Paper gifts for 1st wedding anniversary?

July 26, 2005 4:29 PM

Those of you who gave the gift of paper for the first anniversary of your wedding: What did you give?

Love letters and photographs come to mind, but I'm looking for something more unique/different/memorable. Cash doesn't count. :-) Thanks!

posted by DakotaPaul to human relations (20 comments total)

My girlfriend recommends plane tickets; I think I get the hint.
posted by princelyfox at 4:43 PM on July 26, 2005

I gave my husband season IV of MASH. He gave me a really sweet gift: a lovely new journal (paper, natch) with three short stories he wrote in it (he is a writer). Made my heart melt, it surely did.
posted by cajo at 4:54 PM on July 26, 2005

Cash doesn't count. :-) Thanks!

What about one share of stock in a company that has some sort of meaning for you (I dunno -- maybe you met at a McDonalds or she was wearing Gap when you met her.) Then frame the stock certificate. The share, much like your love, will continue to increase.
posted by macadamiaranch at 5:08 PM on July 26, 2005

You could name a star after her, since the actual object you would be giving her would be a certificate. It's not 100% official, but it's a nice romantic gesture.

If she's into books, you could try getting her a first edition or signed copy of her favorite book. Might be tough to do, though.

Building on princelyfox's idea, tickets for a concert or show would be a nice gift.

Gift certificates, say to a spa, are often made of paper...

I find surprise.com good for coming up with original gift ideas.
posted by geeky at 5:59 PM on July 26, 2005

Horchow has some really nice stationery, from really formal to casual, most of which can be personalized. It's a little old-fashioned, but in a nice way. You can find lots of other options by googling "stationery wardrobe".
posted by Lyn Never at 6:04 PM on July 26, 2005

Maybe...

-An origami fun kit

-A homemade kite and a day in the country flying it

-Have a newspaper printed with stories about all the memorable events of your first year

-Give her a book about something she loves, then "oops," whip out the real thing to go along with it. Such as a book about kitties, then produce a real kitty.
posted by leapingsheep at 6:12 PM on July 26, 2005

My wife and I are buying ourselves the traditional anniversary gifts as they come along as a sort of fun, creative challenge. For paper, we got ourselves a big, expensive art book (Andy Goldsworthy).
posted by picea at 6:15 PM on July 26, 2005

The missus had a conference in San Francisco, so I flew out after it was done and we celebrated there; our anniversary was that Sunday, and I put a personal ad in the San Francisco Chronicle wishing her a happy anniversary.

Also I bought her jewelry, which I knew she would like. But it was the paper part that *I* thought was pretty cool.
posted by shallowcenter at 6:45 PM on July 26, 2005

I got tickets to a Broadway show.
posted by Ruki at 6:49 PM on July 26, 2005

Friends of ours were in a long-distance relationship for much of their courtship; she printed out e-mails that they sent between them on nice paper, edited them to look pretty, and bound them into a book.

This would work for non-long-distance folks too if they were proficient e-mailers. It would be cool to see your relationship develop from one page to the next.
posted by AgentRocket at 7:22 PM on July 26, 2005

Concert tickets.
posted by amarynth at 7:31 PM on July 26, 2005

My husband and I bought each other posters (and framed them although I'm not sure what anniversary year would be for wood or glass).
posted by superkim at 7:50 PM on July 26, 2005

Second (third, fourth, whatever) the idea of a first edition/signed book.
posted by box at 8:17 PM on July 26, 2005

How about a Life Poster made from a collage of pictures from your wedding?

Instructions for how to do it on a PC.
posted by inviolable at 10:38 PM on July 26, 2005

My sister's husband gave her a framed copy of the email he wrote when he asked her out on their first date. It was cute because they met in an assertiveness training class, and he was joking about "trying out his new skills."
posted by bendy at 12:28 AM on July 27, 2005

well, i didn't, and the idea of giving plane tickets or anything similarly expensive seems strange when it's "our" money, but a cute, simple, self-made paper gift is one of those folded paper hearts. they appeared in a link here - something to do with danish celebrations (xmas?) i think?
posted by andrew cooke at 6:30 AM on July 27, 2005

Hi! Curmudgeon here.

You could name a star after her, since the actual object you would be giving her would be a certificate. It's not 100% official

In fact, it's exactly 0% official. For romance points only; don't do this thinking that anyone anywhere will ever reference the "registry".

Such as a book about kitties, then produce a real kitty.

Please please please don't bring an animal home without warning; your gift is a 10-to-20-year commitment to a living thing. Most shelters won't adopt out without all of the adults in the household agreeing to the adoption in advance anyhow. This article talks about the problem in a bit more detail.

Now, on to the positive bits: The photographer we've chosen for our upcoming wedding is in the process of getting out of the bulky-photo-album business and into the coffee-table-book-album business. This seems to be the Next Big Thing for wedding photographers working digitally. A coffee-table book of wedding photos seems like a great paper-anniversary gift, doubly so if you don't have an album from right after the wedding.
posted by mendel at 7:52 AM on July 27, 2005

Y'all must have lots bigger budgets than we did as newlyweds; I gave my husband a card.
posted by Lynsey at 3:27 PM on July 27, 2005

Heh. Lynsey, I'm in the same boat as you. Plane, broadway and concert tickets are a bit much for us. And don't worry, mendel: we both volunteer with a local animal adoption group, so we know better (we have two kitties, anyway). And we're also getting the "coffee table" wedding album you mentioned, too.

I'm liking the origami and nice stationary ideas. The framed first email would be neat, but she already has a binder full of our first month's correspondence.

Thanks for the ideas, all!
posted by DakotaPaul at 4:51 PM on July 28, 2005

Does she have a favorite book? Can you get her a first edition, maybe signed?
posted by null terminated at 9:41 PM on October 19, 2005