Themes for 1 to 100 wedding anniversaries--Aleteia

Whether it’s 1, 5, or 50 years of marriage, you can use these traditional themes to celebrate.

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The idea of celebrating the day we got married dates back to the Holy Roman Empire, where husbands would crown their wives with a silver wreath on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary. After 50 years together, the wife would receive a golden crown; hence the silver and golden anniversaries we celebrate today.

In modern times, couples began to celebrate their anniversary every year. While some would attribute this to commercialism, we like to think that taking one day a year to celebrate your marriage is something very worthwhile indeed.

This annual date is a wonderful reminder to go down memory lane and flick through your wedding albums, seeing all those familiar faces who supported you on the day you said your vows, and who are still there years later, perhaps watching your family grow. It’s a day to remind each other of the promises you made before God, and to contemplate with your dearly beloved what you’ve achieved as a couple so far.

MARRIED COUPLE
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It’s a standing joke that husbands (and sometimes wives… cough, cough!) forget their wedding anniversary and end up grabbing the nearest bunch of flowers to rescue the day. So we’ve got a list of anniversaries and the traditional – and not-so-traditional – gifts accompanying them: from raw materials to jewels. Each year has a theme that will help mark your special date and perhaps inspire a thoughtful gift. Our personal favorite is the 38-year mark!

Don’t forget, a wedding anniversary is also a great occasion to celebrate with the rest of the family, or to find a little time together to raise a glass to the next 20, 30, or even 60 years ahead. And for all those young sweethearts out there, we’ve also included the theme for 100 years of marriage because … you never know!

And for those special anniversaries, it might be a nice idea to go to church and have a blessing. It doesn’t need to be complicated, just a simple blessing during the Mass. To make it really special, you could try going to the church where you celebrated your marriage, if it’s not your current parish.