Wedding Anniversaries: All Names, Meanings and Gifts
Anniversaries · Names, meaning, gifts
Every year has a name. And every name a story.
The wedding anniversaries and their meaning tell a story that begins with paper and ends in gold. Paper in the first year, because the promise is still thin. Gold after fifty, because by then nothing tears any more. In between lie forty eight years that all carry a name: leather, roses, mother of pearl, opal, pearl, ruby. Here is the complete list, where the names come from and what suits which year.
From paper to gold: The best known anniversaries are paper (1), wood (5), roses (10), crystal (15), china (20), opal (21), silver (25), pearl (30), ruby (40), gold (50) and diamond (60). Behind them lies a simple logic: the longer the marriage, the harder and more valuable the material.
Which wedding anniversary is called what?
This list follows the count most common in German speaking countries. It grew over time and was never officially fixed, so individual years differ by region. The great markers from silver to diamond are the same everywhere.
| Year | Name | Where the name comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper wedding | Thin, pale, still easy to tear. That is exactly how the first year feels. |
| 2 | Cotton wedding | Softened, but already hard wearing. Cotton survives the wash. |
| 3 | Leather wedding | Leather grows more beautiful with use rather than worse. |
| 4 | Silk wedding | Smooth and precious. In some regions also the amber wedding. |
| 5 | Wood wedding | The first truly solid material. Wood carries weight if it is stored dry. |
| 6 | Sugar wedding | Sweet, but sensitive to rain. A tongue in cheek reminder. |
| 7 | Copper wedding | Copper conducts heat better than almost any other metal. |
| 8 | Tin wedding | Tin dents but does not break. |
| 9 | Ceramic wedding | Shaped, fired, turned hard. |
| 10 | Rose wedding | The first great milestone. Ten years, ten roses. |
| 11 | Steel wedding | Steel only comes into being through heat. |
| 12 | Nickel wedding | Nickel does not tarnish. |
| 13 | Violet wedding | A quiet anniversary between two loud ones. |
| 14 | Ivory wedding | Ivory in Germany. In English speaking countries the opal stands here. |
| 15 | Crystal wedding | Also the glass wedding. Clear, transparent, nothing to hide. |
| 16 | Sapphire wedding | The first gemstone in the series. |
| 17 | Orchid wedding | The orchid needs patience and the right hand. |
| 18 | Turquoise wedding | Turquoise long counted as a protective stone for travellers. |
| 19 | Mother of pearl wedding | Mother of pearl shimmers differently depending on the angle. |
| 20 | China wedding | Fine, white, valuable. And you know how fragile it was. |
| 21 | Opal wedding | The opal shows in one stone all the colours the years have had. |
| 22 | Bronze wedding | Bronze is an alloy. Two metals, one new material. |
| 23 | Titanium wedding | Light and almost indestructible. |
| 24 | Satin wedding | Shining on one side, matt on the other. |
| 25 | Silver wedding | The first quarter century. The best known anniversary of all. |
| 26 | Jade wedding | In Asia jade counts as the stone of long life. |
| 27 | Mahogany wedding | A wood that darkens with the years. |
| 28 | Carnation wedding | The carnation was once the flower of faithfulness. |
| 29 | Velvet wedding | Velvet wants careful handling. |
| 30 | Pearl wedding | A pearl grows out of something that was a disturbance. |
| 31 | Lime tree wedding | The village lime tree was the place where people married. |
| 32 | Copper wedding | Recorded differently from region to region. |
| 33 | Pewter wedding | Pewter can be cast anew again and again. |
| 34 | Amber wedding | Amber is time turned to stone. |
| 35 | Coral wedding | Also the linen wedding. Coral grows slowly. |
| 37 | Aluminium wedding | Light, but holding its shape. |
| 40 | Ruby wedding | The red stone for four decades. |
| 45 | Brass wedding | Brass has to be polished or it tarnishes. |
| 50 | Golden wedding | Gold. The anniversary everybody knows. |
| 55 | Platinum wedding | Platinum is rarer than gold. |
| 60 | Diamond wedding | The hardest material in nature. |
| 65 | Iron wedding | Iron rusts if you let it. This one does not. |
| 70 | Grace wedding | An anniversary hardly anyone reaches. |
| 75 | Crown jewel wedding | Also called the diamond wedding. |
| 80 | Oak wedding | An oak lives for several hundred years. |
Why were the names chosen exactly this way?
Behind the order lies an image everyone grasps at once: a marriage grows firmer over time. Paper tears, wood carries, silver shines lastingly, diamond is indestructible. The materials rise in hardness and value at exactly the pace at which a bond becomes more resilient.
The tradition is younger than many think. Silver and golden weddings have been widespread in German speaking countries since the 19th century; the unbroken list for every single year only came about in the 20th. It is custom, not a set of rules. That is precisely why there is no version that applies everywhere.
Years 1 to 9
Everyday materials. Paper, cotton, leather, wood. Things you can touch and use up.
Years 10 to 24
The transition. Roses, crystal, the first gemstones. It grows more precious but is still fragile.
From year 25
Precious metal and gemstone. Silver, pearl, ruby, gold, diamond. None of it passes.
Which anniversaries are the big ones?
Six anniversaries are celebrated almost every time. For those a gift that lasts is worth it.
10 years · rose wedding
The first decade. Roses wilt, which is why a piece of jewellery in rose or yellow gold is the more lasting thought here.
15 years · crystal wedding
Clarity is the theme. A translucent stone hits it exactly, a crystal opal for instance.
20 years · china wedding
Fine and white. Pale opal jewellery speaks the same language without being fragile.
21 years · opal wedding
The anniversary where the stone gives the name. More on that in the next section.
25 years · silver wedding
A quarter century. Silver with a coloured stone joins the tradition to something personal.
50 years · golden wedding
Gold, no detour. Here the question of material is already answered.
Looking for jewellery by metal? Opal jewellery in gold suits the golden wedding, opal in silver the silver wedding. Anyone searching by occasion will find a narrower selection under gift ideas .
What is the opal wedding about?
In German speaking countries the 21st wedding anniversary is called the opal wedding. The reason lies in the stone itself: an opal shows not one colour but many at once, and which you see depends on how you hold it. After twenty one years together that is a fairly precise image.
Why do other sources say the 14th anniversary?
In English speaking countries there is, alongside the traditional list, a second and more recent version with so called modern gifts. There the 14th anniversary carries the opal, while German tradition lists the 14th as the ivory wedding and places the opal in the 21st year. Both are correct; they simply come from different lists. Anyone celebrating in Germany takes the 21st.
Because the stone gives the name here, we have devoted an article of its own to the anniversary, including the origin of the custom and concrete gift ideas: the opal wedding on the 21st anniversary.
Why do the lists contradict each other?
Anyone comparing two overviews will find differences. That is not a mistake but lies in the nature of the thing: wedding anniversaries are custom. They were never centrally fixed but passed on regionally and added to later.
The older German count. Paper, wood, roses, silver, gold. On the great anniversaries all sources agree.
Gaps filled in later for individual years. This is where the differences come from, for the 4th, 32nd or 36th year for instance.
Practical advice: if two lists contradict each other, take the one that is usual in your family. The anniversary belongs to you, not to the reference book.
How do you find a gift that suits the year?
The material of the anniversary is a suggestion, not a rule. But it helps against being at a loss, because it narrows the choice from everything down to something.
Start from the material
A silver wedding does not necessarily mean a piece made of silver. It can also be a stone set in silver.
Think about wearability
A gift that lies in the cupboard is a reminder of nothing. One that is worn, every day.
Choose something one of a kind
With coloured stones every piece is different. Two opals are never the same, and that makes them fitting for an anniversary.
Search by type of jewellery: rings, necklaces, earrings or bracelets. For the proposal before all that: engagement rings with opal.
How to hit the year without overdoing it
You do not need a big gift every year. The small years live from the gesture, the great ones from something lasting. A rule of thumb that works: up to year nine something to use or to experience, from year ten something that stays. And if you pick up the year's motif, explain it briefly when you hand it over. That is exactly what turns a gift into a memory.
Common questions about wedding anniversaries
Which wedding anniversaries are celebrated most often?
The silver wedding after 25 and the golden wedding after 50 years are the best known. Before those, above all the rose wedding (10), the crystal wedding (15) and the china wedding (20) are marked.
What is the 21st wedding anniversary?
The opal wedding. The opal stands for the variety of the shared years, because it shows different colours depending on the angle.
Why do some lists say the 14th anniversary is the opal wedding?
That is the English language version with modern gifts. German tradition lists the 14th as the ivory wedding and the opal in the 21st year.
Is there an official list of wedding anniversaries?
No. Wedding anniversaries are custom grown over time.
Does the gift have to be made of the anniversary's material?
No. The material is a suggestion.
Which anniversary comes after the golden wedding?
After 50 years come the platinum wedding (55), the diamond wedding (60), the iron wedding (65) and the grace wedding (70).
If you are unsure or have questions, you are welcome to contact us at any time, even if you did not buy the opal from us. Contact form, email cs@libertyangels.de or call +49 171 1603048.
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Written by Anton Kehler
Gründer FAERELLI & Liberty Angels
