From a private villa escape for two to a golden anniversary surrounded by family, the best wedding anniversary ideas reflect the years shared and the life built together. At Wedded Wonderland, we plan celebrations from proposals and weddings to the milestones that follow, bringing the same personal attention to each occasion.
Every big milestone has a traditional and a modern theme, and either can shape the gift, the setting or the celebration.
A private trip, a vow renewal and a gathering of family suit different years and need different lead times.
Travel and vow renewals call for several months of planning. A private dinner or portrait session needs a few weeks.
Couples in Australia can request an official message for a 50th, 60th, 65th, 70th and later anniversary.
Wedded Concierge arranges anniversary journeys, renewals and gatherings around the milestone, along with the partners who bring them to life.
To mark a milestone anniversary, choose a celebration that reflects the significance of the year, from a private return to your honeymoon destination for a tenth anniversary to a family gathering for a fiftieth.
The table below sets out each year's traditional and modern theme with a celebration idea, and the sections after it expand on the big milestones.
Year | Traditional symbols | Celebration idea |
1st | Paper | Handwritten letters to each other, read over a private dinner, with a bound album of your wedding day. |
2nd | Cotton | A slow breakfast in bed in fine cotton linen, served on a porcelain tea service. |
3rd | Leather | A leather-bound journal for your shared memories and a pair of crystal champagne coupes. |
4th | Fruit or flowers | A private chef's dinner celebrating seasonal fruit, or a quiet morning among the blooms at a flower farm. |
5th | Wood | A weekend retreat in a timber lodge, with fine silverware as the keepsake. |
10th | Tin or aluminium | A return to your honeymoon destination, staying somewhere new, with a diamond piece to mark the decade. |
15th | Crystal | A long weekend at a refined hotel, with a crystal keepsake to bring home. |
20th | China | A weekend in a heritage hotel, with a fine porcelain piece for the home. |
25th | Silver | A vow renewal or an intimate dinner with close family and friends, with silver jewellery as the gift. |
30th | Pearl | A seaside escape of several days, with pearl jewellery as the keepsake. |
40th | Ruby | A vow renewal at a destination you love, with ruby jewellery as the gift. |
50th | Gold | A seated family dinner, with an official message from the Governor-General (Australia). |
60th | Diamond | An unhurried family lunch, with an official message from His Majesty The King and the Governor-General (Australia, on application). |
70th | Platinum | A private celebration with those closest to you, with an official |
The tenth anniversary is the first many couples treat as a milestone in its own right. Diamond jewellery marks it in the modern list, and a return to the place you honeymooned gives the year a natural shape. We help couples make the trip happen, and our guide to when to go on honeymoon is a useful starting point for choosing the season.
Crystal and china suit the quieter years. A long weekend in a heritage hotel, one fine piece for the home and a private dinner built around the menu from your wedding day make the occasion personal without a large production.
The silver anniversary is the year many couples renew their vows or host a gathering. Silver jewellery or a framed keepsake sits well beside either. A guest list of close family and friends keeps a renewal intimate, and an event website with RSVPs through Wonderland Studio keeps the invitations in one place.
Pearl suits a coastal setting. Several days on the Amalfi Coast or on a Greek island, with pearl jewellery as the keepsake, gives the thirtieth a clear character.
A destination vow renewal suits the ruby anniversary. Ruby jewellery is the gift and the setting is chosen together, while we handle the planning, the guest travel and the styling. Our destination packages are a good place to begin.
The golden anniversary usually brings the family together. A seated dinner at home or at a private venue, with speeches and a film of the wedding day, suits the occasion. Couples in Australia can also request an official message, set out below.
The diamond and platinum anniversaries call for a calm, private celebration with the people closest to you. A relaxed lunch, a portrait session with several generations and an official message from His Majesty The King and the Governor-General make the day. Planning ahead keeps it easy for everyone.
Couples in Australia can request an official message for certain wedding anniversaries. A 50th anniversary receives a message from the Governor-General. The 60th, 65th and 70th anniversaries, and each year after, receive a message from His Majesty The King and the Governor-General, on application.
Each application covers one occasion, so a message for a later year needs a new request.
If a request was not made for the 60th, a couple can request one for a later year, such as the 61st.
Supporting documents state the names and address of the couple and confirm the date. A marriage certificate, a passport or a statutory declaration can be used.
Requests can be made online, by email or post to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, or through a federal Member of Parliament or Senator.
Requests should be made at least two months before the date, and can be made up to six months after it.
Details and forms are on the Governor-General's website. For a golden or diamond anniversary, we suggest making the request as soon as the date is set, so the message arrives with the rest of the celebration.
A private anniversary needs one well-considered idea. The ideas below suit any milestone year and can be arranged within a few weeks.
A private chef cooking the menu from your wedding day.
A screening of your wedding film, with a small cake made in the style of the original.
A hotel suite in your own city for the night, with breakfast served in the room.
A couples' spa treatment followed by a quiet dinner.
A portrait session turns an anniversary into a record you can add to each year. We coordinate hair, makeup and nail artists, so the styling is settled before the day, and our guide to wedding makeup looks that photograph best helps you choose. For couples who book their anniversary with us, we also coordinate photographers from our Wedded Wonderland partners, including Studio Danielle in Melbourne and Inlighten in Sydney, who work in an editorial style.
Handwritten letters suit every milestone and gain meaning each year. For couples who book their anniversary through us, we can also arrange keepsakes with our partners: FOR KEEPS preserves wedding bouquets as framed, domed or boxed pieces, and MEMS Keepsake designs albums that also work as a display piece in the home.
An anniversary trip works best when it is chosen for the year it marks. We help couples make the trip happen, from the destination and the season to the private stays and experiences that fill the days.
Returning to the place you honeymooned lets you see it with the years behind you. Couples often choose a different stay in the same region, so the setting is familiar and the experience is new. Our destination honeymoon packages are a useful guide to what is possible.
A milestone year is a good reason to choose somewhere you have both wished to visit. The Amalfi Coast and Santorini suit a tenth or thirtieth, Bali and Ras Al Khaimah suit a long, restful stay, and Fiji suits a private island week.
The right month depends on where you are going and what you want from the days. Our guide to choosing a luxury destination that suits you and our guide to Asia honeymoon destinations set out seasons and settings in detail. Entry requirements and any fees change, so please confirm with the official source before you travel.
A vow renewal gives an anniversary a ceremony of its own. It can be a private exchange of vows for two or a gathering with the whole family, and it can take place at home or abroad.
A renewal can be as simple as reading new vows at a favourite place, with a celebrant to lead it. When you book your renewal with us, we coordinate a celebrant such as Per Sempre, a Sydney celebrant who writes personalised ceremonies for couples at home or abroad. We also arrange music through our partners, such as the violinist Evangeline Victoria Music or the pianist Piano by Elie, to set the tone.
A destination renewal adds a journey to the ceremony. We help couples choose the setting, arrange the stay and style the day, and our destination planning guide sets out how the process works. A renewal is symbolic, so the planning centres on the venue, the celebrant, the music and the guest travel.
A renewal with family at the centre needs a calm run of events. For renewals booked with us, we coordinate The Wedding Nanny, which provides childminding teams so young guests stay safe and involved. If you would like a re-proposal as part of the day, our proposal ideas for every kind of couple has plenty to draw on.
A milestone party brings the people who shared the wedding back together. The 25th, 40th and 50th suit a seated dinner, a long lunch or a weekend away, and the guest list shapes every other decision.
A home suits an intimate lunch or dinner, and a venue suits a larger guest list and a fuller programme. Our venue directory and Sydney venues are a good place to start.
A clear guest list and timeline keep a milestone party calm. Wonderland Studio brings the event website, RSVPs, guest list and seating together, and our wedding planning tools cover the timeline and tasks.
A confident MC, live music and one memorable moment shape the evening. For milestone parties booked with us, we coordinate partners including Nathan Cassar, who hosts as an MC, Pistachio Entertainment, which supplies musicians and performers, and CIRKUS BIZURKUS, which builds custom show moments. We can also arrange a cake from Michelle Portelli Cakes or Cake Design by Holly Miller to give the table a centrepiece.
Couples who plan with us in Australia can meet our partners at Wedded World Melbourne, and our Melbourne vendors and Sydney vendors pages show the wider network closer to home.
Match the celebration to the milestone, to each partner's pace and to the time you have. Travel and renewals need months, while a dinner or portrait session needs weeks.
You want | Best fit | Typical lead time |
Quiet and private | A private dinner or portrait session | 2 to 4 weeks |
A journey | An anniversary trip | 3 to 6 months |
A ceremony | A vow renewal | 3 to 6 months |
A gathering | A milestone party | 2 to 4 months |
A big anniversary is a chance to look back on the wedding and plan the years ahead. We bring the same care to a milestone that we bring to a wedding, from the setting and the styling to the guests and the details.
Our travel and destination packages cover trips and renewals abroad, and Wonderland Studio keeps a gathering organised at home. Wedded Concierge arranges each of these around the year you are marking, including the partners involved.
Written by
Editor & Content Writer
Jillian Arambulo is the Editorial and Content Writer at Wedded Wonderland, specialising in branded content strategy. Her writing spans luxury lifestyle, travel, culture, beauty and emerging trends, bringing together comprehensive guides and features that connect readers with the places, ideas and experiences worth discovering.
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