Precious Items for a Precious Occasion
The celebration of a marriage is a fine thing, and customs have originated from a long time ago. During the Roman times husbands would celebrate 25 years of marriage by crowning their wives with a silver wreath on the day of their anniversary. Today, anniversaries are still celebrated by partners rewarding each other with precious gifts to mark the celebratory occasion. Usually, the gift that is supposed to be given is also adopted as the name of the anniversary, rather than the ordinal number – so 25th wedding anniversary is more often known as the ‘silver anniversary’. Below is a list of some of the most commonly recognised anniversaries and their adhering gifts:
1-10 Years
1st Cotton
2nd Paper
3rd Leather
4th Fruit
5th Wood
6th Sugar
7th Wool
8th Salt
9th Copper
10th Tin
5 year increments
15th Crystal
20th China
30th Pearl
35th Coral
40th Ruby
10 year increments
50th Gold
60th Diamond
70th Platinum
80th Oak
90th Granite
Floral Gifts
In addition to precious items being swapped by marriage partners, it is also custom to celebrate the occasion with certain types of flowers on each anniversary. Here are the commonly accepted traditions for selected years:
1st Carnation
2nd Lily of the Valley
3rd Sunflower
4th Hydrangea
5th Daisy
10th Daffodil
15th Rose
20th Aster
25th Iris
30th Lily
40th Gladiolus
50th Violet
Other Celebrations
A wedding anniversary is a special occasion between two people, and of course the couple usually celebrate together to mark the occasion, as well as providing each other gifts according to the traditional pattern. The obvious choice is fine-dining, and treating each other to an expensive meal at a restaurant, although many couples choose to cook something at home, especially if they have children to look after. There are also a wide range of greetings cards that can be bought to give to a partner. These add a personal touch and usually complement the traditional gift and floral arrangements.
Finding the Right Gifts
Since wedding anniversary gifts stick to such rigid tradition, it can often prove to be a bit difficult finding the right gift just anywhere. This is where a special stockist comes in handy, exactly for these special occasions. Based in the West Midlands, Greetings House is one of the largest suppliers of gifts and anniversary cards in Birmingham. They will have unique and creative products made from the materials required, that especially mark the year of the anniversary (although jewellery will need to be purchased from another supplier). They also have a big stock of customised cards to mark each year of the marriage.
The Art of Gift Giving
Wedding anniversaries are steeped in tradition that dates back millennia. The gifts that signify each year of the marriage are very symbolic to reflect the precious nature of marriage, as are the floral arrangements that must be followed. In addition to swapping gifts with each other following this strict pattern, couples also provide each other personalised greetings cards and also celebrate the day with an appropriate activity, such as eating a special meal together. Even though anniversaries seem standardised by this tradition, it is not difficult to make the gifts and cards very personal if you find the correct supplier to choose from.