Romance is still alive, it's just not as expensive as it used to be.

Couples across Ireland are today celebrating Valentine's Day by taking advantage of cut-price bargains. Restaurants have slashed prices on previous years to introduce a range of special offers and have been completely booked out all weekend.

Meanwhile, florists across the country say business has been up on last year thanks to cut-price promotions on the Valentine staple of red roses.

"We have been kept very busy. Without a doubt, sales are up on last year after we made our prices more attractive, so it appears romance is still well and truly alive. The kind of orders we are seeing are just the simple dozen red roses and teddy bears. We have over 25 deliveries today," said Freda Barrett of Cork Florists.

"We have sold no champagne as of yet – it seems budgets are only stretched as far as the flowers and the gifts," she added.

Eleanor's Florists in Kerry also cashed in on special promotions with a cupid breakfast box consisting of flowers, chocolates and other gifts for €40 each. "We are run off our feet. More than before, people are opting for special offers. The cupid breakfast boxes are flying off the shelves, so it seems value for money is very important. We still have a lot of last-minute orders coming in," said Jennifer O'Rourke.

The Church restaurant in Dublin city centre said its special offer of pink champagne on arrival and a three-course meal for €29.50 per person saw the restaurant booked to capacity all weekend.

Weddingsonline.ie has also just completed a Valentine's survey which shows that women now prefer a 'thoughtful' present, as opposed to an expensive one.

"An overwhelming 61% of women questioned said they were happiest with any present that had thought put into it, not caring if it was expensive or not. The worst presents ranged from bath salts and lots of chocolates," said spokeswoman Rachel Sandall.

"So naturally it would seem the recession has had an effect on how women are thinking about Valentine's Day. Also, all the women we talked to are no longer going on the weekend away like they used to. Instead they are deciding to have a quiet dinner somewhere that is offering a good value meal. We have also noticed florists doing much better deals," said Sandall.

While Irish couples may be feeling less adventurous with cash this year, one Irish theatre company was this morning staging a daring "mass outburst of theatrical smooching" outside the White House in Washington, all done by undercover performers.

The Performance Corporation signed up hundreds of performers to participate in the event, in order to "leave the US capital with a suitably romantic glow."