Lists of appropriate wedding anniversary gifts vary by country and the traditional list below is for the United Kingdom.
| Wedding Anniversary | Traditional (UK) | Modern |
|---|---|---|
| 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 20th 25th 30th 35th 40th 45th 50th 55th 60th 65th 70th |
Paper Cotton Leather Linen Wood Iron Copper Bronze Pottery Tin Steel Silk Lace Ivory Crystal China Silver Pearl Coral Ruby Sapphire Gold Emerald Diamond Blue Sapphire Platinum |
Clock China Crystal, Glass Fruit/Flowers Silverware Sweet and Sugar Desk sets Linens, lace Leather goods Aluminium Fashion jewellery Pearls Textiles, Fur Gold Jewellery Watches Platinum Silver Diamond Jade Ruby Sapphire Gold Emerald Diamond Blue Sapphire Platinum |
The earliest know references are to silver for the 25th wedding anniversary and gold for the 50th wedding anniversary. The tradition may have originated in medieval Germany. The spouse would give his wife a silver garland when they had been married for 25 years.
A reference to wood for the 5th wedding anniversary was has been found dating back to 1875. Other anniversary names have been added over time. The diamond was a well known symbol for the 75th wedding anniversary, but became popular for the 60th wedding anniversary after Queen Victoria’s 60 years on the throne in 1897 was widely marked as her Diamond Jubilee.
The modern names have evolved in response to commercial influences. For example the American National Retail Jeweller Association issued a list in 1937.
If you are not in the UK you are invited to add a list of wedding anniversary names for your country as a comment to this post.