Whether you're infatuated from afar, in the first blush of romance or coming up to your Golden Wedding Anniversary, February 14 is the perfect day to declare your love.
With Valentine's Day just a week away, starry-eyed couples in the UAE and across the globe are making passion a priority.
It can take hours to search for the right card, meticulous planning to create a candlelit dinner for two and careful thought to come up with a special gift. But when the magic happens, you'll know all that extra effort has paid off.
One-stop shop
So, where do you start? Well, card shops are the obvious place and many have come to be a one-stop shop. Cuddly toys, key rings, snow domes and picture frames are just a few items among the seemingly inexhaustible novelties to be found within card shops across the UAE.
Among the specialists gearing up for the second busiest time of the year, after Christmas, is Gulf Greetings. With more than 50 outlets all over the region, the company is expecting to shift around 150,000 cards this Valentine's Day. And the man managing Gulf Greetings' Hallmark category is none other than the aptly named Valentine Braganza.
The 38-year-old, originally from India, said there were numerous varieties of cards to choose from including laser-cut designs, handmade cards with attachments and jumbo-sized examples.
He said: "Valentine's Day is about showing people how much they mean to you. Giving a Valentine's Day card has its own charm. I believe the curiosity, excitement and the mood it creates when you open a card is priceless when you compare it to any other gift."
That "priceless" moment can cost anything from Dh11 to around Dh50. And if you want candles, red roses, heart-shaped doilies or cute fluffy slippers to reinforce your love, it's likely you won't have to look further than your local card shop.
Hearts galore
I visited Gulf Greetings' Mall of the Emirates branch to take a closer look at the merchandise available for the most romantic day of the year.
Swathes of red ribbons, roses and hearts galore met me at the entrance, and I had to tear myself away from the cute little novelties on the end of the aisles to step inside.
Adorable
A sea of red cards greeted me with messages from the subtle to the seriously slushy. While I expected cuddly toys, I was surprised at the rows upon rows of variety to be found at every turn.
Adorable pink and red turtles gazed out with "love me" eyes, a whole range of "Queen of Hearts" bears and creatures fought for prime position on the shelves, and loveable cats, dogs and tigers with crimson hues sat happily side by side just waiting to be picked up.
Last minute shopping
Store manager Deepak Salian said shoppers had been leaving it to the day itself to snap up cards and gifts for the previous two years.
"People are leaving it to the last minute these days," he said. "Usually the men are the late buyers while the women buy beforehand. Everybody buys cards from 15-years-old upwards."
Extra staff will be brought in on February 14 to cope with the rush.
Sales assistant Felisa Mariano enjoys helping customers find the right card or gift when Valentines Day comes around.
"It's nice to see people smile and they look happy when they buy Valentine's cards, especially the teenagers," she said.
"It's lovely to see husbands buying cards for their wives because you can see how much they love them."
