Anniversary Flowers and Gemstones By Year

Alongside the material symbols, each wedding anniversary year has a flower and a gemstone. They're the quiet way out when the traditional symbol is unhelpful - nobody wants tin, but most people will take daffodils.

They also make the gift easy: flowers on the day, the gemstone saved for the milestone years when it's worth the spend.

Here is the flower and gemstone for each year, then how to use them without spending a fortune.

Anniversary cards, printed in the UK

Cards to go with the flowers, drawn and printed by us in the UK, blank inside so you write the message.

I Still Fancy You Peach Emoji Anniversary Card I Still Fancy You Peach Emoji Anniversary Card £3.87 I Still Fancy You Eggplant Emoji Anniversary Card I Still Fancy You Eggplant Emoji Anniversary Card £3.87 365 Days Still Not Bored Anniversary Card 365 Days Still Not Bored Anniversary Card £3.87 365 Days of Settling Anniversary Card 365 Days of Settling Anniversary Card £3.87 Still Fancy You Anniversary Card Still Fancy You Anniversary Card £3.87 Happy Anniversary Card For Our Favourite Couple Happy Anniversary Card For Our Favourite Couple £3.75

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Years 1 to 10: flower and gemstone

  • 1st - flower: carnation. Gemstone: gold jewellery.
  • 2nd - flower: lily of the valley. Gemstone: garnet.
  • 3rd - flower: sunflower. Gemstone: pearl.
  • 4th - flower: hydrangea. Gemstone: blue topaz.
  • 5th - flower: daisy. Gemstone: sapphire.
  • 6th - flower: calla lily. Gemstone: amethyst.
  • 7th - flower: freesia. Gemstone: onyx.
  • 8th - flower: lilac. Gemstone: tourmaline.
  • 9th - flower: bird of paradise. Gemstone: lapis lazuli.
  • 10th - flower: daffodil. Gemstone: diamond.

Years 11 to 20

  • 11th - flower: tulip. Gemstone: turquoise.
  • 12th - flower: peony. Gemstone: jade.
  • 13th - flower: chrysanthemum. Gemstone: citrine.
  • 14th - flower: orchid. Gemstone: opal.
  • 15th - flower: rose. Gemstone: ruby.
  • 20th - flower: aster. Gemstone: emerald.

Milestone years, 25 to 70

  • 25th - flower: iris. Gemstone: silver jubilee.
  • 30th - flower: lily. Gemstone: pearl.
  • 35th - flower: coral vine. Gemstone: emerald.
  • 40th - flower: gladiolus. Gemstone: ruby.
  • 45th - flower: blue iris. Gemstone: sapphire.
  • 50th - flower: yellow rose. Gemstone: gold.
  • 55th - flower: green orchid. Gemstone: emerald.
  • 60th - flower: white rose. Gemstone: diamond.
  • 65th - flower: blue hydrangea. Gemstone: sapphire.
  • 70th - flower: white lily. Gemstone: platinum.

How to use them

  • Buy the year's flower rather than a generic bouquet, and say why in the card.
  • A print of the year's flower lasts longer than the flowers and costs less.
  • Save the gemstone for the big years - 15, 30, 40, 50, 60 - rather than buying something small every year.
  • Plant the flower in the garden for the years that have one you can grow: daisies, tulips, lilies, roses.
  • If they don't like cut flowers, use the colour instead - the card, the wrapping, the print.

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How to write it so it lands

  • Flowers for the ordinary years, gemstones for the milestones.
  • A print of the year's flower outlasts the bouquet.
  • Explain the choice in the card, or the thought gets missed.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the flower for each wedding anniversary?

Year one is the carnation, five the daisy, ten the daffodil, fifteen the rose, twenty the aster, thirty the lily, forty the gladiolus, fifty the yellow rose and sixty the white rose. The full list is above.

What is the gemstone for each anniversary year?

The best known are sapphire at five, diamond at ten, ruby at fifteen and forty, emerald at twenty and fifty-five, pearl at thirty, and diamond again at sixty.

Are anniversary flowers and gemstones official?

No - like the material lists, they're a tradition rather than a rule, and versions differ slightly. Use whichever suits the person you're buying for.

What is a good example of anniversary flowers and gemstones, year by year?

"1st - flower: carnation. Gemstone: gold jewellery." is one of 31 examples on this page. Pick the one closest to the tone you want, then add a specific detail of your own - a shared memory, a date, a name - so it reads as yours rather than copied.

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