25 one-of-a-kind anniversary gifts
The tradition of anniversary gifts spans centuries. Every year, couples celebrate their milestones with a gift inspired by a range of materials, from paper to gold. Capturing the nuances between you and your partner is quite the feat, so we curated 25 one-of-a-kind pieces to reflect your one-of-a-kind bond. Like the age-old tradition, these gifts promise to be timeless.
Year 1 | Paper
Start with a gift that symbolizes a clean slate with work by Colleen Ho. Ho creates subtle landscapes by repeatedly ripping paper with a thumbtack, leaving a delicate topography.
Lucha Rodríguez's knife-cut drawings delicately incise precise patterns and geometric forms into watercolored paper.
Year 2 | Cotton
Commemorate two years since you tied the knot with a fabric work by Stacey Beach or Liesl Pfeffer.
Year 4 | Silk
Celebrate with silk. Rebeca Raney's paintings on Crêpe De Chine evoke lustrous, immersive environments of characters, patterns, and scenes-within-scenes.
Padma Rajendran's silk paintings reflect on womanhood and the concept of home as a tended space.
Year 5 | Wood
Commemorate the roots of your union. A tabletop sculpture from Fitzhugh Karol shows the bright potential of a fundamental material.
Ferris McGuinty's work repurposes tiny wooden items of note, such as discarded cabinet knobs and gears to create new, multi-faceted designs.
Year 7 | Copper
Copper has the unique ability to produce heat. Keep the flame alive with Christina Watka's hanging sculptures that move, shimmer and add joy to your space.
Year 8 | Bronze
Bronze, an even stronger metal than copper, suggests an increased fortitude in your relationship. Toast to strength with Xochi Solis' bronze of your body.
Year 9 | Pottery
A testament to the transformative power of your love. Arrow of Light, a ceramic sculpture by Angel Oloshove.
A keepsake for always, Pastel Globo 5G by Pilar Wiley.
Year 10 | Aluminum
Aluminum represents flexibility and durability. Immortalize your love with a Jordan Sullivan photograph printed on aluminum or a colorful aluminum sculpture by Vicki Sher.
Year 11 | Steel
A metal that is as strong as your vows. For the 11th year, give the gift that is the strongest metal on earth in the form of a steel sculpture by Dan Covert.
Year 17 | Furniture
Like a marriage, furniture is built to last over time. Husband and wife duo Adam Frezza & Terri Chiao (CHIAOZZA)'s Stick Stump is simultaneously a sculptural bench and a symbol of strength, while Anna Moller's Silk Chair celebrates the timeless pieces you've had for a lifetime.
Year 21 | Fire
Celebrate the spark in your relationship with a firework photograph by husband and wife duo Jessica Haye & Clark Hsiao or Nick Meyer.
Year 22 | Water
After 22 years your bond is as well-adapted as water. Ryan James MacFarland's Bay Triptych shows the many sides of water. Anna Beeke's Smoke on the Water blurs the horizon line, indicating that the end destination is the journey itself.
Year 27 | Music
The lyrics to your melody, Electric Equation by Erik Barthels.
Year 47 | Garden
Lush and bountiful. Sarah Ingraham's floral paintings celebrate abundance, pleasure, and vitality.
Year 50 | Gold
Everlasting and invaluable, gold reflects the strength and permanence of your relationship. Lisa Hunt's collages or Kate Roebuck's playful paintings reinterpret the material in new ways.
