“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”
– Mignon McLaughlin
There’s not many couples in the world that can boast this claim - a whole 60 years together! That’s a pretty monumental achievement.
Just think of all the happy moments, shared experiences and joint achievements. All the places you’ve visited, the things you’ve done and the things you’ve seen. It’s an incredible life story, which you have written together.
Your 60th wedding anniversary is a celebration of all the incredible things that you have achieved together. It’s all about taking a moment to pause and reminisce on all these wonderful moments.
That’s precisely why we get such joy from wedding anniversary themes. These themes have been used to inspire the gifts of countless couples, across a hundred years. They unite your relationship to these other happy couples, while enabling you to showcase everything that makes your bond unique.
So, to help you mark your 60th wedding anniversary with a gift that the occasion deserves, our experts have created the ultimate guide to anniversary gift shopping. Below, you can find out more about the origins of this year’s theme, tips to make your gift unique, and themed gift inspiration.
The history of 60 year wedding anniversaries - why diamond?
In 1922, Emily Post published her book Etiquette. Emily based her list on the popular gift themes that were popular amongst Victorian couples.
She then created the first ‘official’ list of wedding anniversary themes, by creating a universal guideline of themes for couples to refer to.
In her original list, Emily included themes for the anniversaries 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25.
Then, in 1937, the American National Retail Jeweler Association updated this list, so that it also included themes for each of the early anniversaries, and continued up to the 50th wedding anniversary.
It wasn’t until a few years later that this list was expanded further, to include the 55th, 60th, 65th, 70th and 75th wedding anniversaries (obviously it wasn’t that common for couples to reach such major milestones!).
Traditional gift ideas for you 60th wedding anniversary
It’s an incredible milestone to have reached, so you need to find a gift that’s worthy of the occasion.
Thankfully, traditional wedding anniversary themes have been created with precisely this principle in mind.
The list was designed so that, as the years went on, the anniversary gifts would get gradually more expensive. So, it seems fitting that the theme for the 60th wedding anniversary is diamond.
Diamonds are sure to make an impression - they’ve got a reputation for luxury, quality and, above all, romance. Your other half will be pretty blown away!
To help you find a diamond gift that’s worthy of the occasion, here are our expert’s picks for 60th wedding anniversary gifts:
- Diamond jewellery and accessories. This could be:
- Earrings
- Necklace
- Bracelet
- Locket
- Brooch
- Ring
- Cufflinks
- Personalised necklace with family names
- A loose diamond
- Photo frame, embellished with diamonds
- Engraved champagne glasses or whiskey tumblers
- Silver rose ornament, with diamond detailing
- A glass decanter, with diamond detailing
- A commemorative plate
- Laser cut paper cards or commemorative artwork to frame
- A shimmering, silver photo album, filled with photographs
Where did modern wedding gift themes come from?
They say that you can’t improve on perfection, and that seems to be true for this year’s traditional wedding anniversary theme.
Because, the modern wedding anniversary theme for this year is also diamond.
The list of modern wedding anniversary themes was created to give couples an alternative to the traditional themes (many of which are a bit outdated, irrelevant or hard to find).
But diamonds are just as popular a gift option as they were a century ago. For 100 years, this precious gemstone has been revered as the pinnacle of quality and beauty - so, it makes an incredible gift to commemorate 60 years together.
To help you choose the perfect diamond 60th anniversary gift, our experts have shared 5 handy tips to aid your gift search:
- Remember, it doesn’t have to be a diamond. If a real diamond would be out of your budget, then use the list above to find a themed gift which is more affordable.
- When buying jewellery, search beyond the high street. The UK is filled with talented jewellers and artisan craftsmen, so be sure to check them out!
- If your budget allows, you could arrange to have a craftsman create a bespoke gift for you. That’d be a wonderful way to secure a sentimental, one of a kind anniversary keepsake.
- Can your gift be personalised? Often, shops will include a free personalisation service. This is sure to take your gift up a notch!
- Include links to your major achievements together. For example, you could include the names of your children, a symbol of the place where you got married, or an extra gemstone for each of your grandchildren.
And finally, let us take this opportunity to congratulate you on this incredible achievement. You have shared so much together, and experienced the kind of love that we all dream of.
We hope that this personal themed wedding anniversary gift successfully caps off what promises to be a wonderful wedding anniversary celebration.
