Celebrating your wedding anniversary? Congratulations!
You’ve got another year of wedded bliss under your belt – good for you! What are you getting them to celebrate? Of course, the real gift is getting to do life with your spouse each and everyday. But in case you want to supplement that gift with something you can wrap, check out these awesome twists on traditional wedding anniversary themes.
Year 1: Paper
The traditional first wedding anniversary gift theme is paper. So are you supposed to come home with a stack of lined paper for your boo? Probably not.
Instead of refilling the printer with a new pack of paper, why not do something a little more sentimental with paper? You could frame the papers that you and your spouse wrote your vows on. We love the idea of seeing those promises you made to each other up on the wall everyday. Or you could fill out one of those “50 reasons why I love you” books. And never forget the power of a thoughtful love letter!
Year 2: Cotton
The theme for getting through your second year of marriage is…cotton. Kind of underwhelming, right? And is anyone else immediately thinking of those value packs of cotton t-shirts you can buy at Walmart or Costco? Not so romantic.
So why not make year two’s present a little more indulgent. Still lusting after that cotton towel set no one bought off your registry? Splurge on t! Or maybe it’s time to upgrade to some sexy Egyptian cotton bedsheets. Treat yo’ self!
Year 3: Leather
Your third wedding anniversary is traditionally marked with the gift of leather. Now this is a theme that we think really lends itself to some awesome modern alternatives.
An awesome way to incorporate both the theme of leather and a bit of romance would be with a watch (with a leather strap) that you can have engraved with your wedding date or favourite quote. More practically, you could spoil your spouse with a nice leather belt or coin purse. And if you’re not a fan of leather, there are some great vegan alternatives available that are just as luxurious as real leather.
Year 4: Silk, Fruit or Flowers
Now that you’ve made it to year four, you get some options. Traditionally, silk, fruit and flowers were all once used as the fourth year gift depending on when and where you were. So all that means for you is more room to get creative and personalized with your gift!
If your spouse wore a silk tie or silk dress on the wedding day, it could be really sweet to repurpose a piece of that into a hanky or framed art piece. Of course, know your audience – not everyone would be thrilled with you cutting up their wedding dress or favourite tie. If you’d like to celebrate with fruit you could send your spouse an edible arrangement fruit bouquet or set up a special chocolate fondue night. For flowers, it would be very sentimental to surprise your spouse with a bouquet of the same flowers you had on your wedding day. You could even get the flowers dried so they could be permanent decor.
Year 5: Wood
After five years of marriage, tradition says you should celebrate with the gift of wood. Here’s another chance to be really creative and customize your gift to your spoude’s taste.
If you want to splurge or go in on a joint gift to yourselves with your partner, you could invest in a gorgeous wooden dining table or other piece of wooden furniture. On the other end of the spectrum, if you don’t want to spend anything, you could have a picnic in your backyard and carves your names into a tree. And if you’re feeling romantic, you could book a weekend away in a log cabin for you an your special person.
written by Riana Ang-Canning
How are you celebrating your wedding anniversary? Any special gifts you’re giving or hoping to get?
