It’s time to recognize a milestone wedding anniversary! Celebrating love that has stood the test of time, challenges, maybe kids, and everything in between is a special occasion. Marriage isn’t easy. And when two people have been together for a few decades and more, it IS a big deal! Whether you’re planning a party for your spouse, or you want to throw a special event for your parents, in-laws, or close friends, these wedding anniversary party tips will guide you through the planning process!
Before you do anything:
Decide the budget first, especially if you’re splitting the cost with other peopleTo have and to hold
- Ask for a guest list from the couple of honor before the planning conversation has started. Don’t assume anything here! If you want a surprise party, make sure you can create a guest list and find all contact information on your own.
- Make sure the guest list has been approved by both spouses if they’re aware of the event
- You might have just the right location in mind, but brainstorming a few other location suggestions will make sure you evaluated and picked the absolute best spot!
There are people I know who would despise a surprise party for one reason or another. Also, will you need to bypass their work schedule? If they need to plan for days off months in advance and you’re stuck on the surprise idea, you can give them a reason to prepare to have it the day off anyway. Maybe a “birthday party” or a “concert” or a “food festival,” etc.
Color Scheme
There’s a list that you might’ve seen at Hallmark naming wedding anniversary gifts for almost every highlighted year. You can match the color scheme to the gift associated with the year you’re celebrating. For the 40th you can have a ruby red theme, 50th you can have a gold theme, etc.
As I was looking into this list, I found myself wanting to know who on earth was trying to tell me what to do when it came to gifts. Well, apparently the anniversary ideas have been around since the Middle Ages, and the list we use today most likely stems from the Victorian Era. Here are some facts from thespruce.com:
The practice of observing the wedding anniversary probably has a latent belief of certain luck-bringing items with a distinct number of years. The custom of associating the 25th anniversary with silver and the 50th anniversary with gold appear to have originated in the Germanic region of Middle Europe, according to Hallmark Research.
But it was the Victorians who made the symbolic anniversary gifts popular in culture. They were likely the first to adapt the ancient customs into an official list for each anniversary. Interesting stuff. I’ll take it. Below is the legendary list we owe to the Victorians:
Wedding Anniversary Good Luck Gifts:
1st Year - Paper
2nd Year- Cotton
3rd Year- Leather
4th Year- Fruit/Flowers
5th Year-Wood
6th Year- Sugar
7th Year- Wool
8th Year-Bronze
9th Year- Pottery
10th Year- Tin
11th Year- Steel
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| Husband and Wife In Love |
13th Year- Lace
14th Year- Ivory
15th Year- Crystal
16th Year- Wax
17th Year- Shells
18th Year- Feathers
19th Year- Chilli
20th Year- China
21st Year- Brass/Nickel
22nd Year- Copper
23rd Year- Silver Plate
24th Year- Opal
25th Year- Silver
30th Year- Pearl
35th Year- Coral
40th Year- Ruby
45th Year- Sapphire
50th Year- Gold
60th Year- Diamond/Yellow
65th Year- Blue
Restaurant and Venue
What is their favorite restaurant? What restaurant did they have their first date? Is there a great restaurant in the town where they first started dating or where they got married? Do you want to have a sit down dinner, buffet style, or cocktail party with only hor d'oeuvres?
Since budget plays a large role here, my favorite option for small parties is to suggest a BYOB. Because less is spent on alcohol, more money can be allocated for a quality menu selection, gifts, dessert options, decorations, and maybe even entertainment!
But there’s a downside to BYOBs if you’re party will be 30 to 35 guests and more. Because space is mostly limited at these type of restaurants, a lot of them will tell you they can only book you in the afternoon, only on Sunday afternoons, or not even allow booking any day of the weekend. The very upscale BYOBs might be able to hold large groups, but they’ll charge you to rent the room, and this can add a few thousand dollars to your total bill.
If going to a restaurant with a full bar is better suited for your party, you have the choice of only including beer and wine, and cash bar for any liquor drinks. If you want everyone to have free reign of the bar, I recommend having a signature drink in name of the couple!
And of course, having the party at someone’s home is always an option. You can make the food or have it catered, order tents for an outside gathering or keep it indoors. Just make sure the hostess has everything he or she needs, and helping with setup and cleanup must be a priority for you. No matter how much you assure them otherwise, the host will have some amount of stress up to the day of the party and during, so make sure you’re respectable to their needs in every way.
Theme
If you’d rather have a theme than a color scheme matched to their anniversary year, we have you covered. Do they have a hobby they both enjoy together? Favorite movie or book? You can also make the theme the decade they got married, 60s, 70s, 80s, etc.
Games
There’s the Not-So-Newly Wed game, with an easy download from thelovenerds.com. And for a small group anniversary game, check out Couples Scattergories!
We also like the idea of bringing the couple back in time with a trivia competition about facts from their wedding year, and of course the guests can play too! For the questions and answers, just type in Google: trivia questions from (insert year or decade)
Toast and Speech
The couple of honor deserve a toast or speech to start the celebration off right! Here are a few quotes and ideas we gathered to give you some inspiration:
- “Here is to you both a beautiful pair, on the birthday of your love affair”
- “Happy marriages begin when we marry the one we love, and they blossom when we love the one we married.”
- “Married couples who love each other say a thousand things without talking.”
- "Here's to matrimony, the high sea for which no compass has yet been invented!"
- “Newlyweds become “oldyweds”, and “oldyweds” are the reason that families work.”
- “Welcome to these years of gold, houses bought and sold. Tuitions paid and children raised. The jobs require work no more, forget about the kitchen floor. For fifty years you’ve been together, made it through some stormy weather. You’ve earned a rest upon that golden shore, may you love for fifty more.
- “Half a century later, if you can’t remember why you got married in the first place, it must be true love!”
And below are a few that rhyme:
- “After silver now you get ruby, But your marriage looks as young as a newbie! Happy wedding anniversary!”
- “May happiness and joy bow to you, Because couples like you are very few! Happy wedding anniversary!”
- “At times marriages fade with the number of years, But in your case, with happiness, every year it gears! Happy wedding anniversary!”
Decorations
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| Candle with rose petals |
Centerpieces: flowers or balloons to match the theme or color scheme are fantastic. Colorful table runners can be very inexpensive, and if you’re feeling crafty you can customize the runners to the color scheme or theme even more. Also for crafty people, look on Pinterest for centerpiece ideas for instant inspiration.
Sweetheart Table: you can sit them together at their own table to reenact their wedding day, or sit them with the guests.
Candy Bar: make a variety of snacks and sweet treats that match the color scheme. This can also replace the cake if you feel this would be a bigger hit, or you can have a combination of both!
Number balloons: we love those giant number balloons, and since you’re celebrating a number here, they’re a fabulous idea!
Do It Yourself Photo booth: make a backdrop to match the color scheme for pictures. You can add in props, such as a frame that says Happy Anniversary for the picture posers to hold. Memories captured!
Lifesize wedding pictures: enlarge one of their wedding pictures and make it two life size 6 foot tall paper figurines! They can pose for ‘Then and Now’ pictures, and have a great laugh while they’re at it.
Music Playlist: if you’re you’re in control of the music, compile a list of songs from the year or the decade they got married, their favorite songs, their first dance song, or just classic love songs. Frank Sinatra anyone?
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| Kids enjoying a Hudson River cruise |
Gabrielle Goldklank is the Co-founder of Golden Knot Yacht Services, a private yacht event planner for weddings, corporate events, and special occasions in NYC, NJ, Philadelphia, and DC. Golden Knot Yacht Services also offers luxury boat excursions at the Jersey Shore during the summer season. Don’t just float through life, catch some waves.
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