||The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the English-speaking world and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (October 2012)|
A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date a wedding took place. Traditional names exist for most of them: for instance, 50 years of marriage is called a "golden wedding anniversary" or simply a "golden anniversary".
Official recognition 
The historic origins of wedding anniversaries date back to the Holy Roman Empire, when husbands crowned their wives with a silver wreath on their twenty-fifth anniversary, or vicennalia, and a gold wreath on the fiftieth. Later, principally in the twentieth century, commercialism led to the addition of more anniversaries being represented by a named gift.
In the Commonwealth realms, one can receive a message from the monarch for 60th, 65th, and 70th wedding anniversaries, and any wedding anniversary after that. This is done by applying to Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, or to the Governor-General's office in the other Commonwealth realms.
In Canada, one can also receive a message from the Governor General for the 50th anniversary, and every 5th anniversary after that.
The situation is similar in Australia, where one can receive a letter of congratulations from the Governor-General on the 50th and all subsequent wedding anniversaries; the Prime Minister, the federal Opposition leader, local members of parliament (both state and federal), and state Governors may also send salutations for the same anniversaries.
In the United States, one can receive a greeting from the President for any wedding anniversary on or after the 50th.
Roman Catholics may apply for a Papal blessing through their local diocese for wedding anniversaries of a special nature (25th, 50th, 60th, etc.).
Celebration and gifts 
The names of some anniversaries provide guidance for appropriate or traditional gifts for the spouses to give each other; if there is a party these can be brought by the guests or influence the theme or decoration. These gifts vary in different countries, but some years have well-established connections now common to most nations: 5th Wooden, 10th Tin, 15th Crystal, 20th China, 25th Silver, 30th Pearl, 40th Ruby, 50th Gold, 60th Diamond. The tradition may have originated in medieval Germany where, if a married couple lived to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their wedding, the wife was presented by her friends and neighbours with a silver wreath to congratulate them for the good fortune that had prolonged the lives of the couple for so many years. On celebration of the 50th, the wife received a wreath of gold. Over time the number of symbols expanded and the German tradition came to assign gifts that had direct connections with each stage of married life. The symbols have changed over time. For example in the United Kingdom, diamond was a well known symbol for the 75th anniversary, but this changed to the now more common 60th anniversary after Queen Victoria's 60 years on the throne was widely marked as her Diamond Jubilee.
The origins of the current gift conventions date to 1937. Before that, only the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries had an associated gift. In 1937, the American National Retail Jeweler Association (now known as Jewelers of America as a result of an organizational merger) introduced an expanded list of gifts. The revamped list gave a gift for each year up to the 20th, and then for every fifth anniversary after that.
Traditional and modern anniversary gifts 
|Year||Traditional (U.S.)||Traditional (UK)||Modern (U.S.)|
|4th||Linen, silk||Fruit and flowers||Appliances (electrical)|
|7th||Wool, copper||Woollen||Desk sets/pen and pencil sets|
|10th||Tin, Aluminum||Tin||Diamond jewelry|
|11th||Steel||Fashion jewelry, accessories|
|12th||Silk||Silk and fine linen||Pearls, colored gems|
|75th||Diamond, gold||Diamond, gold|
Flower gifts 
|2nd||Lily of the Valley|
|9th||Bird of paradise|
|50th||Yellow rose, violet|
See also 
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wedding anniversaries|
- "Debrett's Everyday Etiquette". British Wedding Anniversaries. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- "Who is entitled?". The Monarchy Today. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
- "Queen and anniversary messages". The Monarchy Today. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
- "Invite the Governor General" (Requires access). The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- "It's an Honour – Anniversary Messages". Australian Government. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
- "White House Greeting". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- "To Request a Papal Blessing". The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, Office of the Bishop. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
- Lee, Cookie (October 2001). Wedding Anniversaries: from Paper to Diamond. Ryland Peters & Small
- Anderson, Charles "The Exchange," RQ 25 (1985): 175
- The World Almanac and Book of Facts, Mahwah, New Jersey: World Almanac Books, 1997.
- World Book Encyclopedia, 1997 ed., s.v. "Wedding Anniversary"
- "Wedding Anniversaries," compiled by librarians at the Chicago Public Library's Information Center (December 2000)
- Pears Cyclopaedia, 1978-79 edition, "Wedding Anniversaries." L128
- The platinum wedding anniversary of Jim and Gladys Till Lancaster Guardian, 8 January 2008
- Tenor and wife toast 70 years of marriage North West Evening Mail, 15 August 2008
- They've been around the world in 70 years Portsmouth News, 29 July 2008
- Miller, Vikki (24 May 2008). "Britain's longest married couple celebrate a quiet 80th anniversary". The Telegraph.
- Facts and figures The British Monarchy