From Paper to Oak — Polish Wedding Anniversary Names

Here’s a complete list of wedding anniversary names from the 1st to the 80th:

1st anniversary – Paper
2nd anniversary – Cotton
3rd anniversary – Leather
4th anniversary – Flower / Fruit
5th anniversary – Wood
6th anniversary – Sugar
7th anniversary – Wool / Copper
8th anniversary – Bronze
9th anniversary – Pottery / Tinplate
10th anniversary – Tin / Aluminum
11th anniversary – Steel
12th anniversary – Linen / Silk
13th anniversary – Lace
14th anniversary – Ivory
15th anniversary – Crystal / Glass

20th anniversary – Porcelain
25th anniversary – Silver
30th anniversary – Pearl
35th anniversary – Coral
40th anniversary – Ruby
45th anniversary – Sapphire
50th anniversary – Golden Jubilee / Gold
55th anniversary – Platinum / Emerald
60th anniversary – Diamond
65th anniversary – Iron
70th anniversary – Stone
75th anniversary – Brilliant (Diamond Jubilee)
80th anniversary – Oak

According to some, paper itself is a symbol of marriage and the wedding act. Yet it is easy to notice that most anniversary names are tied to materials and precious elements such as wood, ruby, diamond, or iron. The first wedding anniversary is called the paper anniversary because the bond created in the first year of marriage is still delicate and fragile, easy to tear apart. With each passing year, however, the material symbolizing the anniversaries becomes stronger and more precious. For the first 15 years of marriage, every anniversary has its own unique name. After the fifteenth, the names are given only to the round anniversaries celebrated every 5 years.

Still, every wedding anniversary is unique and worth celebrating — for example, with a bouquet of anniversary flowers, the number of stems matching the number of years spent together.