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Wedding Anniversary Gifts by Year

Tradition gives each year of marriage its own material, starting with everyday ones and moving toward precious ones: paper for the first anniversary, wood for the fifth, silver for the twenty-fifth and gold for the fiftieth. The idea is simple: the longer the marriage, the stronger and more valuable the material.

Below is the traditional list of anniversary gifts by year as it is used in the US, with what each material stands for and gift ideas for the main milestones. Follow it to the letter, borrow an idea from it, or use it as a starting point for a gift that tells your own story.

Wedding Anniversary Gifts by Year

Traditional anniversary gifts by year

Years of marriage Traditional gift
1 year Paper
2 years Cotton
3 years Leather
4 years Fruit & flowers
5 years Wood
6 years Iron
7 years Wool or copper
8 years Bronze
9 years Pottery
10 years Tin or aluminum
11 years Steel
12 years Silk or linen
13 years Lace
14 years Ivory
15 years Crystal
20 years China
25 years Silver
30 years Pearl
35 years Coral
40 years Ruby
45 years Sapphire
50 years Gold
55 years Emerald
60 years Diamond

1 year

Paper anniversary

The paper anniversary marks 1 year of marriage. What paper stands for, paper gift ideas for him or for her, and a book that tells your first year.

See gift ideas

2 years

Cotton anniversary

The cotton anniversary marks 2 years of marriage. What cotton stands for, cotton gift ideas for him or for her, and a book that tells your two years.

See gift ideas

3 years

Leather anniversary

The leather anniversary marks 3 years of marriage. What leather stands for, leather gift ideas for him or for her, and a book that tells your three years.

See gift ideas

5 years

Wood anniversary

The wood anniversary marks 5 years of marriage. What wood stands for, wood gift ideas for him or for her, and a book that tells your five years together.

See gift ideas

10 years

Tin anniversary

The tin anniversary marks 10 years of marriage. What tin and aluminum stand for, 10 year anniversary gift ideas, and a book that tells your ten years.

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15 years

Crystal anniversary

The crystal anniversary marks 15 years of marriage. What crystal stands for, crystal gift ideas for him or for her, and a book of your fifteen years.

See gift ideas

20 years

China anniversary

The china anniversary marks 20 years of marriage. What fine china stands for, china gift ideas for him or for her, and a book that tells your twenty years.

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25 years

Silver anniversary

The silver anniversary marks 25 years of marriage. What silver stands for, 25th anniversary gift ideas, and a book that tells a quarter century together.

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30 years

Pearl anniversary

The pearl anniversary marks 30 years of marriage. What pearls stand for, pearl gift ideas for him or for her, and a book that tells your thirty years.

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40 years

Ruby anniversary

The ruby anniversary marks 40 years of marriage. What rubies stand for, ruby gift ideas for him or for her, and a book that tells your forty years.

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50 years

Gold anniversary

The golden anniversary marks 50 years of marriage. What gold stands for, 50th anniversary gift ideas, and a book that tells half a century of marriage.

See gift ideas

A gift for any year: the comic book of your couple

Whatever the year, a gift that tells your story never misses its mark. A personalized comic book turns your marriage into 24 comic pages, with both of your faces as the characters: how you met, the wedding, the homes, the trips and the habits only the two of you know. You create it by chatting for about ten minutes with our AI scriptwriter and sending one photo of each of you, then you choose the tone, sweet, teasing or cheeky, and write the dedication. The cover and the first page are free to preview before you order, and for the first anniversary it even follows the tradition, since a book is made of paper.

From $45.99 Free preview: the cover and the first page, before you order.

How is your personalised comic book made?

No form to fill in: you tell our AI scriptwriter about your couple and it turns it into a personalised comic book.

  1. Step 1

    Tell us about your couple

    Your photos, nicknames, habits, jokes and memories: our AI scriptwriter asks the right questions, in about ten minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Approve the script

    Our AI scriptwriter writes a 24-page comic book: one short funny story per habit. Something to change? Just ask.

  3. Step 3

    See the free preview

    The cover and the first page are generated with your faces, before you pay anything.

  4. Step 4

    Order, the AI creates the rest

    The other pages are generated as soon as you order, and you can retouch them for free before printing.

Free retouches before printing

Once your comic book is ordered, you can have any page you don't like changed, for free, up to 10 retouches.

  • You see every page before it is printed.
  • Something to change? Describe it in a few words.
  • The AI redoes the page with your change.
  • Nothing is printed until you approve your comic book.
Frequently asked questions

What people ask us about this anniversary.

In the US tradition: paper for the 1st anniversary, cotton for the 2nd, leather for the 3rd, fruit and flowers for the 4th, wood for the 5th, iron for the 6th, wool or copper for the 7th, bronze for the 8th, pottery for the 9th and tin or aluminum for the 10th. Then crystal for the 15th, china for the 20th, silver for the 25th, pearl for the 30th, ruby for the 40th, gold for the 50th and diamond for the 60th.
Paper, on the traditional list, and clocks on the modern one. Paper is the easiest to give: love letters, a framed print of where you married, tickets for a show, or a book that tells your first year together, which is paper from cover to cover.
Tin, or aluminum, which is the common alternative in the US. The modern list suggests diamond jewelry. Ten years is a big milestone, and many couples mark it with a trip, a party or a gift that tells their decade together.
The traditional list is the older one, with materials such as paper, cotton, leather and wood. The modern list, which many gift guides use, suggests other gifts for several years, such as clocks for the 1st, china for the 2nd, silverware for the 5th and diamond jewelry for the 10th. Both lists agree on silver for the 25th and gold for the 50th. Neither is a rule: pick the one you prefer, or neither.