If your marriage is about to embrace its very first anniversary -- a milestone in itself in every way -- then you are probably going into a tailspin thinking how to make a splash. After all, you want her to forever remember this significant day.
Suffice to say that the 1st wedding anniversary is an extremely important celebration. And, you have to rise to the occasion to ensure that your anniversary gift commemorates the big day that is still so fresh in her memory. Luckily, help is at hand. All wedding anniversaries, right from the 1st to the 100th (yes, even the 100th!) have a hand list of traditional and modern gifts that are in keeping with the significance of that particular year.
The traditional gift theme for the 1st wedding anniversary is paper. Before you turn up your nose and dismiss paper as being totally unromantic, just take a look at these top 10 traditional paper-themed gifts. She is going to nurture fond memories of her memorable fist wedding anniversary.
1. Obviously, an anniversary card. But, who said all cards have to be store-bought? Bring all your creativity to the fore and make her a fantastic anniversary card yourself.
2. Two tickets to an exotic and romantic weekend getaway. Slip these inside the anniversary card or cleverly concealed within the bouquet of roses. If not a surprise rendezvous, then think what would delight her. Tickets to an eagerly-awaited concert, a movie or a play? Let your gift match her interests.
3. The printed word for the book worm. Does she devour books by the dozen? Then, your first anniversary gift achieves a double whammy -- it keeps up with the traditional theme of paper and sends her into throes of delight when she sets her eyes on the first edition book of her favorite author. Another thoughtful gift could be a subscription to her favourite magazine.
4. Recapture that magical day when the two of you exchanged vows. Create a beautifully-designed wedding anniversary memory book. Fill it with selected photographs from your wedding day, a copy of the guest list, even a receipt for the cake -- in short, any sentimental wedding day memorabilia that has her reliving the most important day in her life. Don't limit yourself to visuals. You can even record other significant details of that day -- your feelings and thoughts, etc.
5. Floor her with a romantic love letter! Technology has its advantages -- emails, instant text messages -- but there's little that can beat a good old-fashioned love letter. Sadly, this charming and old-fashioned art of wooing has almost become extinct. Why don't you help revive it? The power of the written word is enormous and a hand-written letter is such a very personal and intimate gesture. (Of course, this won't be the only gift.) Choose a good quality notepaper and ink and simply pour out all your feelings -- every wife needs to hear how much she is appreciated and loved. Thank her for accepting you as her life partner and for making the past year such a special one.
6. Give flowers that will never perish! Real flowers, besides costing a fortune, also tend to wilt all too soon. You can either make her paper flowers (or buy them) and give them permanent residence on her bedside table.
7. Elegant stationery. If she is a working woman, she would deeply appreciate some classy stationery. These could include attractive writing paper, personalized business cards, expensive notepaper, engagement diary, envelopes and file folders bound in some beautiful ethnic cloth. Her office stationery will help her make a delightfully different style statement.
8. Paintings, posters and art prints for the art lover. Your first wedding anniversary gifts could appeal to her sense of aesthetics. A beautifully--framed miniature, or an art print of her favourite painter could make a fantastic first anniversary gift. You could even give her a blown--up version of a photograph of a favourite romantic place that you have visited or anything that you know holds a special significance for her.
9. Love coupons -- naughty or sweet, take your pick! Create a bunch of coupons for your first anniversary, each conveying a cute, saucy, sexy or romantic message for her. It could be a coupon for a sensuous massage or an offer to do the dishes for a week, dinner at her favourite restaurant or even just a walk in the moonlight. The element of surprise will keep the romantic fires burning for a long time!
10. Gift certificates. They may sound commonplace, but not if you have chosen your gift certificates with care. A gift certificate for her favourite lingerie store, a day of decadent indulgence at a swanky spa day, or even a sensual couple's massage at a spa.
At the end of the day, just do what your heart tells you to do and you won't ever go wrong.
