Emily is the aspiring tailor of Pelican Town in Stardew Valley and one of the game’s twelve marriage candidates. Her birthday is Spring 27, she lives at 2 Willow Lane with her sister Haley, and she works evenings at the Stardrop Saloon. The fastest way to her heart is gems (Amethyst, Aquamarine, Emerald, Jade, Ruby, Topaz) or Cloth and Wool; never hand her fish dishes like Sashimi, Maki Roll or Salmon Dinner, which she hates.
Everything below matches the Stardew Valley Wiki for version 1.6, the update that added the Desert Festival and Green Rain days she appears in. Heart event descriptions are light on detail, but they do give away what each scene is about.
Problems players run into with Emily
“I hit 10 hearts but her letter never came”
In March 2024 a Steam Community thread filled up with players who reached 10 hearts with Emily and never got the letter that starts her 10-heart event. Some were married to someone else, some had never married anyone, so marriage wasn’t the cause. Several people noticed it began after the 1.6 update, and a later reply said a recent patch had fixed it. If you’re on an up-to-date copy and the letter still doesn’t show, check the event’s real trigger below: the Secret Woods after 10 PM, on a day that isn’t rainy or a festival.
“Her 10-heart event ate my whole evening”
Unlike most heart scenes, Emily’s 10-heart event is a camping trip, and it ends the day. A player on the Steam forums lost the last day of a blackberry harvest because the scene fired while they were foraging in the Secret Woods after 10 PM. The advice from replies: finish your selling and shipping first, then walk into the woods. It’s a fair warning for anyone with crops waiting in the shipping bin.
“I did the 200 Fiber quest and nothing happened”
The 14-heart reward isn’t instant. A player on the Steam bug report board waited two weeks before someone asked whether they had entered the farmhouse between 8 PM and midnight. They tried it and the scene played at 11:59 PM. The wiki agrees: after you hand in the Fiber, wait 3 days, then walk into the farmhouse in that evening window.
“My inventory was full when she gave me the outfit”
In a local co-op game, a player’s Steam thread describes losing Emily’s Magic outfit because their inventory was full. The items didn’t turn up in the Lost and Found. The only fix reported to work was re-triggering the event with a SMAPI console command, which means installing a mod loader. The simpler move: empty at least four inventory slots before the 14-heart scene, since the outfit has four pieces.
Emily’s best gifts in Stardew Valley
Emily loves gems and sewing materials. You can give her two gifts a week plus one on her birthday, and a birthday gift counts eight times, so save something good for Spring 27.
| Reaction | Items |
|---|---|
| Loves | Amethyst, Aquamarine, Cloth, Emerald, Jade, Parrot Egg, Ruby, Survival Burger, Topaz, Wool, plus universal loves |
| Likes | Daffodil, Quartz, plus most universal likes |
| Dislikes | Fried Eel, Ice Cream, Rice Pudding, Salmonberry, Spicy Eel, plus universal dislikes |
| Hates | Fish Taco, Holly, Maki Roll, Salmon Dinner, Sashimi, plus universal hates |
Watch the exceptions. Several universal likes, including Fish Taco, Maki Roll, Salmon Dinner and Sashimi, are on her hate list, and Ice Cream and Rice Pudding drop to dislikes. Cooked fish is the usual mistake.
Cheapest loved gifts to farm
- Amethyst: drops from Amethyst and Gem nodes in the Mines and sells for only 100g, so giving it away costs you almost nothing.
- Wool: comes from Sheep in a Barn or Rabbits in a Coop. Early on, the Traveling Cart sometimes stocks it at a steep price.
- Cloth: put Wool in a Loom and it’s ready in about 4 hours. Recycling a Soggy Newspaper also gives Cloth, which is handy before you own any animals.
- Quartz or a Daffodil: only likes, but a decent stopgap in your first weeks.
Emily also mails you Cloth, Wool or a Sea Urchin now and then once you have some friendship with her, and the chance goes up as hearts rise.
Where to find Emily: her schedule
She’s easiest to catch at home in the morning or behind the Saloon bar at night. Her standard day, per the wiki:
| Day | Where she is |
|---|---|
| Most days | Bedroom at 9 AM, living room from noon, leaves for the Saloon at 3:30 PM, home around 12:30 AM |
| Tuesday | Leaves at 10 AM for the aerobics class at Pierre’s (class starts at 1 PM), then to the Saloon at 4 PM |
| Friday (after the Community Center is restored) | Crafts Room at the Community Center from 10 AM, then the Saloon at 3:30 PM |
| Rainy days | Living room from noon, Saloon at 3:30 PM |
| Winter 11 | Clinic checkup at Harvey’s |
| Fall 15 | Visits Sandy in the Calico Desert |
| Spring 15 to 17 | At the Desert Festival offering outfit services |
Once the Ginger Island resort is open, she may spend a random day there and head home at 6 PM.
Emily heart events and what triggers them
| Hearts | How to trigger it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Enter her house while she’s home | She tells you about a dream; no choices |
| 3 | Arrives by mail | Salad recipe |
| 4 | Enter town on a sunny day, not in winter | She rescues a parrot that later moves to your farmhouse if you marry her |
| 6 | Enter her house while she’s home | She dances. “That was amazing!” or a slow clap gives +25 friendship; “That was embarrassing…” costs 50 |
| 7 | Arrives by mail | Red Plate recipe |
| 8 | Letter, then visit the Mayor’s Manor during open hours (6-heart event needed first) | “Clothing therapy” scene with Clint |
| 10 | Letter, then enter the Secret Woods after 10 PM, not on a rainy or festival day | Needs a Steel Axe to clear the Large Log; ends the day |
| 14 (married) | Leave the farmhouse between 6 and 8:20 AM | Starts an errand for 200 Fiber; 3 days after handing it in, enter the farmhouse between 8 PM and midnight for Emily’s Magic outfit |
The 6-heart reaction is the one to get right. Either positive answer works; the “embarrassing” line is the only way to lose ground in her events.
How to marry Emily in Stardew Valley
Emily follows the same rules as every other candidate, set out on the wiki marriage page:
- Raise her friendship to 8 hearts. It freezes there until the next step.
- Buy a Bouquet from Pierre’s General Store for 200g and give it to her. Now you’re dating, and hearts can rise to 10.
- Reach 10 hearts and upgrade your farmhouse at least once.
- Buy the Mermaid’s Pendant for 5,000g from the Old Mariner, who appears on the beach on rainy days. In winter he only shows up if you use a Rain Totem.
- Give her the pendant. The wedding happens 3 days later, in the morning.
After the wedding, her friendship cap rises to 14 hearts. She gets her own room to the right of your bedroom and builds a crystal garden behind the farmhouse where she meditates. On rainy mornings she may hand you Cloth, Wool, a Duck Feather, Refined Quartz or a Bean Hotpot, and she still works shifts at the Saloon on some days.
Small Emily details players miss
Her passion is tailoring, and she complains that good fabric is hard to find in town, which explains the Cloth and Wool loves. Clint has an obvious crush on her that he’s too shy to mention. At the Flower Dance, she partners with Shane if neither of them dances with you. At the movie theater she loves The Miracle at Coldstar Ranch, and a Kale Smoothie or Stardrop Sorbet from the snack stand. In multiplayer, her parrot only shows up for players who’ve seen her 4-heart event.
Frequently asked questions
When is Emily’s birthday in Stardew Valley?
Emily’s birthday is Spring 27. A gift on that day counts eight times as much, so a gem or a piece of Cloth is worth saving for it.
What does Emily love most?
Emily loves gems (Amethyst, Aquamarine, Emerald, Jade, Ruby, Topaz), Cloth, Wool, Parrot Eggs and Survival Burgers, plus the universal loves. Amethyst is usually the cheapest to collect.
Is Emily Haley’s sister?
Yes. Emily and Haley are sisters and share the house at 2 Willow Lane, which their traveling parents left in their care.
Where is Emily on a Tuesday?
On Tuesdays she leaves home at 10 AM for the aerobics class at Pierre’s, then heads to the Saloon for work at 4 PM.
Can you marry Emily if you’re a girl in Stardew Valley?
Yes. The wiki notes that Bouquets can go to candidates without regard to gender, and same-gender couples can adopt children after marriage.
Why didn’t Emily’s 10-heart event trigger?
It needs her letter, a trip into the Secret Woods after 10 PM on a dry, non-festival day, and a Steel Axe to get past the Large Log. A missing-letter bug after the 1.6 update was reported as patched in March 2024.
Featured image: ConcernedApe; screenshot via Stardew Valley Wiki
