What to Buy for a Wedding Anniversary: A Studio Guide to Gifts by Year

Right, let's be honest about how most people land on this page. The date is creeping up, you've left it a bit late, and you want something that says you actually thought about it. You don't want another bunch of petrol-station flowers or a box of chocolates that's gone by Thursday. You want the gift to still be there next year, and the year after.

So here's the quick, honest steer before we get into the detail. The thing couples keep is the thing that marks the milestone and looks good on a wall every single day. Flowers die. A nice meal is gone by morning. A handmade piece you both walk past in the hall, that one sticks. I make these for a living, and the messages I get back months later are never about the wrapping. They're about the couple still smiling at the wall.

This guide walks you through the traditional gift for each year, how to match it to something lasting, and the actual pieces people reach for. Already know the milestone and just want to browse? The anniversary gifts collection is the fastest route. Otherwise, stay with me.

The traditional gift for each anniversary year

Every wedding anniversary has a material tied to it. It's a lovely old tradition and, handily, it gives you a built-in theme to shop around. The early years are soft and humble, paper and cotton, and the big ones get properly precious. Silver at 25, gold at 50, diamond at 60. Here's the full run for the UK.

You don't have to take the symbol literally. Nobody actually wants a sheet of tin for their 10th. The clever move is to nod to it. That's where a hand-gilded piece comes in, because the finish does the nodding for you.

How the finish matches the milestone

This is the bit people find genuinely useful, so I'll keep it plain. Every piece I make comes in either gold leaf or silver leaf, gilded by hand over a sculpted 3D relief on a black background. That gives you a simple way to match the artwork to the year without spelling it out on a card.

Going for a 25th? That's the silver wedding anniversary, so a silver leaf finish lands the symbol perfectly. It reads cool and modern and it ties straight to the milestone. Anyone hunting silver wedding anniversary gifts or 25th wedding anniversary gifts can take silver leaf as the obvious, tasteful pick.

A 50th is the golden one, so gold leaf is the match made for it. Warm, celebratory, the right amount of glow for half a century together. If you're after golden wedding anniversary gifts or 50th wedding anniversary gifts, you want the gold finish, no question.

The 40th is ruby, and ruby is the trickier one because nothing I make is literally red. What works is the gold finish, which carries the same warm, rich, celebratory feel as ruby red and sits beautifully against the deep black background. For ruby wedding anniversary gifts and 40th wedding anniversary gifts, go gold and warm. If you're torn between the two metals for any year, the gold vs silver leaf guide lays it out side by side.

The pieces couples actually keep

Now the fun part. These are the designs people choose again and again for anniversaries, grouped roughly by the feeling you're going for. Each one is handmade to order, framed with a glass front, roughly 33 by 33 cm, with free tracked UK delivery.

The romantic, straight-to-the-heart ones

Want the gift to read clearly as a love token? Start here. The Wedding Rings piece (£42.99) is about as on-the-nose as anniversary art gets, in the best way. Two rings joined together, the literal symbol of the day you said yes. It's the one I'd hand someone who wants zero ambiguity about the message.

Want something quieter? The Romantic Couple Under the Moon (£44.99) is the one couples go soft over. Two figures beneath a full moon, calm and unhurried. It suits a bedroom wall, and it suits a long marriage, which is rather the whole point.

And then there's Joined Hearts (£40.99), two hearts that have become one. It's simple, it's warm, and it works in silver for a 25th or gold for a 50th depending on whose anniversary you're buying for.

The nature's-pair ones

Some couples roll their eyes at hearts. Fair enough. Those couples tend to warm to the partnership pieces instead. Kissing Hummingbirds (£43.99) catches two birds mid-air, beaks touching, and it's genuinely one of the prettiest things I make. Hummingbirds pair for life, so the meaning is there without it shouting.

My slightly soft spot, though, is the Penguin Couple (£39.99). Penguins mate for life and they always look like they're having a quiet chat about something. It's the piece for couples who don't take themselves too seriously but absolutely mean it. People buy it as a joke and then love it for real.

The family and milestone ones

Buying for parents or grandparents, or marking a really big number? The Tree of Life with Heart Leaves (£39.99) is the one to know about. It's our most-bought anniversary piece by a mile. The tree stands for roots and family, a whole life grown together, and the leaves are little hearts. It's the top pick for a 50th and for parents, and in gold leaf it's a properly fitting golden anniversary gift.

The celebration and minimalist ones

Want to mark the toast itself? Champagne Glasses (£43.99) is two flutes raised together, which is hard to argue with on an anniversary. It's cheerful without being twee.

For a modern home that leans pared-back, the Single Line Love Heart (£40.99) is the understated choice. One continuous line forming a heart, nothing fussy. It suits the kind of couple who like clean walls and good coffee, and it's a lovely 1st anniversary gift when you want something that'll still look right in twenty years.

For him, for her, and the mistake people make

Two questions land in my inbox more than any others. What to buy a husband for an anniversary, and what to buy a wife. The honest answer is that the old gendered split matters far less than whether the gift actually means something to the two of you.

That said, here's how I'd steer it. Husbands, in my experience, tend to like the pieces with a bit of restraint and a clear idea behind them. The Tree of Life, the Single Line Love Heart, the Penguin Couple if he's got a sense of humour. Gold leaf reads warm and timeless on a study or living room wall. Wives, more often, go for the romantic designs, the Romantic Couple Under the Moon, the Kissing Hummingbirds, the Joined Hearts, and silver leaf gives a soft, modern finish that suits most bedrooms.

The mistake people make? Overthinking the symbol and forgetting the person. Don't buy tin for the sake of tin. Buy the piece that'll make them stop in the hallway. The material is a nice nudge, not a rule.

Make it personal, and send it straight to them

Here's the touch that turns a nice piece into a keepsake. Add £4.99 and I'll personalise it with both names and the date, gilded into the design so it's part of the artwork, not a sticker on the back. A name and an anniversary date is what gets the gift kept on the wall for decades rather than swapped out.

Posting it to the couple directly? No problem at all. There's never a price in the parcel, so it can go straight to them and arrive looking like the gift it is. Everything is made to order in the UK, dispatched in 1 to 4 working days, posted tracked at no charge. The frame is glass-fronted and ready to hang. To check it'll suit the wall you've got in mind, the framing and size guide has the measurements.

None of the designs quite right, or you've got an idea of your own? I take custom commissions too. Have a look at custom commissions and tell me what you're picturing.

Still deciding? Start with the collection

Read this far and still hovering? My advice is simple. Match the finish to the milestone, silver for a 25th, gold for a 50th or a 40th, and pick the design that sounds most like the two of them. You won't get it wrong. Browse the full range of anniversary gifts when you're ready, or if you're shopping for a different occasion entirely, the gifts by occasion page covers the rest.

Wedding anniversary gift FAQs