Love Radiates From Times Square On Valentine’s Day

Surprise Proposals, a Safe Outdoor Wedding, and a Streaming Vow Renewal for Long-standing Love

On Valentine’s Day, real life love stories will unfold in front of the annual Love in Times Square Design Competition winner – Love Letters by Soft-Firm. Lovers will surprise their partners with proposals of marriage on Times Square’s iconic signage, a couple will tie the knot on Duffy Square, and a handful of socially distanced couples will renew their vows on the Red Steps while others can join the ceremony from the safety of their homes this year. 

Valentine’s Day in Times Square will include:

At 11:00am one couple gets married right in the heart of Times Square. The couple planned a destination wedding this past summer and it was canceled due to the pandemic. Now they have opted for Times Square on Valentine’s Day. The ceremony will be conducted for the 8th year in a row by licensed NYS officiant and Times Square Alliance Vice President of People & Culture, Hollis Kam.

At 11:30am and 12:30pm, lucky lovers will be surprised with a Valentine’s Day gift that they – and everyone else in Times Square – won’t see coming and won’t soon forget: a surprise marriage proposal on Times Square’s iconic American Eagle screen, including a proposal in Spanish and one from a couple whose love originated in Times Square.

Beginning at 6:00pm, a celebration of love and commitment will take place on the iconic Red Steps in Times Square. A few select couples will attend in person in socially distanced positions, and the event will be streamed live so that couples from around the world can join from the safety of their own homes. The ceremony is free and open to people of all ages, genders, religions, races, and backgrounds. Registration for this free event can be found here: www.TSq.org/Vows.

Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa is celebrating Love in Times Square with dreamy getaways for two lucky couples, including a honeymoon package with 4-night oceanfront room accommodations, and a one-year anniversary trip, including 4-night resort accommodations and a vow renewal ceremony to toast a year of marriage. TSX Broadway, the new development in progress at 1568 Broadway, will be on-site supporting the day and distributing free mugs for warm drinks. 

All of the festivities will overlook and engage with the winner of this year’s 13th annual Love in Times Square Design Competition: “Love Letters” by Soft-Firm. Primarily composed of donated plywood from building façades across New York City, Love Letters transforms a material that has become emblematic of fear and uncertainty into a poetic gesture of love, tenderness, and community. The installation, designed to facilitate multiple levels of participation, winds across Duffy Square to create four integrated spaces in one folding surface.  Love Letters invites the public to participate in the installation by leaving their own love letters within the sculpture. Continuing the ancient custom of votive offerings — the ritual of tying a ribbon to a wishing tree, or a love lock to a bridge — visitors are invited to tie a wish, a memento, or an artifact onto the netted underlay, such as letters of protest, a letter to a lost loved one, or a message of appreciation to essential workers. Over time, Love Letters will become a memorial and a beacon: a symbol of solidarity and hope.