to Miami, and the last day to order if you want the poster in your hands the day before.

The order-by dates count the slow case: 8 business days, with weekends and US federal holidays off (Christmas, New Year's Day). Most orders take fewer, and an order up to Dec 17, Dec 18, Dec 23 or Feb 8 can still make it, with no promise. See shipping.

Christmas Eve this year has a full moon. Over Bow Bridge in Central Park it is 37 degrees up in the east at 9 pm, bright enough to wash out the faint stars, while Capella stands 67 degrees up in the northeast. The moon is not drawn on the poster; see that night in our free sky tool, or any other night on the sky on any date page. For Christmas Eve as a gift rather than a proposal, see the Christmas star map.

The first date or the proposal?

Not sure which night goes on the wall? The choice changes the stars more than you might expect. The sky at 9 pm moves on by about a degree every day and comes back to the same place a year later. We ran the poster's own code for every pair of dates in a year over nine US cities and counted how often the "Our star" poster circles the same star:

• One weekThe same star 87 percent of the time.
• Four weeks or soJust over half the time, 55 percent.
• A seasonThree months between the two nights leaves 10 percent.
• Half a yearNever. A first date in summer and a proposal in winter always give two different stars.
• A year apart, same dateAlways the same star. The anniversary of your engagement has the sky of the night itself.

The example couple below had their first date at Bow Bridge on June 15, 2024, when Arcturus stood 68 degrees up in the south. The proposal is planned on the same bridge for Christmas Eve 2026, under Capella. Same place, two different skies. In the same design and size the two posters hang as a pair, and a wedding star map later makes the third. Each poster is ordered on its own. For the first night alone, see the night we met.

Proposing with the poster

The editor lists every date up to December 31 of this year, so you can order the poster for a proposal you have planned and bring it along, wrapped or already on the wall. Next year's dates join the list on January 1. Some people put the question on the name line: "Will you marry me, Emma?" is 24 of the 40 characters, as on the example above.

• Only if the date and place are fixedA poster with a name on it can't be returned once it arrives as ordered. If the night might move because of weather, travel or nerves, ask first and order the next morning. It still makes a good engagement gift a week later.
• Ship it to yourself, or to a friendUse any US address. Framed posters arrive assembled, with clear acrylic in front and a hanger on the back, ready for the wall.
• Clouds and rain change nothingThe poster shows the stars that were above that spot, cloudy or not.

As a gift for a couple who just got engaged

• Ask for the place and the dateThe editor needs both. The place can be as exact as a street address or as loose as a town.
• Straight to their doorAt checkout, tick "This is a gift, ship it straight to them" and type their address. No prices go in the box.
• A note from youUp to 300 characters, printed on a card and packed with the poster (US orders).
• When it arrives4 to 8 business days in the US: 2 to 3 in the lab, 2 to 5 with the carrier. Outside the US we send the print without a frame, 10 to 30 business days.
• Prefer the streets to the stars?Our engagement map gift is a full street map of the proposal spot, without the sky.

Sizes and prices

Each size and frame carries the same poster.

Shipping is free in the US. Launch prices until Nov 30. You see the price of every size and frame in the editor before you pay.

Returns

A poster with a name that arrived as ordered is not taken back. Damaged or printed wrong: email a photo within 30 days of delivery and we reprint or refund in full. See returns.

More star maps

• Design a star map for any place and date
• See the sky on any date, free
• Star map of the night we met
• Wedding star map
• Anniversary star map
• Christmas star map gift
• Star map gift for her
• Star map gift for him
• Engagement street map gift
• Valentine's Day star map