Wedding anniversaries, year by year.
Almost every wedding anniversary has a material that goes with it, from paper in the first year to gold at fifty. The usual explanation: the materials grow stronger and more precious with the years, the way a marriage is meant to.
There is no single official list. Below are the traditional and the modern American lists, the years where the British list differs, and gift ideas for the anniversaries that matter most.
The list, year by year
| Year | Traditional | Modern | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paper | Clocks | Gift idea |
| 2nd | Cotton | China | |
| 3rd | Leather | Crystal or glass | |
| 4th | Fruit and flowers (some lists: linen or silk) | Appliances | |
| 5th | Wood | Silverware | Gift idea |
| 6th | Iron (or candy) | Wood | |
| 7th | Wool or copper | Desk sets | |
| 8th | Bronze (or pottery) | Linen and lace | |
| 9th | Pottery (or willow) | Leather goods | |
| 10th | Tin or aluminium | Diamond jewellery | |
| 11th | Steel | Fashion jewellery | |
| 12th | Silk (or linen) | Pearls or coloured gems | |
| 13th | Lace | Textiles or furs | |
| 14th | Ivory (some lists: gold jewellery) | Gold jewellery | |
| 15th | Crystal | Watches | |
| 20th | China | Platinum | |
| 25th | Silver | Sterling silver | Gift idea |
| 30th | Pearl | Diamond | |
| 35th | Coral (or jade) | Jade | |
| 40th | Ruby | Ruby | |
| 45th | Sapphire | Sapphire | |
| 50th | Gold | Gold | Gift idea |
| 55th | Emerald | Emerald | |
| 60th | Diamond | Diamond | |
| 65th | None in the American lists (British: blue sapphire) | None | |
| 70th | None in the American lists (British: platinum) | None | |
| 75th | Diamond (and gold) | None |
Where the British list differs
Years not shown here are the same on both sides of the Atlantic, or missing from the British lists.
| Year | British | American |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paper (one older list: cotton or paper) | Paper |
| 2nd | Cotton (one older list: paper or cotton) | Cotton |
| 4th | Linen and silk, or fruit and flowers | Fruit and flowers |
| 6th | Sugar | Iron |
| 8th | Salt, or bronze | Bronze |
| 9th | Copper, or willow and pottery | Pottery |
| 10th | Tin | Tin or aluminium |
| 12th | Silk and fine linen | Silk |
| 65th | Blue sapphire | None |
| 70th | Platinum | None |
Where the lists come from
The oldest list in print is in Emily Post’s Etiquette of 1922. It names only eight anniversaries: paper for the first, wood for the fifth, tin for the tenth, then crystal, china, silver, gold, and diamond for the 75th. A fuller list, with a gift for every year to the 20th and then every fifth year, was published by American jewellers in 1937. The modern list, with clocks for the first year and silverware for the fifth, came later.
None of them is official, and shops have shaped all of them. That is also why diamond moved from the 75th to the 60th.
Gift ideas for the big anniversaries
- 1st, paper. Anything on paper that took some thought: a letter written by hand, tickets for something you will do together, a book with a note on the first page, or a poster of the places of your first married year.
- 5th, wood. Something that lasts: a tree to plant together, a wooden box for five years of letters and tickets, or your places in a wooden frame.
- 10th, tin or aluminium. Small and playful works best: a tin of their favourite tea or biscuits with a note inside.
- 15th, crystal. Two good glasses and the bottle you have been saving for a day like this.
- 25th, silver. Silver jewellery, something engraved, or a party where the guests bring the stories. Children often give this one together.
- 40th, ruby. Something red: a ruby, red roses, or dinner back at the place it began.
- 50th, gold. A family gathering, a photo book of fifty years, or a framed map of every place they lived and loved.
How to use the list
Treat the material as a starting point, not a rule. What makes a gift land is that it is about the two of you: the places, the dates, the small things only you know. And if the list gives you nothing for your year, a map of the places where your years happened fits every anniversary.
Questions about anniversaries
What is the traditional first anniversary gift?
Paper, in the American and in most British lists. The modern list says clocks, and one older British list gives cotton or paper for the first year.
Which anniversary is wood?
The fifth, in the traditional lists on both sides of the Atlantic. The modern list gives silverware for the fifth and moves wood to the sixth.
Which anniversaries are silver, ruby and gold?
Silver is the 25th, ruby the 40th and gold the 50th. Diamond is the 60th, and in the oldest lists the 75th.
Is there a name for every year?
The traditional list names every year up to the 15th, then every fifth year. After the 60th the lists thin out: the American lists have nothing for the 65th and the 70th, while the British ones say blue sapphire and platinum.
Why do the British and American lists differ?
Neither is official. They grew from etiquette books, jewellers and card shops in each country and borrowed from each other along the way. The clearest difference is the sixth: sugar in Britain, iron in America.
Whatever the year, give them your places.
Pin the places where your years together happened on a real map of your city, write a line for each, and give it as an animated letter or a framed poster. Making and previewing are free.
Sources: Wikipedia: Wedding anniversary · Emily Post, Etiquette (1922) · Chicago Public Library (archived) · Hallmark · Debrett’s (archived 2012) · Papier. Checked on 15 November 2026.