As my 18th wedding anniversary approaches, I know that I have been incredibly lucky in the romance department. My husband is my best friend and he is always there for me when I need him most. When our anniversary rolls around I love to celebrate the commitment we share and the love that makes it all possible. The celebration of your anniversary is important. It says, “what we have matters”. Here are three wedding anniversary celebration ideas that are the secret to the perfect day.
3 Secrets to Having the Perfect Wedding Anniversary Celebration
I have found that giving thoughtful gifts, getting active in different ways and recommitting to the relationship are amazing ways to celebrate your perfect anniversary and maintain a happy marriage.
Wedding Anniversary Gifts Matter
After dating for years and being married for years, we’ve learned some things about our tendencies to give gifts. It works best for us to stick to a price range, or at least set a limit for how much we can spend on each other. A price limit works really well for any type of mutual gift giving exchange. Just make sure you both can agree and stick to a certain price limit. It has taken some practice for this to actually happen; my husband tends to spoil me.
One Christmas while my husband and I were dating we agreed upon a fifty dollar cap which he clearly didn’t stick to. I unwrapped the elegant, sparkly diamond necklace and immediately felt insecure about the gift I got him because I knew that he spent more than I did. Even though I was delighted in the jewels, I thought we were on the same page.
I put a lot of thought into a personalized gift for him that year, which included a set of golf balls and a beer mug from Personal Creations. He loved his gift as much as I loved mine, so it didn’t really matter that he went over the agreed upon limit. Really, who can be that upset while new jewelry is being placed around one’s neck?
It doesn’t matter the price of the gift. If you get creative and personal, the gift will show your partner how much you care and help you create a perfect anniversary.
Get Active And Create New Memories
Ditch the overpriced restaurant. Even if it is your thing, it’s probably a little bit overdone. Eating at a really nice restaurant isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Yeah the food might be great, but is it hundreds of dollars’ worth of great?
Instead, try doing something you have never done before. Why not take Salsa dancing lessons or bring a picnic on a hike? You could also go camping to a natural hot springs if you’re both up for a romantic weekend. Try to do something you have never done before to create new memories of happy time spent together.
Recommit Yourself
Say your vows every year in a different way or in a different place. We did this for our first year wedding anniversary. Just to hear my husband say his vows again brought back those sparkly wedding day feelings that I had almost forgotten. It was also really nice to voice my love and commitment to my husband again while having our friends over at our house to celebrate with us.
Next year we plan on going to The City of Rocks National Park Reserve to say our vows in a beautiful location that we’ve never been to before.
Here is a little inspiration for your Wedding Anniversary Celebration below.
Wedding Anniversary Quotes
“Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.” – Tom Mullen
“A husband and wife may disagree on many things but they must absolutely agree on this: to never, ever give up.” – unknown
“A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year.” -Paul Sweeney
“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” – Mignon McLaughlin
“I, ___, take thee, ___, to be my wedded husband/wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
A perfect marriage is just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other. -unknown
Your anniversary means much more than remembering that you got married on a particular date. Make it about love, friendship and deepening your relationship. I’d love to hear your Wedding Anniversary Celebration Ideas and experiences for creating a perfect anniversary in the comments section or tag us on social media @familyfocusblog
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Christy Garrett @ Uplifting Families says
I have learned in my five years of marriage that date nights are key. Try to have alone time with your spouse at least once a week.
Paul Wandason says
I love your second point! It’s nice to reminisce, but of course we always hope there’s plenty of time ahead of us that we can spend with our wives and husbands.
My best wedding anniversary was my first. It was the day after the birth of our first daughter. She was asleep in my arms, and my wife was asleep next to me in bed. It was a magical moment – I even remember the quilt cover – it’s got a picture of a rose on it and underneath the caption “A rose is forever”. Well I wanted that moment to last forever…but your point about making new moments is just as valid!
(OK – rereading this I’m realising I need to make more effort into making our subsequent anniversaries just as special…but not necessarily with children!!!)