We all love to get a beautiful bouquet of flowers for our wedding anniversary. And how wonderful it is when the bouquet comes with a special unspoken message. It’s a great way to add fun to your next anniversary celebration.
A wedding anniversary has long been recognized as an important occasion for a married couple. The tradition of celebrating wedding anniversaries may have changed over time but the significance of a lifelong commitment has remained.
First Anniversary – Pansy symbolizing ‘Thinking of You’
In the Middle Ages only the 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries were celebrated. A husband would give his wife a crown of silver for the 25th and a crown of gold for the 50th. It was not until the 1930’s that the 1st, 10th, 20th, and 70th anniversaries were also celebrated. Overtime, it has become traditional to celebrate all wedding anniversaries.
Twelfth Anniversary – Peony symbolizing ‘Happy marriage and I love you’
The traditional gifts associated with an anniversary increased in value as the years married increased symbolizing the deepening of love, commitment and stability. While there are material gifts associated with each anniversary, there are also flowers for each anniversary. This tradition may have started during the Victorian Era when flowers and their meanings became a very popular way of expressing one’s feelings.
The following is a list of traditional flowers and their meanings for each wedding anniversary. Some anniversaries have no flower associated with it and this gives you the opportunity to be creative and select you own bouquet. For example, for the 16th anniversary you could make a mixed bouquet of all the flowers from the 1st to the 15th anniversaries.
Twenty-Fifth – Iris symbolizing ‘Faith, promise, trust, and passion’
Anniversary
1st: Flower – Pansy / Carnation; Symbolism – thinking of you / affirmation of love
2nd: Flower – Cosmo / Lily of the Valley; Symbolism – modesty / sweetness, happiness
3rd: Flower – Sunflower / Fuchsia; Symbolism – pure love / confiding love
4th: Flower – Hydrangea / Geranium; Symbolism – heartfelt, gratefulness / true friend
5th: Flower – Daisy; Symbolism – loyalty, undying love
6th: Flower – Calla Lily; Symbolism – magnificent beauty
7th: Flower – Jack- in-the-pulpit / Freesia; Symbolism – modest beauty / innocence
8th: Flower – Lilac / Clematis ; Symbolism – pride / ingenuity
9th: Flower – Poppy / Bird of Paradise ; Symbolism – beauty / faithfulness
10th: Flower – Daffodil; Symbolism – happiness, one and only
11th: Flower – Tulip / Morning Glory; Symbolism – love and passion / I love
12th: Flower – Peony; Symbolism – happy marriage and I love you
13th: Flower – Chrysanthemum / Hollyhock; Symbolism – abundance / fruitfulness
14th: Flower – Orchid / Dahlia; Symbolism – pure affection / forever yours
15th: Flower – Rose; Symbolism – love, passion
20th: Flower – Day Lily / Aster; Symbolism – playful / fidelity
25th: Flower – Iris; Symbolism – faith, promise, trust, passion
28th: Flower – Orchid ; Symbolism – perfection, delicate beauty, love
30th: Flower – Sweet Pea / Lily ; Symbolism – blissful pleasure / purity of heart
40th: Flower – Nasturtium / Gladiolus; Symbolism – love / generosity
50th: Flower – Violet / Yellow Rose; Symbolism – faithfulness / caring
Fiftieth Anniversary – symbolizing ‘Faithfulness and caring’
