Traditional 1st Wedding anniversary gift theme is Paper

Celebrate your Paper Anniversary

origami couple with love heart in the background

So you’ve almost completed your first year of marriage and you’ve now come to the point of thinking about celebrating this wonderful milestone.

Well, there’s good news as to celebrate your wedding nuptials there are a pleather of Anniversary Gift lists available. These suggest themes or symbols to help you select the perfect gift if you’re stuck for ideas.

Most couples follow the traditional wedding anniversary gift list which gives you a gift theme for every anniversary up until the 15th anniversary and then every 5th year until the 60th.  For more details on the lists etc. check out our resource pages.

The traditional 1st anniversary gift theme is Paper. A unique symbol across all the other wedding anniversary materials for every other year and, indeed, all the other gift lists.

Paper is said to have been invented by the Egyptians and has existed for millennia; used to record human history. Although today life is Hi-tech paper is in use for the many important events in life; births, deaths and Marriages use paper to record the events in their certificates and ledgers.

Furthermore paper is probably a good choice for the material theme for the first year as there are many ideas that can be achieved with little budget.  Often the case if you are still recovering from the cost of your wedding or are dealing with the costs of owning and running your home.

Remarkably, no one quite knows why paper is given as the symbol for the first year. Indeed, in the UK, the traditional first anniversary theme used to be cotton however it has now fallen into line with America which where the first adopters of paper as the 1st year symbol.  

How to Celebrate your Paper Anniversary

Here’s how it works, your first wedding anniversary is special; it is the first of many anniversaries and celebrates the first year together with your chosen life partner.  It should also be the end of a period of adjustment for both partners having spent all the seasons together in marriage you now have an understanding of future years to come.

Obviously how you choose to celebrate may set the precedence to many happy years together, if your partner decides not to celebrate the anniversary how you like, now is probably the best time to discuss how you feel.

As you might imagine, first anniversaries have the couple celebrate in an intimate manner. This is the case for most early years. Often it’s just the couple or with their best friends and immediate family that are involved.

Having said that if you are a party animal there is nothing stopping you having a party, getting your mates round and watching the wedding video together over a take-away and a few beers. Given Paper is the traditional theme the ideal food would be Fish and Chips in their take away wrapper or Kebab/Pizza as they are all served in some form of paper

Resist the urge to give a paper book as the 4th wedding anniversary has a traditional theme of books and if you’ve given it three years earlier then you could limit your choice.

Photographic paper to actually print your wedding photos which could give rise to a whole bout of events as you show your friends and relatives.

Paper Anniversary Gift Ideas

  • Anniversary Memories Book
  • 1st Anniversary Journal
  • Stationary printed with your initials.
  • Post Cards or Stamps.
  • Calendars
  • Newspaper or Magazine Subscriptions.
  • Origami Paper and instructional books.
  • Paper mâché Boxes.
  • Jigsaw puzzles (of the wedding.)
  • Paperweights and paper related items such as paper clips, paper cutting dies.
  • Paper Flowers.
  • Framed sheet music (Your Song, First Dance or something up to date)

Paper Anniversary Activity Ideas

Many people love to do something together for their 1st Anniversary, so we’ve pulled some ideas together that fit with the traditional theme of paper.

  • Paper Roadmap with a route marked to a romantic getaway.
  • Origami Paper and link to youtube videos of instructional videos. e.g Origami Heart
  • Paper tickets to an event be it sport, concert or theatrical.
  • Fish and Chip supper by the Sea
  • Picnic with Paper tablecovering and plates.

Paper Anniversary Greeting Cards

Paper Anniversary Greeting Card Messages

Wondering what to say in your greeting card, here are some suggestions based on the traditional theme of paper.

  • Just like a blank piece of paper, your beautiful journey together has just begun. Happy first anniversary!
  • A year of love folded delicately like paper, symbolising the infinite promise and potential of your beautiful union. Congratulations!
  • Congratulations on your first anniversary! Bonded together as intricately as pages in a book, your shared story is an inspiration.
  • Happy paper-versary! Here’s to endless years of writing your love story together.
  • Wishing you a first anniversary as joyful and precious as the first page of a favorite book. Happy anniversary!
  • Happy 1st anniversary! Just like paper, may your love be a canvas for the most beautiful thoughts, dreams, and wishes.
  • To a year documented in beautiful, golden memories — your love story is as priceless as a treasured diary. Happy paper anniversary!
  • One year of weaving your story together on the paper of love – here’s to many more chapters to come. Congratulations!
  • Your first year of marriage has been a beautiful sketch on the canvas of life. Wishing you a happy paper anniversary and a lifetime of love.
  • Congratulations on your first anniversary! Your love story, written on the delicate pages of life, has only just begun.

Other 1 Year Anniversary themes

Modern 1 year Anniversary theme – Clocks
Fresh Water Pearl – 1st year anniversary gemstone symbol
Pansies – 1 year anniversary flower symbol


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