Our love story book ideas: 40 prompts for what to put in it

How to use these prompts

Whether you call it a love book, a “story of us” book or an anniversary book, it is built from specific moments. A few tips:

• Answer with scenes, not summaries. “We went to a concert” is a summary. “You held my coffee while I tied my shoe, then drank half of it” is a scene.
• Write down exact words. Nicknames, the first text, the thing they said at the airport.
• Don’t answer all 40. Ten vivid answers beat forty thin ones.
• Answer separately, then compare. If it isn’t a surprise, you may remember the same night very differently. That is often the best part.

How you met

1. Where were you the first time you saw each other? Name the real place: the café, the dorm hallway, a friend’s kitchen, the app you both nearly deleted.
2. What did you notice first? A laugh, a jacket, the book in their hand, the way they spoke to the waiter.
3. Who spoke first, and what did they say? Write the line word for word if you can, even if it was awkward. Especially if it was awkward.
4. What almost stopped you from meeting? The plans you nearly canceled, the friend who talked you into going.
5. What did you tell your best friend afterward? The first review is often funnier than the official version.
6. How did that first conversation end? A number on a napkin, a follow request, a “see you around” that turned out to be true.
7. When did you first think, “This could be something”? The moment you knew, or at least suspected.

Firsts

8. What was your first real date? Where you went, what you ordered, and how much longer it lasted than planned.
9. Where did you go on your first trip together? What went wrong matters more than where you went.
10. Who said “I love you” first? Where you were, what was happening, and what the other person said back.
11. What was the first gift you gave each other? Include the slightly wrong ones. They make very good pages.
12. When did you first meet each other’s people? Parents, roommates, the friend group with its own rules.
13. What was the first meal you cooked together? Or burned together, or gave up on and ordered instead.
14. What was your first disagreement, and how did it end? Keep it gentle. The making up is usually the story.

Inside jokes and little things

This is the chapter nobody else could write. A single inside joke can carry a whole page.

15. What do you call each other? The nicknames, where they came from, and the ones you would never say in public.
16. Which joke still works after all this time? One phrase that sets you both off, and the story behind it.
17. What is “your” song? Or the one that is banned from the car.
18. What small habit of theirs do you love? How they make coffee or leave notes: the things they don’t know you notice.
19. Where is “your” place? A bench, a booth, a trail, a corner table.
20. What do you happily argue about? The thermostat, the right way to load a dishwasher, whether a hot dog is a sandwich.
21. Who else belongs in the story? The dog, the cat, the rescued houseplant, the friend who introduced you.

Hard days and how you got through them

A love story with no hard chapter can feel thin. You don’t have to share everything; one honest page is enough.

22. What was the hardest stretch you went through together? Name it in a sentence; the details are yours to keep.
23. What did they do that helped? Usually something small: a meal on the counter, the right question at the right time.
24. When did you feel most like a team? A move, a flat tire, a waiting room, a deadline you beat together.
25. What did you learn about each other the hard way? How each of you needs comfort, or space, or a plan.
26. What promise got you through? Something one of you said, or something you decided together.
27. When did you know you were going to be okay? Often it is the first ordinary evening after a long season.

Big moments: moving in, the wedding, the proposal

28. What happened on the day you moved in together? The couch that didn’t fit, the box you couldn’t find.
29. What was the first thing you bought for your home together? And who won the argument about it.
30. How did the proposal happen? Where you were, who knew, and what didn’t go to plan.
31. What do you remember most from your wedding day? Skip the schedule and pick one moment: a look, a line from a speech, the first dance.
32. What happened on a big day that nobody else saw? The quiet minute alone in the middle of the noise.
33. Which milestone changed the most? A new job, a new city, a new pet, a new last name.
34. What tradition did you start without meaning to? The birthday breakfast, the yearly road trip, the movie you watch every winter.

What comes next

Every good story leaves a door open. These answers make strong last pages.

35. What are you looking forward to this year? Big or small: a trip, a new home, a slow Saturday.
36. Where do you still want to go together? The place you keep saying “one day” about.
37. What do you hope never changes? The thing about the two of you that you would protect at all costs.
38. Where do you picture yourselves in twenty years? Sitting where, laughing about what?
39. What would you thank them for, in one sentence? Write it down exactly. You may want it word for word.
40. What should the very last line say? “I would choose you all over again” is one answer. Yours might be a promise, a question or a plan.

How to choose about 15 moments

Our books have 15 illustrated story spreads, so about 15 moments is a good target. It is enough to tell a whole story, and few enough that every page earns its place.

For an example, here is how the 15 spreads of our fictional sample, “The Little Things That Led to Us”, fall into a story arc:

• The beginning (3): The day it rained · The long way home · One coffee, three hours
• Falling for each other (4): A place beside you · Their kind of dancing · The scenic route · Something worth saying
• Building a life (5): The strawberry cake · Their first front door · Sunday belonged to them · The crooked paper star · On the harder days
• What comes next (3): One year, so many beginnings · Back to the beginning · Will you marry me?

The meeting gets three pages, the middle is mostly ordinary days, one spread covers a hard time, and the biggest moment waits at the end. Try the same shape: two or three answers from each group of prompts, in order, with your strongest moment last. Read the whole sample to see how short each page can be.

Love book ideas for your boyfriend, girlfriend or anniversary

For a boyfriend or girlfriend, lean on “How you met”, “Firsts” and the inside jokes. Newer relationships are full of firsts, and those pages are often the funniest. For more, see our love book for him and love book for her.

For anniversary book ideas, try one moment from each year you have been together, plus one hard day you came through. Our anniversary book page has more on marking a milestone year.

Making the book yourself? Our step-by-step guide on how to make a book about your relationship picks up where these prompts leave off.

Turning your answers into a Chapters to Keep book

If you would rather have your answers written and illustrated, our love story books are built around the same questions. The details step of the order form asks:

• The first hello: Where were you? What did you notice?
• Three moments worth keeping: Dates, ordinary Sundays, adventures, or turning points.
• Only the two of you: Nicknames, inside jokes, places, songs, or pets.

Use prompts 1–7 for “The first hello”, your three favorite answers from prompts 8–14 and 22–34 for “Three moments worth keeping”, and prompts 15–21 for “Only the two of you”. The exact words and dates you collected go in “Any exact words, dates or inside jokes that must be in it?” Your answer to prompt 40 goes in “How should it end?”: the words on the last story page, up to 120 characters.

Everything else can go in the story step. Write it however it comes out. A list of moments works. So does a long paragraph. Then add the cast. Add everyone who should be in the book, people and pets. You can add up to 8 photos of each person; clear face photos work best.

Allow about 3 weeks for a printed book, including creation, your prompt approval, printing, and delivery. Dates are estimates. See our order and delivery details.