NJ Couples More Likely To Skip Parent Blessing Before Proposal: Survey

NEW JERSEY — When it comes to that big marriage proposal, New Jersey residents are not as likely to ask for a parent's blessing before popping the question to their partner, according to a new survey.

Industry website DatingNews.com recently surveyed 3,000 people in the United States to find out if asking for a parent's blessing is an important step in the marriage process or an antiquated tradition with no place in the modern world.

According to the survey, 1 in 4 Americans believe asking for approval is unnecessary. In New Jersey, that number jumps to nearly 1 in 2, or 43 percent of Garden State residents.

When the results were broken down by state, some respondents were still more traditional than others.

According to the survey, 48 percent of California residents said they would forgo asking for a parent's blessing before proposing. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, 86 percent believe approval of the proposal is necessary from a partner's parents.

These are the five states where people were least likely to ask for their partner’s parents to give their blessing:

1. New Hampshire
2. California
3. New York
4. New Jersey
5. Delaware

These are the five states where people are most likely to ask for a parent's blessing before proposing:

1. North Carolina
2. Oklahoma
3. South Carolina
4. Utah
5. West Virginia

When asked why they would forego this tradition, nearly half (41 percent) said it’s because they felt confident in their relationship and didn't need it, while a quarter (24 percent) said it wasn’t relevant to their partner’s or their beliefs. About 20 percent said they don’t have a good relationship with their partner’s parents, while 14 percent believe the tradition is outdated.

The survey also revealed other relationship traditions that some respondents feel are outdated. Those were:

• Waiting to sleep together until marriage (44 percent)
• Cohabiting after marriage (15 percent)
• Taking their partner’s last name (12 percent)
• Having a religious wedding ceremony (4 percent)

See the full survey at DatingNews.com.