There's a lot of dodgy information on romance on the web (not the least of which is on our own site), but there's a truly excellent description on how to be romantic on rinkworks.com.  I particularly appreciate the following rule of thumb:

There is a basic rule of thumb to follow: if it's cool, it's not romantic. For example, high powered rifles are not romantic. Science fiction is not romantic.

If only I'd learned that earlier in life.  The author has many observations of this nature, which combine to predict the most romantic object possible:

 It is, simply, a small red candle made out of chocolate and shaped like a teddy bear holding a heart with scribbles all over it that plays a tune when you wind it up.

This corresponds with my own experience that things-shaped-like-other-things are intrinsically cute.

My one beef is that the author asserts that having food on one's head is not romantic.  I think it depends on the food.  Who could say no to a crown of cream with a cheeky cherry on top?