happy and smiling couple hugging on the beach

What is the significance of wedding anniversaries?

There are always good reasons to celebrate in life and wedding anniversaries are excellent reasons. While growing old as a person is effortless, accumulating years of marriage to a loved one is a challenge worth highlighting. This is why wedding anniversary wishes are so important to people who are officially uniting their destinies.

The tradition of wedding anniversaries

A practice associated with years of marriage was first written about in the 1783 book Religious Ceremonies and Customs of All the Peoples of the World. It mentions silver weddings, celebrated after 25 years of marriage, and golden weddings, celebrated after 50 years of life together. Was this tradition of wedding anniversary greetings longstanding? It is difficult to trace exactly, but many historians agree that it was a pagan rather than a religious custom.

The names of the wedding anniversaries

Silver and gold weddings were later joined by diamond weddings referring to 60 years, a phenomenon linked to increased life expectancy from the end of the 19th century. But why limit ourselves to celebrating weddings every 25 years when we can do it every year? It was during the industrial revolution and the rise of commercialisation that lists of the significance of wedding anniversaries began to circulate. Each anniversary was associated with a plant, animal or mineral material and these lists were found in almanacs or the popular press with slight variations according to the country.

First wedding anniversaries

The cotton wedding is celebrated one year after the union of the newlyweds. This fragile fibre refers to the precariousness of a couple's future. The cotton strengthens when woven tightly, a beautiful metaphor that illustrates the importance of standing shoulder to shoulder with the challenges of married life. The following weddings are leather (2 years), wheat (3 years), wax (4 years) and wood (5 years). The allusion to wood in the meaning of the 5th wedding anniversary is very interesting as it is a strong material that grows through strong roots, an analogy for a relationship that is built on a solid foundation. Our list of wedding anniversaries focuses on those that are usually the most celebrated. However, you can view the list of 100 anniversaries here.

The list of wedding anniversaries  

  • Wedding anniversaries

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

10 years

15 years

20 years

25 years

30 years

35 years

40 years

45 years old

50 years

55 years old

60 years

65 years

70 years

75 years

80 years

90 years old

100 years

Cotton or paper

Leather Wedding

Wheaten weddings

Wax wedding

Wooden weddings

Pewter wedding

Crystal wedding

Porcelain weddings

Silver wedding

Pearl Wedding

Ruby wedding

Emerald Wedding

Golden wedding anniversary

Golden wedding anniversary

Orchid wedding

Diamond wedding

Rosewood Wedding

Platinum wedding

Alabaster Wedding

Oak weddings

Granite weddings

Water weddings

Cotton rod on a table
  • Wedding anniversaries

1 year

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

10 years

15 years

20 years

25 years

30 years

35 years

40 years

45 years old

50 years

55 years old

60 years

65 years

70 years

75 years

80 years

90 years old

100 years

Cotton or paper

Leather Wedding

Wheaten weddings

Wax wedding

Wooden weddings

Pewter wedding

Crystal wedding

Porcelain weddings

Silver wedding

Pearl Wedding

Ruby wedding

Emerald Wedding

Golden wedding anniversary

Golden wedding anniversary

Orchid wedding

Diamond wedding

Rosewood Wedding

Platinum wedding

Alabaster Wedding

Oak weddings

Granite weddings

Water weddings

The significance of wedding anniversaries

10 years - The Tin Wedding

Pewter is a chemically stable material, very resistant but can tarnish if not maintained, a fact also true for a couple.

15 years - The Crystal Wedding

The crystal, composed of symmetrical particles, suggests a cohesion in daily activities as well as a transparency of feelings towards each other.

20 years - The porcelain wedding

The notion of fragility remains despite the aestheticism and refinement of this material. It evokes the family since porcelain is composed of different elements.

25 years - The Silver Wedding

Symbol of richness both in material terms and through the experiences and trials they have undergone together.

30 years - The Pearl Wedding

Each bead is unique and covered with a smooth mother of pearl suggesting the importance of individual fulfilment in a beautiful and equitable relationship.

40 years - The Emerald Wedding

This green gemstone symbolises wisdom and perseverance, two values that are essential to maintain our relationship.

50 years - The golden wedding anniversary

The most precious of all precious metals, gold is given only to the best who have built a true love and a fulfilled legacy.

60 years - The diamond wedding

Like a diamond, the couple's union is pure, eternal and appears unaffected by the weather.

75 years - The Alabaster Wedding

Celebrating the wedding in alabaster, a material similar to marble, is like freezing the existence of one's love like a sculpture.

Canada's largest wedding anniversary

Clem and Millie Miltz celebrated their oak anniversary in 2014 after 80 years together. It is certainly fair to say that these two Ontario residents have captured the imagination with their years of marriage. It is hard to imagine that this record will ever be broken unless life expectancy continues to increase. Regardless, the important thing is not to make it to 100 years of marriage but rather to ensure that the health and beauty of your relationship endures through the years. There are certainly a thousand and one ways to celebrate your nuptials but giving a piece of jewellery is probably one of the most meaningful. At Flamme en rose we create jewellery to celebrate wedding anniversaries which we affectionately refer to as our love jewellery.

Get an online consultation with one of our jewellers today.