Couple celebrating their wedding anniversary

Traditional Wedding Anniversary Gifts

August 10, 2024

No one knows when traditional wedding anniversary celebrations started.

One of the most commonly quoted stories is that they date back to the Roman Empire. Husbands gave their wives silver wreaths on their 25th anniversary, and gold ones on their 50th. Other sources suggest that the same custom originates from medieval Central Europe. Even today, in many parts of the world only major milestones have traditional wedding anniversary gift associations.

Roman husbands gave their wives silver wreaths on their 25th anniversary

The Victorians, with their love of innovation and organization, felt a need to fill in the gaps. For example, when Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee on the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne, people quickly adopted the material and milestone for their wedding anniversaries as well.

Diamond is the traditional 60th anniversary gift

In 1922, Emily Post, an American author, published a list of anniversary gifts in her book Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home. In that she wrote a wedding anniversary gift guide that covered every fifth year of marriage up to the 25th, plus the 50th and 75th anniversaries.

The American National Retail Jewelers’ Association further expanded the list in 1937. They added materials for every year up to the 15th wedding anniversary, and for every fifth year up to the 75th. Coincidentally, many of the new materials introduced happened to be gemstones.