13 years ago today

13 years ago today Tony and I tied the knot. Our reception was held at the Glen-Yr-Afon hotel http://www.glen-yr-afon.co.uk/ in Usk, Wales, where the ceremony was also performed. This was quite a new thing, previously wedding ceremonies could only be held in Churches or registry offices. Only immediate relatives and close friends were invited; 18 in all including us. It made for a very personal, intimate day. There was no photographer or wedding planner to tell us what to do or when to smile. All in all we had a lovely day, with lots of wine, champagne and good food.

Wedding Anniversary Customs: Traditional wedding anniversary gifts are chosen from a list of materials that are designated for each year. The first wedding anniversary is symbolized with paper, and from there traditional anniversary gifts become more precious or scarce to reflect the growing number of years a couple has remained together.

The following lists the anniversary gifts by year. Looks like I will either be getting some sexy lace underwear or, more realistically, it could be a lace hanky....

First: Paper
Second: Cotton
Third: Leather
Fourth: Fruit or Flowers
Fifth: Wood
Sixth: Candy or Iron
Seventh: Wool or Copper
Eight Bronze or Pottery
Ninth: Pottery
Tenth: Tin
Eleventh: Steel
Twelfth: Silk or Linen
Thirteenth: Lace
Fourteenth: Ivory
Fifteenth: Crystal
Twentieth: China
Twenty-Fifth: Silver
Thirtieth: Pearls
Thirty-Fifth: Coral
Fortieth: Ruby
Forty-Fifth: Sapphire
Fiftieth: Gold
Fifty-Fifth: Emerald
Sixtieth: Diamond