So many women in this beautiful blog community are newlyweds and I’ve always loved that! The number of other bloggers that got married between March and August of 2008 is amazing!
We got married on May 3 and I just cannot believe how fast time flies. With the baby on the way, the anniversary has kind of snuck up on me and I’m not sure what my big first anniversary gift to my husband is going to be. The traditional first anniversary gift is paper and the modern first anniversary gift are clocks.
So, helpful readers, I need your help in deciding what to give my husband for our first anniversary. Should I stick to tradition or go for something completely out of the ordinary. He never wants anything, so either way I go I’m going to have to think for myself!
ETA: We already have lots and lots of personalized stationery. We have joint stationery and individual stationery that we both use for personal and business purposes. We have also decided not to focus on the baby for our anniversary. I think the baby ideas are very sweet, but we’ll be a month away from the due date and we would rather focus on each other and the reasons we love each other. I’ll definitely do some sweet things for Father’s Day, which will come just a few short days after the baby arrives.
I am struggling with the exact same thing girl! i am probably going with tradition since we have a babyb on the way and a new house. i can’t go all extravagant!! can’t wait to hear what you decide!
Well, our first anniversary gift to each other was 2 weeks in Hawaii, so definitely NOT traditional, ha ha! I think that the 1st anniversary is so special and the one you remember the most, so in my opinion, you should do something completely out of the ordinary. Let us know what you decide!
You could make him a paper clock… (I’m j/k – pleas laugh 🙂
D never wants anything either, so I made him a card and told him 100 things I love about you (you know… very ‘tastefully’ done) — I also got him some cologne and we went on a weekend getaway…
oh man I am struggling with this too! Mr. M never wants anything and I need help. I will definitely be reading this post for ideas!
We made an offer on a house on our first anniversary and that was kind of a gift to both of us 🙂
We actually went kind of low-key on our anniversary and tried to make things for one another (cards mainly.) My husband did make a “book” for me a few years ago for Valentine’s Day. It was all about how we met, our first kiss, first date, things he liked about me, etc. It was really cute and I still have it.
What about a sweet note written on paper…maybe to baby boy about daddy..then a watch (clock) for daddy? haha. I’m not too good picking things either!!
I do better when there’s a “theme” involved so I opted to go with either the traditional or modern gift. I chose paper and ordered a bunch of pictures from our wedding and framed them in one of Pottery Barn’s big collage frames. He LOVED it! [I think you’ve seen it on my blog.]
I’ve kept the theme up over the years and while I don’t always chose the “traditional” option, I do stick to one or the other. It just makes it easier for me to come up with something fun + unique.
He’ll love whatever it is you get him…as long as it’s given with your heart 🙂 Good luck!
I stink at man gifts…but if it were me, I think I might try a book about being a dad if you feel the urge to stick with tradition…there has to be something out there that would be fun for him right? I’m no help!
I’m sure you thought of this but since he is going to be a father soon you could get something engraved that would mean something to him involving being a father? I hope you think of something! But I’m sure he’s thrilled to have you and a healthy baby on the way!!
Well, since paper is the first gift by tradition I’ve had the thought to get my husband tickets to something he’ll love (being that tickets are printed on paper). He too has almost everything and the things he wants I would have to use our “over a certain amount” rule.
Oh I love the traditions! In my opinion you should def go with something that relates back to the traditions.
Our 1st anniversary was August 10th 2008. What I came up with (that incorporated paper)is that we wrote down our favorite things from that first year of our marriage and exchanged on our anniversary. We decided to take a weekend trip to the beach instead of big gifts. It was great to read those lists and remember all the things we had done the past year with each other. It was also great to get away for a weekend! Good luck!
I am sooo of no help whatsoever! One our first (and um, every anniversary since) we have been students with limited income, so, we have never given gifts. But, I think doing something traditional would be nice–I don’t know if this would count as “paper” but, maybe since you have a baby on the way, you could put together a little family tree and frame it–with a branch with the baby’s name, etc… That wouldn’t be too expensive and it could be something you could both enjoy.
Just a thought!
What about taking a trip together? It will be a chance to get away and relax one last time together before the baby comes – you don’t have to go far – Charleston or Savannah or something! We’ve been married 8 years and I can’t remember anything we’ve ever given each other, but I can always remember the years we went on trips.
I am in the same boat! Our date is April 12th and I have NO idea what to do. I’ve heard that some girls are taking bedroom pics (not trashy) and making photo books for their hubs. Not sure I’m confident enough to do this, but it’s paper related. Maybe you could do belly pics? 🙂 I’m def coming back to see more ideas!
Well…I can tell you what we did. We stuck with the traditional paper. I gave Matt tickets to a Cavs game (they were playing the Pacers) and he got me a cooking class (he printed out the info and game it to me). I got to go and make Halloween cookies for 3 hours at the Viking Store. It was really neat.
Now…for the real ticker..my husband…Mr. Unromantic…bought me one stock in Southwest Airlines…and you know what their ticker ID is?? LUV! Yeah…super cute. He had it framed and everything.
Good luck! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
Ok, so this might sound really cheesy, but a girlfriend of mine was in a similar situation- 1st anniversary and a baby on the way. She bought him a clock for his desk at work, and on the back she had it engraved to read, “Can’t wait to spend time together as a family” (with family in italic print). I thought it was cute- and unique….
That is a hard one. Mr. Guru and I got each other the trip we are on.
how exciting! a baby AND your first anniversary! what a wonderful year for you both! my husband and i were married a year on October 27, 2008 and not only did we go away for a long weekend together to Marco Island, Fl but we wrote each other letters. It’s something that we’ve been doing for each other since we got engaged. It reflects back on the year we spent together- the laughs, the tears, the places we’ve seen, the things we’ve experienced together and the things we can’t wait to share with each other in the future. there’s just something about a handwritten letter from my husband- gives me butterflies every time! we both picked out a beautiful box to hold all of our letters- and it’s something i can’t wait to continue for the rest of our lives together! 🙂 good luck finding the perfect *something!*
we were poor as church mice our first year (still are actually), so we went with tradition. we bought tickets to see damien rice play at the ryman auditorium (the former home of the grand ole opry) here in nashville. we also purchased a print of the concert poster and had it framed with the tickets. it was lovely and romantic and not too pricey.
I love the box with a letter inside idea that Ashley posted. B is so sentimental when it comes to cards (and also very good at picking them out), this may just be the idea that I use in August! Do you have a printer that develops pics? This would be perfect with a new baby on the way. What about a set of engraved monogram notecards that are professional for any letters he needs to write at work?
Our anniversary is just a few weeks later than yours (May 31st). I’ve been thinking of a twist on the modern gift of clocks and buying KCC a great watch with an inscription on the back. Just an idea. I’m sure you will find the perfect gift!
How about a nice watch with engraving on the back of the face? That goes for everyone that has 1 year anniversaries coming up. Or what about some personalized BBQ tools? Golf clubs? I always make notes through the year about little things that Brian's says he would like to have. One year for Christmas he got safety wire twister pliers. Yes I bought them for $175 and I still have no idea what they are but he uses them all the time. Good Luck & Let us know what you decide. 🙂 XOXO
Shane and I very rarely get any time for ourselves, alone. So I always try to get him something that he would really enjoy on his own or with a buddy. Now we have been married for almost 8 years, but he always appreciates me thinking about only him. Golf outing, or tickets to a big game etc. Once the baby comes, yall are going to be really busy =). I appreciate something that lets me get away for a bit to breathe =).
Thanks for getting me on the ball! I think going modern with a clock would be nice, but I don’t want it to be boring. I love those big clocks they have at Target with the Roman Numerals, so maybe something like that, but with a personal touch? I dunno…this is so hard!
A picture of the wedding/matted card with a lovely note on it would be a nice starter! 🙂 A great keepsake.
We don’t follow tradition in our household… I always ask hubby what he wants and then he usually lets me know! 🙂
We did a modern twist on traditional paper. I bought him a bookshelf (to hold his paper books) and he painted a picture for me. It was on canvas, so kind of a cheat, but it worked for me!
We had just bought a house, now both gifts are displayed together.
I am all about being traditional so I say paper something. Have you looked at the Levenger site? They have these WONDERFUL leather jotters you can order with customized paper. It is not a big gift, but it is something hubby can carry around and always use. Plus, it will last for ages and ages just like your marriage!
Congrats on your 1st year! That’s such great news and with the baby on the way… wow!
We just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary which makes me feel kind of old…
Anyway, whatever you do, I hope you have a great time! 🙂
Cheers to many more years!
Hello! I came across your blog yesterday…congrats on your pregnancy and upcoming anniversary! I got married last summer as well. My husband never wants anything either, so for special occasions, I usually just go all-out and make a gigantic meal and dessert, with some candlelight. Never fails to impress 🙂
I am big on tradition with a modern twist. I gave my husband a coffee table style book of “sexy” pics of me. He was deployed, so I had a photographer girlfriend take sme pics of me in his college gear, Marine gear, etc… very tasteful but something he’d remember forever!
I wrote about it on my blog if you want to read about it.
That way it is paper, nut not in a stationary type way!
I got some maker’s mark posters that we picked up at the distillery on our cross country voyage matted and framed. We had bought the posters about 2 years before we got married, and I was sure he had forgotten about them. They turned out really nice and make them look like real art.
Another neat idea I’ve seen is having a calligrapher write out lyrics to a song (your song, first dance song, hubby’s favorite song) in a fun font and have that framed. It makes a real statement, but only works if you’re both into music.
Good luck and I’m sure whatever you decide will be great!!
For our first anniversary my husband & I booked the place where we stayed on our wedding night. We had a lovely dinner out, went back to the B&B and ate our cake topper from our wedding day (my mom had one of those vacuum sealers that she used to seal the cake so it actually tasted really good). It was simple and a great reminder of our wedding night.
For our first anniversary my husband & I booked the place where we stayed on our wedding night. We had a lovely dinner out, went back to the B&B and ate our cake topper from our wedding day (my mom had one of those vacuum sealers that she used to seal the cake so it actually tasted really good). It was simple and a great reminder of our wedding night.
For our first anniversary my husband & I booked the place where we stayed on our wedding night. We had a lovely dinner out, went back to the B&B and ate our cake topper from our wedding day (my mom had one of those vacuum sealers that she used to seal the cake so it actually tasted really good). It was simple and a great reminder of our wedding night.
For our first anniversary my husband & I booked the place where we stayed on our wedding night. We had a lovely dinner out, went back to the B&B and ate our cake topper from our wedding day (my mom had one of those vacuum sealers that she used to seal the cake so it actually tasted really good). It was simple and a great reminder of our wedding night.
For our first anniversary my husband & I booked the place where we stayed on our wedding night. We had a lovely dinner out, went back to the B&B and ate our cake topper from our wedding day (my mom had one of those vacuum sealers that she used to seal the cake so it actually tasted really good). It was simple and a great reminder of our wedding night.
wow..time does fly. haha we got married july 2008 and i have no idea what we are doing for eachother.. i’m super excited about getting to eat some of the cake again…that was great cake..but we were so busy on our wedding day that i didn’t really get to “enjoy” the cake. i’m probably going with paper. we were both laid off during our first year of marriage. i was laid off 4 days after getting back from our honeymoon and jc was laid off in january..so i’m sure we’ll do something realistic obviously… good luck.
I got my hubby a nice watch (kind of represents a clock).
I’m going to suggest the Ultimate Man Gift that has pleased not one but two fabulous men in my life (Evs + Dad)… Beer of the Month Club! Here is the link of the one I’ve done – its all from American microbreweries and the best part is that there is a membership for every budget (pick 2 – 12 mo. and then spread them out).
Anyhoo, its a winner in my book!
http://www.beermonthclub.com/
Do ya'll have a nice framed drawing of your family crests. it would be a nice way to celebrate the bringing together of two families with a new baby to honor both of your family's pasts with crests. and i just saw your hubby went to w&l for law school. that was my undergrad,and went back to sc for law school. don't you just love visiting lexington! it is my favorite spot on earth!
I think something hand made is a great idea. I love all of the ideas that everyone has suggested!! I have been married for 18 years and my husband has missed most of our anniversaries because of Army deployments or field time. I always make him a photo album of all the great times we had together so that he has something to look at while he is away. I also include pictures of our dreams and goals (last year I included a bunch of pictures of the Colorado mountains because that is where he really wants to live when he gets out of the Army).
I think you should resist the urge to incorporate the baby. Yes, it’s ridiculously exciting and happening around the same time, but your anniversary is celebrating the day you became husband and wife. What about a desk calendar (made of paper!) with pictures from your relationship?
Kudos on making the anniversary about you and the hubs! It’s so important to keep that relationship super special and take this one day at least to make it all about you guys!
We did a weekend getaway for our first. Then bought a bed =). We figured the money we spend was paper!!
I know you said you didn’t want to focus on the baby, but did you ever think about taking pictures of you pregnant? A good friend of mine had this done for her husband. She had some where she was wearing clothes and others where she was partly nude. The pictures were done very tastefully and turned out beautiful! It would also go along with the paper theme, because pictures are on paper! You could put them in an album just for him. Best of luck!
I am planning on getting Mr. Newlywed an engraved Bible. They are about $70.00.
I’ll put his name and the date of our first anniversary as well as Ephesians 5:22-33 which was the first reading at our wedding. Just that info…not the actual words.
I was going to do this for a wedding gift, and I decided to save it.
i stuck with the paper theme and bought him a nice leather planner. congrats on your upcoming anniversary and new addition!!
I’ve always liked the paper theme. Get tickets to something: museum, concert, sporting event, weekend away, etc.
I look forward to seeing what you choose! (Sorry, I’m not being helpful at all, but I’m stuck on exactly the same thing – our anniversary is 23rd May).
You have a lot of ideas above to inspire you though!
x
I’ve got a while before our 1 year in December, so I am prob. going to go with paper. Since ya’ll aready have a lot of that, I would go the modern way and do a clock…but to make it for him…get him a nice watch. I myself would do a watch but that was his wedding gift. Good Luck!! Let us know what you decide!!
I chose to go with traditional “paper” in that I gave my husband a copy of the book “Why I Love You” by Gregory Lang, and I also gave him a journal that I had started with a letter to him. We now use the journal to write back and forth to each other – the good and the bad – and we leave it on the other’s pillow to let them know that they have a new letter.
We decided not to spend a lot on our first anniversary gifts since we were celebrating big together, so I went small and personal.
The book is available anywhere, but you can get it for just over $10.00 at Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/Why-I-Love-You-Reasons/dp/1581826990/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b
We did personalized stationary (which you already have) and a weekend getaway (paper tickets). It was the perfect way to spend our anniversary, and we are going away for our 2nd anniversary too. 🙂
For our first anniversary, my husband got the me the SWEETEST gift ever. He scoured used book stores for an old (from the 60’s?) book on marriage advice. It was so beautiful. He also wrote his own comments in between the quotes. One of them was “It makes my day when you call me from work.” I thought it was sooo touching and I would never be able to top that gift!
However, I think I did. I started a journal of love letters to him right before we got married. The first one talked about deciding where we were going for our honeymoon. There was one when I found out I was pregnant with our first son and I was waiting for him to get home so I could tell him. And one when we were about to move out of state and scared it wouldn’t work out. I kept it secret from him and finally finished it right before our 5 year anniversary so I gave it to him then. I have another one going to give to him on our 10 year anniversary.
Those kinds of gifts, to me, are priceless!
Congratulations!
I think going on a little getaway would be fun. That is always a great gift to give each other.
For our first anniversary, I bought my husband a lot of neat travel books and started a savings account to save money for all the places we want to travel to together some day.
Hey, What I did was I went with the traditional suggestions. For the paper, I made magnets out of some of our wedding pictures. I just printed and cut them out, and then laminated them, and stuck magnets on the back. They were a really fun surprise for him, and we have them on of fridge. That was my “homemade” gift, and then I got him a new watch, he had been needing one. So, I tagged both the traditional and the modern. Just an idea….everyone loves the magnets when they see them.
The best gift that I ever gave my husband was for Valentine’s Day one year. I made him a quilt (you could buy one instead of making it) and I gathered about 15 or 20 photos of us together and I printed them off on photo cloth. It looks like a regular sheet of paper but it is made of cloth instead and you can put it through your printer then you iron it to set the colors, you can buy it at hobby places or office stores.
After the colors were set I cut the pictures out, you can use pinking sheers if you don’t want to worry about unraveling edges, and sewed them onto the quilt with embroidery floss. It was such a fun gift and we use it all the time. It is neat to be watching TV and look down at a picture of you and your hubby years ago.
Oh girl… I wish I knew what to get my husband for our one year.. which is sunday.. gosh I seem like a bad wife.. For a valentines day gift I gave him a photo book from kodakgallery of the last year we had spend together(this was like 2 years ago) and was going to do something simialr nfor our first year of marriage but ran out of time.. and hubby said just to get him a shirt or something.. boring!! Ryan likes gifts from the heart and that is why I am stumped! ugh! what to do… what to do.. I like a lot of the ideas some of your readers have suggested… wish I had the time for them… let me know what you come up with:) I like that you are making it about just the two of you.. that is important..
I really like the idea of not doing baby-related gifts for your anniversary; think it’s important to have a day that is just about the two of you.
For my 1st anniversary, I gave the AH “paper” – as in, paper tickets to see his favorite NFL team play. That involved travel, so we got a fun weekend trip out of it too.
For our 1st Anniversary…we went with paper..concert tickets that is. Why not splurge on something you both want to see? A play? Concert?
I think doing a getaway is perfect since your about to have a baby. you could make it a surprise. Give him clues at the same time every day the week prior(plays with the clock tradition) and then the last day give him a letter with where your going.
cant wait to hear what you do!
Hubby and I don’t do big gifts and stuff to celebrate anniversaries and birthdays. It is just something we have always kept low key when it comes to gifting. We do always spend time together and do something special/fun!
I am so glad you wrote about this, I have been wondering the same thing for our 1st anniv. in June, I found this article and it has lots of cute ways to celebrate. One thing that was cute is to plan a picnic and use paper plates etc.
http://marriage.about.com/od/1stweddinganniversary/p/1anniv.htm
Okay… Wow I found myself reading all the comments.
Here are my faves: LOVE the family crest idea, the journal to write to each other, the desk clock would be fantastic…the perfect daily reminder of the two of you, the strong foundation that started your family. The watch is a good idea too but I’m sure he already has a really nice watch. The letter idea would be cute too if you had it matted and framed. After seeing your post, it reminded me that I didn’t respond to you about this last week… ah… I’m sooo sorry. xoxo
Do you have any old letters or anything that you wrote each other when you are dating? It would be kind of cool to frame one of those if you had them laying around. Or…you could write him a letter now, reflecting on your first year of marriage and how you feel since you are about to have your first child. You could get a frame that would hold the letter and a picture from your wedding day or something?
I made him a scrap book of our first married year together. starting with the wedding / honeymoon / various places we went…concerts, vacation, random pics and left the last page blank and wrote the words Happy Anniversay with stickers and left enough space for the picture that we took when we went out to dinner. :o)
I was just thinking about this the other day for some reason. My sister made a scrapbook for their first anniversary and I think it’s a great idea. Then, she adds some pages each year. I made my husband a book for our first year dating and it is so fun looking at now!
Woah–looks like you’ve already gotten a ton of ideas.
But I like the ‘traditional’ idea…the whole clocks thing is kind of…meh.
Someone I was dating once did a ‘photobook’ for me, i.e. the manly version of a scrapbook. Haha. So I think it would be cute if you did something like that–a book of paper, esp. since you said you already have plenty of stationary (and maybe some blank pages at the end?)
And happy anniversary to you! 🙂
Well how about this?!?!
Buy a really nice journal with lots of pages and dedicated a few pages for each year. Take a picture of the two of you on your anniversary and write what you gave each other and did and highlights for the year. Then place your picture in the journal and each year on your anniversary pull it back out and repeat! Then once you have been married a really long time you can always go back and remember how the past was so great!
Maybe a photo album? Maybe even one of those where you can get on the photo websites and make a book of pictures you’ve taken during your first year of marriage.
Hubby and I are celebrating our 1st year anniversary in May as well, the 29th. And we decided to not to a traditional 1st anniversary gift. He wants a gun, (He’s obsessed with them)and I’m goin to get to go on a shopping spree. 🙂 Both things that we want. But he has to go shopping with me, and enjoy it, LOL. I hope you both can figure stuff out!
Also congrats on the baby. We are waiting a couple more years for a little one. But I work with kids everyday, so I have my fix for now, LOL.
Wow—that’s a tought one. Maybe take a long weekend and stay at a nice hotel in town or something =) That’s always fun to do—sort of a staycation =)
Hi there! For our 1st anniversary (not until November) I’m going to be putting together a little scrap book type thing of pictures, ticket stubbs, plane tickets etc of my and my husband’s time together. It’s going to be a pretty simple affair, small book with mostly pictures and loads of colour.. i’m starting to gather bits and pieces already..
happy anniversary to you both!
For our first anniversary, I made my husband a mini scrapbook with a different picture from each month of our first year. Some pages also included paper gift certificates (ex. the first month’s photo was from our honeymoon in Mexico. Attached was a GC to his fav Mexican restaurant). It was totally made of paper. He LOVED it! Good luck! My upcoming anniversary is leather… any suggestions?
If you want to kind of stick with the modern tradition for your first anniversary (the clock) you could get him a watch. I am giving my future hubby a watch as his wedding gift. The way I look at it is- a watch is something that my future hubby always wears and every time he looks at his wrist to check the time it will make him think of our wedding. Good luck!
What about a photo book (mypublisher.com or blurb.com has great ones) with pictures of you and your husband through the years? Books count as paper, right?
So I’m not married yet…but I always thought a cool first anniversary (traditional/paper) gift for a husband would be tickets…perhaps season tickets to his favorite college football team (but I think you may already have those), tickets to a concert of a favorite band, plane tickets for a weekend getaway, etc…Or framing some important paper document from his past (was he ever in the paper for sports when he was younger, his law school diploma, etc…) Good Luck!
Our first anniversary gift was non-traditional as well. We went to New Zealand. We have been married now for two+ years with no kids yet so our gifts to each other are trips. Our second anniversary was spent in Guanajuato Mexico.
For our first anniversary we had a party and I made the invites out of personalized unity notes from GiftsIn24.com
We also had them make up some personalized foil stamped napkins at the same time. I was so please when a couple of my friends asked me where I got them they wanted to do the same thing! And, for the record, I think that something personalized in paper is much more romantic than clocks!
For our first year anniversary my husband and I couldn’t afford anything! I was so upset that day I cried and cried and felt so bad that we couldnt even go out for dinner! He told me to calm down and go to the grocery store and buy something for us to eat for supper. When i came back in the house he had the fire plavce going and tea light candles everywhere and he had a blanket on the floor so that we could eat our dinner togther. It was a very sweet and I will always remember that anniversary!