Just type “anniversary gift ideas “ or “anniversary gifts by year” into Google and you’ll find a ton of sources suggesting the perfect gift for married couples who are celebrating their anniversary. That’s not simply to say that every business out there is promoting their own products, because they are, but that’s not the purpose here.
The purpose here is to uncover some of the trends that exist in buying gifts associated with a specific number of years of marriage. As it turns out, there are themes that some traditionalists follow when they pick out gifts for anniversaries.
There’s more than one way of looking at it, but the traditional way is probably the one you’re going to come across first if you perform a search. Each year of marriage is customarily awarded a themed gift at the anniversary that commemorates it. In this article, we’re going to look at what makes a good 1-year anniversary gift, according to both modern and traditional perspectives - although we will touch on a few relevant years as well.
The Traditional Perspective
The traditional first-anniversary gift is an interesting one. If you look up a list of what gifts to give for the first year of marriage, you’re going to come across suggestions that paper is the proper gift to give on the first anniversary.
The 1st-anniversary gift, like the first anniversary itself, is a significant one. In some ways, it is the most significant anniversary because of the trials that will have arisen during the first year of marriage. If marriage perseveres so long, there is grand hope for the future. Still, marriage is young and fragile and has much room to grow.
For that reason, the traditional take on 1st year wedding anniversary gifts is that they should be made of paper, symbolizing the fragile nature of the young marriage. Paper, like a marriage, requires great care and attention to retain its shape and to survive for any appreciable amount of time, just like the union between two people.
Yet it is not only about the fragile nature of the paper. It is also about the fact that paper, to an observer that does not recognize its nature, is also beautiful. Wonderful, ornate pieces of art can be created and crafted using paper as a medium, and these might appear sturdy from the outside, much like young matrimony. Still, with care and attention, there is hope for it to continue to flourish.
For these symbolic insights, paper has traditionally been the gift of choice for people looking for a traditional 1 year wedding anniversary gift. All the same, there is a new perspective on the matter that we’re going to weigh in on.
The Modern Perspective
If you do a little research on the items that are fitting to give for a 1 year wedding anniversary gift, you’re going to notice that there are some modern perspectives that suggest giving the gift of a clock or a watch, to symbolize the fact that there is a lot of time in the future and therefore hope for growth and life.
What’s interesting about this is the fact that the modern take on the 15th wedding anniversary suggests the same thing, albeit for different reasons. The modern take on the 15th wedding anniversary is a clock or a watch because it signifies that time has passed and that there is room for reflection and memory on the investments that were made.
However, the traditional take on the matter is to give a gift of crystal. Crystal, as you might have gleaned, is very beautiful, but it can also be very fragile, depending on the nature of its manufacture. Crystal, like glass and paper, is very fragile and very beautiful.
If you’re looking at creative options for shaking up tradition and giving a gift that will be remembered for many years and even esteemed with uncommon admiration, a gift of glass may be ideal for a 1 year wedding anniversary gift.
Paper vs. Glass
Here are some of the traits that may be metaphorically worth noting when it comes to making a comparative evaluation between paper and glass. Though paper is the traditional gift for a 1 year wedding anniversary, here are some things to keep in mind:
●Glass, like paper, is also very fragile. If it is not handled properly, it will break, and without proper care, it can lose its luster and impact, just like paper.
●Glass, like paper, can be made to create not only unique but very beautiful gifts; some might even say (and we would be some of them) that glass gifts are even more beautiful than paper gifts.
●However, though glass is fragile, it makes a better gift because paper lacks permanence, even with care. A gift of glass can be cared for and will last for many years, even many generations. Even with care, paper will eventually deteriorate.
●If you’re open to revitalizing the traditional approach at all, you don’t need to follow in someone else’s footsteps. Someone else doesn’t have to put an idea in your head for it to be a good one!
Of course, if you insist on following some form of convention, you don’t need to give a gift of crystal for a 1st wedding anniversary gift. There are prescriptions for it down the line, like some of the following.
The Third Year: Traditional Take
The traditional gift for the third year anniversary is still not glass. In fact, it is leather, and leather makes a fine gift for the third year for all of the weight of the symbolism it carries. Leather, which can also be crafted into beautiful gifts, just like paper or class, is much less fragile than these two. Leather is remarkably strong and will last for many years, even without the proper care.
This, obviously, symbolizes the strength of the bond that must have formed in order to allow a marriage to survive and flourish into three years. By the third year of marriage, a husband and wife will have overcome most of the trials of early marriage, and their bond will have become strong, as a bond of leather.
However strong leather is, it will break down over time if it isn’t offered the modicum of attention that is due. Just like a marriage, however, strong after three years, leather still requires care and attention in order to remain strong and beautiful far into the mists of the future.
It’s nearly ideal symbolism, but can it be topped?
The Third Year: Modern Take
Just as modern perspectives suggest a clock or a watch for the first year of marriage instead of the traditional gift of paper, the same people have their eyes on renovating gift ideas for the third year of marriage. They have their own take on what makes a good gift.
These same people would say that glass or crystal makes a fitting gift for the third year of marriage, and they make some good arguments in their defense. Glass and crystal, like leather, is also beautiful. It is also superficially very resilient, and even hard. It seems to have staying power because it is not waywardly affected by the elements.
Like leather, and a three-year marriage, glass and crystal and very strong. But still, glass and crystal, as you know, cannot be mishandled. They will break if they are, but with the right care and attention will flourish into the future.
If we do say so, glass gifts make wonderful offerings for couples celebrating the third anniversary of their wedding vows, but if you must wait for a traditional opportunity, hold on for the fifteenth year!
Wait for 15!
If you must wait for a traditional take in order to offer a glass or crystal gift, you’ll be relieved to hear that the traditional gift for the fifteenth anniversary is a gift of crystal, specifically. We’re not going to belabor the points we’ve already made, only lend a few more details.
By the fifteenth anniversary of the wedding day, the marriage is no longer in its youth. It is maturing and it is built on a sturdy foundation if it has lasted as long. The difference in the symbolism is this. Crystal is stronger than glass, just like a 15th-year marriage is stronger than marriage at the point of 3 years. It has more staying power, and crystal is also used to make more finery.
Still, if you got here looking for a 15th year wedding anniversary gift, glass makes a wonderful option.
What We Provide
The good news in this is that here at J Devlin Glass Art, we can offer you a lot of value whether you’re looking for a special gift for a 1st, 3rd, or 15th anniversary or anything in between. Here’s a snapshot of what you get when you shop with us.
-Unique, Handcrafted Designs - Each and every one of the designs in our catalog, and not just those designed with anniversaries in mind, is completely unique and handcrafted. Even without personalization, you won’t see anything we offer here anywhere else - everything we sell is uniquely handcrafted, especially for our online store.
-Real, Tiffany Method Stained Glass - Our glass art is not just uniquely handcrafted for us, and by skilled artisans at that. They are all made with Tiffany method stained glass. This method, which was developed by Louis-Comfort Tiffany well over 100 years ago, is still the superior method today for creating colored glass. It adds metals and pigments to the glass in a semi-liquid state. This gives this form of colored glass a higher measure of permanence; it will never fade or lose its coloring.
-Lead-Free Solder Scrollwork - Many of our unique glass gifts are accented with our lead-free solder scrollwork, which lends an uncommon measure of character to them and plays off the luster of the glass beautifully. Where the glass adds light and color, our solder scrollwork and filigree provides grounding and depth.
-A Wide Catalog of Unique Gifts, Including Themed Items - We don’t just offer unique photo frames and jewelry boxes for sale in our collection of glass art. We also offer glass ornaments, valet trays, letterboxes for storing love letters, lamps, card holders, and much more.
Most importantly, our themed collections are intended to streamline the process for our customers. If you’re here today shopping for a unique anniversary gift, no matter what year it’s for, we can help. Check out our collection of anniversary gifts before you go, where you’ll surely be inspired with ideas for future gifts.
-The Ability to Personalize - In addition to our themed anniversary gifts, we also offer the ability to personalize so many of our items. Whether you’re looking to give a gift to celebrate the coming of a child into a family or a gift to celebrate a communion, many of our gifts can be personalized with pictures, names, dates, messages, and more!
-Free Shipping - When you order with us, you’re not just going to be giving a gift that can’t be found anywhere else. You’re also going to be getting free shipping in the deal, and in addition to that, we take great pains to ensure that all of our items are carefully packed and prepared for shipping. These are fragile items, after all, and they won’t be dressed to impress if they don’t get to you (or their final destination) in one piece!
Call Us for Help with the Perfect Gift
If you have any questions about our unique gifts of glass or just would like some suggestions for anniversary or wedding gifts, don’t be shy about contacting our customer service department.
We’ll answer your questions, give you some helpful pointers or just lend our input into some unique gift ideas to make that upcoming anniversary all the more memorable. Call us up at 844-772-2145 and let us know how we can help!