Weddings come and go so fast after crazy timelines and unavoidable family stress.
But after the gifts are opened and you've settled into your apartment as newlyweds, your marriage truly starts.
As you gain a new anniversary to celebrate, think about reviving the old tradition behind specific gifts for each anniversary. Keep up the romance with these gifts and make your apartment a little homier.
Looking for a specific anniversary? Jump ahead to the year you need.
And 365 days later, you've landed on your first wedding anniversary of many. While stationery is a good go-to, think outside the box with recipe cards to save family memories or a gratitude journal that you can keep on the coffee table.
A soft cotton blanket to survive the food coma after your delicious anniversary dinner is the perfect gift for your second anniversary as a married couple. It will refresh your living room decor and give you a nice reason to cuddle up in the couch to a movie.
Leather belts, leather jackets and leather luggage tags — all thoughtful gifts. If you want to grab something for your home and enjoy it together, kick your feet up and relax on a Moroccan leather poof. A great statement piece for your neutral living room.
Flowers are always a good idea when it comes to anniversaries. But if you want to sweeten up the day, grab a small edible arrangement (yes, you know the one!) and share it over a few glasses of champagne.
Customize a wood cutting board with an engraving of your wedding date as a lovely anniversary gift idea. Use it to chop some vegetables for a romantic dinner or to put out a cheese and charcuterie board for friends during game night.
There's no greater kitchen essential than a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. Buy a new one to cook on and pass it down to your kids in a few years for them to make their own cooking memories.
Add a few beautifully-made copper pots to your kitchen — maybe a saucepan or a chef pan? While a full set can be out of most people's budgets, one copper pot can make cooking a little more fun and sophisticated.
Instead of simply giving a pottery as a gift, take a pottery class together and make a pottery piece for your home. Think a flower vase or a fruit bowl. The pottery may be a little wonky, but you'll have the memories of that one anniversary right on your dining table.
Have a balcony in your apartment? Revamp the decor by saving up for a nice wicker furniture set. Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are great spots to find them marked down, but also try local thrift stores.
Celebrate your decade together big with a six-pack of your spouse's favorite canned beer (or wine). Extra points if you share a six-pack together to commemorate your first date or a special moment.
Go for a ride together either with new bikes or with rented bikes — find a good trail near you for riding your steel bikes on and bring a picnic as a reward.
Eastern Europe has become a hub for affordable linen and what better way to bring luxury into your life than with a linen house robe. You can find several on Etsy with different patterns and colors, available for men and women.
Let's be honest, the only way to go with this is lingerie. Plain and simple. But to make it a little more fun, visit the lingerie store together to pick out something fun.
Jewelry, jewelry, jewelry. A pair of gold earrings, a minimal gold necklace or unisex bracelet can be a wonderful surprise for your partner.
Skip the fancy wine glasses and get some crystal glasses for homemade cocktails and the occasional whiskey on the rocks. Pair your glasses set with a crystal decanter for a complete entertaining set.
Add an espresso machine to your anniversary gift wishlist and pair it with a coffee tasting class at your favorite coffee shop. Learn to make the perfect cup of coffee in your apartment kitchen together for your 16th anniversary.
Remember those crystal glasses you grabbed during your 15th anniversary? Play stock the bar during your 17th anniversary and pick up your favorite wines or spirits. Then, pair them with a romantic dinner.
If you're a renter, buying appliances is not quite on your list. But think of adding a coffee machine, new toaster oven or a Vitamix for those morning smoothies in your kitchen.
This mossy green ornamental mineral comes in solid form and most recently, it has grown in popularity in skin care. A good combo gift would be a jade roller along with a spa session at their preferred esthetician.
While you might've inherited your grandma's questionable china, your 20th anniversary means it's time to revamp your special dishes with a pattern that suits you. Good china encourages fun dinner parties and a frame to your best dishes.
Head to the beach and book a bonfire at sunset to enjoy a full pack of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers as s'mores. If it's winter, head to the mountains and snuggle under a blanket while the fire crinkles.
Diving to the deep end? Sign us up. Fly to Hawaii and get your certification for diving to explore the depths of the ocean and discover abandoned sunken ships along the way. The turtles will steal your heart, too, guaranteed.
If you're not afraid of heights, head to the open field and enroll on a skydiving tandem jump. The adrenaline will keep pumping through your body and you'll bond over the incredible experience.
A hot stone massage followed by a homemade pizza on your new pizza stone can quickly become your spouse's favorite anniversary day ever.
Beyond fancy silverware, you can gift your partner with an elegant pair of cuff links or an engraved ring marking your wedding anniversary date.
If your partner has been eyeing an intricate piece from a local artist, make a note. Adding art to the walls, especially meaningful art, can make your home even homier.
While CDs and mixtapes aren't a thing anymore, bring music to your home with copies of your spouse's favorite vinyl records and a record player, if you don't own one. Want to go a step beyond? Make a soothing wake up playlist for the commute to work.
Now that you have beautiful china on your dining table, switch up the linens to a crisp color that matches your house decor. It will really complete your dining setup for your next dinner party.
Upgrade your tool set to finish up projects around the house — especially when it comes to big machinery like table saws. These will also be helpful during your 48th anniversary to finish all of those home improvement projects.
A pair of pearl earrings are one of the most classic gifts for a woman. So wonderful that even a famous painting is named after them. Find a sustainable seller before moving forward with this gift to get good quality pearls.
Travel doesn't have to be expensive. Go to a nearby cabin in the mountains, travel to a city a few states over or head abroad for a whole new experience and culture. Plan the itinerary or join a group travel tour to enjoy the fun from the start.
Add a new bronze lamp to your living room side table or a bronze nightstand to the side of your bed for a pop of the rich brown/orange to your room.
Amethyst is mostly known as the wisdom stone — for this anniversary gift idea, think outside of jewelry and build on that wisdom at a yoga retreat in the mountains or abroad instead.
The only way to our stomachs (and hearts) is food, of course. Take a cooking class in your favorite cuisine and have a hands-on experience versus going to your usual dinner. A little spice doesn't hurt.
Coral is 2019's Pantone color of the year so it's a great time to add to your apartment decor with splashes of it in the living room, bedroom and bathroom, too. Think sofa pillows, a small lamp, blankets or an ottoman.
Spend a Saturday morning driving around from flea market to flea market to find the best antiques. If going through boxes of old knick-knacks is not your thing, jump on eBay from your couch and find a beautiful antique as a gift.
There's nothing more lovely than a heartfelt inscription on a book. Re-organize your bookshelves at home and grab an interesting stack of books that remind you of your partner.
Head to Las Vegas for an anniversary gift idea and test your luck at the slot machines and maybe take the house at Blackjack.
Laughter is the best medicine, or so they say. Get tickets to the best comedy club in town and laugh so hard you start crying to celebrate nearly four decades together. It will re-energize you and your partner after a long week.
You can't ever go wrong with jewelry. Ruby is the birthstone for those born in the month of July. It's the color of passion. Cement that message with your loved one through a small pendant necklace gift.
Print a photo from your latest vacation together and add it to a nice frame for a personalized office decor that will help your spouse daydream about your next vacation.
A good watch can quickly become the accessory that finalizes an outfit. With a sophisticated leather band and a simple face, an engraved watch will make your partner think about you every time they look down.
A date night at the theater to see a newly released play or at a local concert venue, watching your favorite band is the perfect way to celebrate this anniversary. If that's too elaborate, grab movie tickets and snacks for a night out.
It's time for an upgrade! For this anniversary, use electronics as a theme for your gift. Think smartphone, new TV or new tablet.
Use the sapphire as a good starting point for your 45th anniversary gift idea — a delicate bracelet or minimal earrings.
Grab tickets for your favorite team's big game — baseball, football or basketball. Plan ahead to get the best seats in the stadium to witness the big win.
Take a good look at your garden — is it time to revamp the landscape? Visit your local nursery and pick out new plants to add to your landscape design. And of course, don't forget a bouquet of flowers to finish up the day.
We all have that honey-do list so what better way to celebrate than to complete it and then kick up your feet as a reward. Or, maybe you've been saving up for that house addition, this is the time to move forward.
Grab a couple of copper mugs for Moscow Mules and cheers for almost five decades together. A little ginger beer, vodka and don't forget about those limes.
A piece of art for your apartment using gold leaf or perhaps a personalized gold record made up of your favorite songs as a couple.
Compile photos from throughout the years — from your wedding to the birth of your children — and print them for a photo album. With iPhones, no one prints their photos and this will be a lovely keepsake for a walk down memory lane.
Book a spa date together for a couples' massage and a body scrub. Don't skip on the facials and sauna for a truly relaxing day.
"You light up my life," or so your greeting card should say as you give your partner a pair of designer sunglasses. It's hard to buy investment pieces for yourself so this is great treat for your spouse. A more modern take? Spend the weekend reducing plastic in your life.
To mark your 54th anniversary, get a personalized glass ornament for your Christmas tree. Pick your colors and buy a hand-blown ornament with the wedding anniversary date.
A beautifully deep green emerald signifies the 55th anniversary and you can give it to your spouse in a necklace, ring or earrings. Be sure to pair them with another stone as they're pretty soft in the strength scale.
Take a day trip to a town nearby that you haven't visited, but always talked about going. Rent a car, put together an itinerary and keep a surprise or two under your sleeve as you approach your destination.
If you're into the outdoors, plan a glamping night for the two of you in the mountains or in a yurt. It will have all the comforts of a cabin, but it will still let you see the stars in the night.
Pick up an audiobook of self-help and play it over your home assistant together every night for dinner. Perhaps you need inspiration in your career or you need a little uplifting in your every day life.
Support your community as much as you've supported your marriage. Pick a charity together and donate to a worthy cause on your wedding anniversary.
You made it to six decades! Incredible. The only anniversary gift idea you need is diamonds. Get new wedding bands encrusted with tiny diamonds to refresh your current wedding set.
Make wedding anniversaries special by using this old tradition to mark each year with your spouse and buy them a memorable gift. Better yet, it's a great idea starter for that person that's really hard to buy for.
Muriel Vega is an Atlanta-based journalist who writes about technology and its intersection with arts and culture. She's worked on content for startups like Mailchimp, Patreon, Punchlist, Skillshare, Rent. and others. Muriel has also contributed to The Washington Post, Eater, DWELL, Outside Magazine, Atlanta Magazine, AIGA Eye on Design, Bitter Southerner and more.