Wedding anniversary gifts by year

Paper · Clocks

The first anniversary is the one most couples care about getting right. The traditional gift is paper — a quiet nod to the fact that your story together is only just beginning. The modern gift is a clock, marking the time you have already spent and the time still ahead. Either symbol gives you a lot of room to be personal without spending much.

Wood · Silverware

The fifth anniversary is the first major milestone, and wood is its symbol — durable, alive, deeply rooted. It is also the most flexible material on the anniversary list, equally at home as a piece of furniture, a small carved keepsake, or an engraved frame.

Tin or aluminium · Diamond jewellery

Ten years is a milestone anniversary in every culture that tracks them. The traditional gift is tin or aluminium — the symbolism is flexibility, the material that bends without breaking. The modern gift is, gloriously, diamond jewellery.

Crystal · Watches

Fifteen years is the second great milestone after ten. Crystal — clear, faceted, holding the light — is the traditional symbol; the modern gift is a watch, ideally one you keep for the rest of your life.

China · Platinum

Twenty years is china and platinum — the formal anniversary, in every sense. It is also the third great milestone, after years one, ten, and fifteen, and warrants something memorable.

Silver · Sterling silver

Twenty-five years is the silver jubilee — universally considered one of the great milestone anniversaries. The expectation is something heirloom-quality, in silver, often paired with a real celebration: a renewed vow, a trip, a party.

Pearl · Diamond

Thirty years is the pearl anniversary — sometimes called the pearl jubilee. The traditional gift is pearl; the modern is diamond. Both signal that this is a milestone anniversary, on par with the silver and ruby years on either side.

Ruby

Forty years is the ruby anniversary — universally known and universally celebrated. Both lists agree. The expectation is something serious: a piece of ruby jewellery, a major trip, or a real gathering.

Gold

Fifty years is the golden jubilee — the most celebrated anniversary on the list outside the wedding itself. Both lists agree on gold. The expectation is a milestone gift: jewellery, a major trip, a gathering of family, or all three.

Diamond

Sixty years is the diamond jubilee — the rarest milestone anniversary most couples reach. Both lists agree on diamond. Like the silver, golden, and ruby jubilees, the gift typically pairs an heirloom-quality object with a real gathering.

Diamond and gold

Seventy-five years is sometimes called the diamond-gold jubilee — combining the sixtieth and fiftieth anniversary symbols. Reaching seventy-five years is exceptionally rare, and the gifts almost always come from the wider family rather than from one partner to the other.