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Wedding Anniversaries

Wedding Anniversary Gifts

The act of giving specific gifts on wedding anniversaries dates back to the middle ages. The list of gifts varies by country and has varried over time. Below we give a list of what after much research we believe are the currently accepted anniversary gifts and presents in the UK. The gifts start simply with paper and cotton and increase in value over the years as a symbol of the couples commitment to each other.

The earliest know references are to Silver (25th Wedding Anniversary) and Gold (50th Wedding Anniversary). These appear to originate in Middle Europe (Germanic Region) and involved the spouse giving his wife a silver garland when they had been married for 25 years.

There are two Diamond Anniversaries, one at 60 and one at 75 years. The 75th anniversary is the original traditional diamond anniversary with the 60th being added when Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee on her 60th anniversary of accession to the throne in 1897 and this has since been adopted as an appropriate Wedding Anniversary.

The milestone anniversaries are:

15th wedding anniversary
20th wedding anniversary
25th wedding anniversary
30th wedding anniversary
35th wedding anniversary
40th wedding anniversary
50th wedding anniversary / Golden wedding anniversary

In the UK the longest marriage couple on record was recently reported as a couple from Hereford who celebrated their 80th or Oak Wedding Anniversary together on 1st June 2005 (click here for details). The Guinness book of records were looking into the news story to see if they are the longest married couple in the UK.

Our list of Wedding Anniversary names by year

Year	Anniversary Gift	Comments
1st	Paper	Consider quanlity photo albumns and journals as suitable qifts.
2nd	Cotton or China	As a material, cotton is both durable and versatile. These are both important qualities in a successful marriage. Cotton has also been known as a symbol of great prosperity.
3rd	Leather or Crystal	Traditionally consider leather desk sets and leather lugage that the couple can enjoy together more often these days Crystal gifts are given instead of leather. Crystal can however be difficult to buy for other people because taste and style varries. Consider candle holders, vases, wine glasses and mirrors.
4th	Fruit or Flowers	If the couple have a garden and depending on the time of year then consider a plant or rose that they can plant and enjoy for years to come.
5th	Wood or silverware
6th	Sugar	Consider chocolate or other luxury food items.
7th	Copper or Wool	Copper or Wool. Copper has long had a traditional meaning of prosperity, good luck, and good fortune. The gift of wool represents the comfort, durability, security, and warmth that couples married this long give one another. Roman brides touched their the threshold of their new home with wool. The Old Testament has a passage (Proverbs 31) describing wives of noble character as women who select wool and spin yarns with eager hands.
8th	Bronze or Pottery or Linens and Lace	Consider Kazuri jewellery for ladies. (see Kazuri Jewellery)
9th	Pottery or Willow
10th	Tin or Aluminum or Diamond Jewelry
11th	Steel
12th	Silk or Linen or Pearls
13th	Lace or Textiles and Furs
14th	Ivory or Gold Jewelry
15th	Crystal or Watches
16th	Tungsten or Silver
17th	Turquoise or Furniture
18th	Bismuth or Porcelain
19th	China or Bronze
20th	China or Platinum
21st	Brass or Nickel
22nd	Copper
23rd	Silver Plate
24th	Musical
25th	Silver
26th	Pictures
27th	Sculpture
28th	Orchids
29th	Furniture
30th	Pearl
31st	Time pieces	Consider clocks, watches or for a modern alternative the gift of time for busy people by giving them a service.
32nd	?
33rd	Amethyst
34th	Opal
35th	Coral
36th	Bone China
37th	Alabaster
38th	Beryl or Tourmaline
39th	Lace
40th	Ruby	Gifts don't actually need to be made of Ruby they could just be Ruby in colour. Consider a fine red wine or Ruby/red candles and candle holders.
41st	Land
42nd	?
43rd	Travel
44th	Groceries
45th	Sapphire
50th	Gold
51st	?
52nd	?
53rd	?
54th	?
55th	Emerald
56th	?
57th	?
58th	?
59th	?
60th	Diamond	The tradition of celebrating a 60th anniversary came into popularity after Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. In the UK since 1917, the Sovereign has sent congratulatory messages to people celebrating notable anniversaries. The delivery of these messages is arranged by the Anniversaries Office, part of the Private Secretary's Office in the Royal Household, based at Buckingham Palace. The Pension Service informs the Anniversaries Office of birthdays for recipients of UK State pensions. For data privacy reasons, there is no automatic alert from Government records for wedding anniversaries.For this reason, to make sure that a message is sent for birthdays and wedding anniversaries alike, an application should preferably be made by a relative or friend in advance of the special day. (Click here for more information) 60th Anniversary Traditional Gift: Diamond which comes from the Greek word adamas which means unconquerable and enduring.
61st	?
62nd	?
63rd	?
64th	?
65th	Star Sapphire	This gemstone is believed to stand for devotion which which makes it a perfect gift for a 65th wedding anniversary.
66th
67th
68th
69th
70th	Platinum
75th	Diamond	A favourite stone for a engagement or eternity ring most likely as it stand for "virtue".
80th	Oak
90th	Granite