Wedding Anniversary Years: Each Name and What to Give
A wedding anniversary is coming up and you can't remember whether the 6th is sugar or iron? Here are the wedding anniversary years in full, one by one, with ideas for a gift that celebrates their year.
Paper, cotton, tin, silver, gold: each wedding anniversary carries the name of a material. These wedding anniversary years aren't written into any law, but many couples love knowing which one they're celebrating, and it's often where a lovely gift begins.
Below you'll find the table of anniversaries from the 1st to the 30th year, then the big dates up to the 70th. And if you're looking for a gift that carries the name of their year, our wedding anniversary prints echo the material of the year, with both names and the date.
The essentials
- One material per year: paper for the 1st, cotton for the 2nd, tin for the 10th, gold for the 50th.
- Ever more precious: delicate materials open the list, while metals and gemstones arrive with the years.
- A simple sum: the current year minus the wedding year gives the anniversary to celebrate.
- A ready-made gift idea: taking inspiration from the year's material makes the gift easy to understand.
What are all the wedding anniversary years?
Here are the wedding anniversary years from the 1st to the 30th, as they appear on the traditional list. A dash means the traditional list gives no name.
| Years married | Traditional name |
|---|---|
| 1st | Paper |
| 2nd | Cotton |
| 3rd | Leather |
| 4th | Linen or silk |
| 5th | Wood |
| 6th | Sugar |
| 7th | Wool |
| 8th | Salt |
| 9th | Copper |
| 10th | Tin |
| 11th | Steel |
| 12th | Silk and fine linen |
| 13th | Lace |
| 14th | Ivory |
| 15th | Crystal |
| 16th | Wax |
| 17th | — |
| 18th | — |
| 19th | — |
| 20th | China |
| 21st | — |
| 22nd | — |
| 23rd | — |
| 24th | — |
| 25th | Silver |
| 26th | — |
| 27th | — |
| 28th | — |
| 29th | — |
| 30th | Pearl |
For four of these years, the 2nd (cotton), the 3rd (leather), the 7th (wool) and the 10th (tin), we have designed a print with the couple's names: you'll find them all in our wedding anniversary gift selection.
After the 30th, it's mostly the round numbers people remember: coral for the 35th, ruby for the 40th, sapphire for the 45th, gold for the 50th, emerald for the 55th, diamond for the 60th, blue sapphire for the 65th and platinum for the 70th.
A word of caution: there is no official list, and a few names change from one source to another (iron instead of sugar for the 6th, for example). There is also a modern list, with clocks for the 1st or diamond jewellery for the 10th. If the couple loves a particular name, theirs is the one that counts.
Why is each year named after a material?
The idea is simple: the longer the marriage lasts, the stronger or more precious the material that stands for it. The first years have the softness and fragility of paper and cotton. Ten years on, tin already says something more lasting.
Then come the metals and gemstones you keep for a lifetime: silver for the 25th, gold for the 50th, diamond for the 60th. In between, the list mixes fabrics, wood, sugar and salt, which gives each year its own character.
This tradition exists in many countries, with customs that vary from one to the next. For most couples, it's simply a lovely excuse for a meal, a weekend away or a gift, and that's just fine.
How do you know which anniversary it is this year?
Now that you have the list, you just need to work out where the couple are. It takes one subtraction, as long as you start from the right date.
Take the current year and subtract the wedding year. A couple married in 2016 therefore celebrate 10 years in 2026, their tin anniversary, on the date of their wedding.
Before that date, they haven't reached the milestone yet. If the anniversary falls in December and you're giving your gift in November, you're preparing for the year that is about to begin.
Many couples have two dates: the register office one day, a religious ceremony or a party on another. Before having a date printed on a gift, ask discreetly which one they see as “their” date, or slip the question to someone close to them.
The anniversaries people celebrate in style
Not every year is celebrated the same way. The first ones are often marked as a twosome, then certain round numbers bring the whole family together.
- 10th, tin: the first real milestone, often the occasion for a weekend away or a meal with friends from the wedding.
- 20th, china: an anniversary that grown-up children sometimes like to organise themselves.
- 25th, silver: a quarter of a century, one of the best-known celebrations on the list.
- 40th, ruby: the red stone marks a milestone that couples often share with their grandchildren.
- 50th, gold: the great family gathering, often with several generations around the table.
- 60th, diamond: a rare anniversary, best planned with the couple so it suits their pace.
For your grandparents' golden anniversary, a gift from the whole family works beautifully. Our guide to gifts for Nan has more ideas to delight them without cluttering their home.
Which print to give for an anniversary?
The easiest gift to understand is one that recalls the material of the year. No need to give a bag of salt for an 8th anniversary: a drawing of the motif, their names and their date are enough to make the link.
Each of our anniversary prints carries the name of the year and a watercolour drawing that evokes it: cotton branches for the 2nd, a small stitched leather heart for the 3rd, a ball of wool for the 7th.
You give both names, the wedding date and, if you like, the town. You receive a preview to check before printing: that's the moment to look over every letter and the date.
Here are the designs to look at, depending on the year and on the couple.
For a second year, the personalised cotton anniversary print brings together your two names, the wedding date and an optional town around a bouquet of cotton branches in watercolour.
For the 10th, the personalised tin anniversary print places your initials in a wreath of tin-grey leaves, with your names and the date: an understated design that suits a living room as well as a bedroom.
For a year without its own print, such as a silver or golden anniversary, the wedding star map shows the stars as they shone on the evening of the wedding, calculated for the date, time and place.
For a long marriage, our story timeline print traces the couple's life in 5 chosen dates, each with a short line: the day you met, the wedding, the first home…
All of them come as a PDF file to print, in A4 and A3, or printed in A4 or A3. The frame isn't included: for a gift to hand over on the day, have one ready in the right size. If you're still unsure, our guide to gift ideas for couples opens up more options.
Mistakes to avoid
A few slip-ups come up often, and you can avoid them by checking two or three details before you order:
- Getting the year wrong: redo the sum from the exact date, especially if the anniversary falls late in the year.
- Picking a date at random: register office, religious ceremony or party, ask which one the couple celebrate.
- Treating the list as an obligation: it's a tradition, not a rule. A couple who don't mind about it will enjoy a gift without a material just as much.
- Forgetting to check the preview: a wrong letter in a name or a wrong digit in the date is corrected before printing, not after.
- Giving it without a frame: a print rolled up in an envelope makes less of an impression than one ready to hang.
Your questions about wedding anniversary years
What is the 1st wedding anniversary?
On the traditional list, the first year is paper. It's followed by cotton for the 2nd anniversary and leather for the 3rd.
What anniversary is 50 years of marriage?
It's the golden anniversary. It comes after sapphire for the 45th and before emerald for the 55th.
Is there an official list of wedding anniversaries?
No. The traditional list is a custom, and some names vary between sources. A modern list also exists alongside it, so choose the name that means the most to the couple.
Are there anniversary names for months of marriage?
Some websites suggest month-by-month names during the first year, but there is no shared list. The most widely followed tradition is still the one for years.
How many years is a diamond anniversary?
On the traditional list, diamond marks 60 years of marriage. The modern list also gives diamond for the 30th anniversary, where the traditional list has pearl.
Going further
Wedding anniversary years give each anniversary a name and a material, from the paper of the first year to the gold of the 50th. Start from the right date, find the year in the table, and let the material suggest the gift.
For more ideas for couples, see our personalised couple prints and our personalised star maps.
- For a gift that tells their story, read our gift ideas for couples.
- If one of them also has a milestone birthday this year, see what to give for an 18th, 30th, 40th or 50th.
To discover all our personalised prints, visit lesaffichesdouces.com.
