The most romantic gestures ever

As we get ever closer to Valentine’s Day, you’ll no doubt want to get closer to the one you love. Perhaps you’re even considering a big, bold romantic gesture to show how much you care. The only problem is the competition! When you look at some of the biggest romantic gestures of all time, it can feel hard to even get close...

• Accountant star Ben Afflek knew that a simple love letter was never going to be enough to woo Jennifer Lopez, even if she was still Jenny from the Block back then. Instead, he took out a full page advert in Variety magazine professing his undying admiration.
• Justin Bieber took staying in and watching a movie to a whole new level when he rented out the 20,000 seat Staples Centre in LA just to get some alone time with Selena Gomez to watch Titanic. 
• Seal sent a real chill down the spine ofmodel Heidi Klum when he had a luxury igloo custom built in the remote Canadian Rockies for his proposal. It came complete a bed, candles and a generous scattering of rose petals.
• German socialite, Gunter Sachs, had Brigitte Bardot’s French villa regularly showered with red roses from a helicopter in the 1960s until she finally agreed to marry him in 1966.
• Talking of roses, Joe DiMaggio had fresh red roses delivered to Marylin Monroe’s grave three times a week from her death, in 1962, until his own passing in 1999.

Beware one-upmanship

Of course, once you’ve made a grand gesture, things can escalate quickly as you try to out do yourself. Because if you don’t, you risk the accusation that the romance is gone because you never hire entire stadiums for me anymore! 

Having bought Beyonce a million dollar Rolls Royce for her 25^th, Jay-Z had to find something even more impressive for her 29^th. Fortunately, there was an island off Florida available that fit the bill, which he bought for her for a cool $20m. 

Unbeatable romantic gestures

While the 69 carat diamond that Richard Burton bought for Elizabeth Taylor takes some beating, it still falls far short of our historic heroes. King Nebuchadnezzar’s wife missed the vegetation of her home country after moving to his desert home, so he built her the magnificent Hanging Gardens of Babylon to make her feel better. 

Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor, was so distraught by the death of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, that he built the famous white pillared Taj Mahal as her tomb.

Yet even these grand romantic gestures pale in comparison to Edward VIII. For him, love meant more than even being king, and he abdicated the throne of England to marry the love of his life, Wallis Simpson, in1936.

It’s the thought that counts

Don’t worry if you haven’t got millions of pounds to buy your loved one an island this year, or to build them one of the seven wonders of the world. You don’t need to give up your royal crown to prove that you care. You just need to go that little bit above and beyond, showing that you’ve really thought about them and not just splashed the cash and bought any old commercial Valentine’s present.

Kennedy’s hand made chocolates not only lift your gift to a premium level, with delicious recipes and incredible craftsmanship, they also give you the chance to show how well you know your loved one, and how much you’ve been paying attention to their tastes and preferences. 

By personally picking all their favourites, rather than just grabbing the biggest box at the supermarket, you can create a very special, bespoke selection that is just for them, full of thought as well as flavour. Better still, if you don’t include any of your own favourites, you can show how selfless you are too.

At the end of the day, most of us don’t want an ad in Variety, or a million dollar Rolls Royce; we just want to feel that some one really cares about us. So take your time and pick the perfect Kennedy’s selection for your Valentine today, because it really is the thought that counts.