Plan a Wedding Anniversary Party
Decorating, Entertainment, and Food for an Anniversary Celebration
Whether a couple is celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary or their 60th, make the anniversary party memorable with savory foods and engaging entertainment.
Throwing a wedding anniversary party honors a couple’s commitment and brings far-flung friends and family together. You can host a grand celebration or a backyard barbeque, but keep the focus on the couple for this event.
Decorating
Include plenty of photos from the couple at various stages of their marriage. You can place framed photos on each table, and you can enlarge your favorite photos for a display board.
Make photo party favors to place at each table setting. You can make photo ornaments if the couple has a December anniversary, or take a cue from the couple’s favorite hobby and make photo golf balls, photo bookmarks, or photo playing cards.
If the bride saved her wedding gown, display the gown on a mannequin at the party. Include any other wedding souvenirs like printed napkins, invitations, or a preserved bouquet on a nearby table.
Entertainment
Rent a karaoke machine for a couple who loves music, singing, and dancing. The host or hostess of the party can open the mike for singing by offering a rendition of the couple’s first wedding dance song.
Make some mix CDs of music that was popular when the couple married. You can make copies with a customized photo CD cover to hand out to guests.
Consider a magician or clown if many children from extended family plan to attend the party. A less expensive alternative for young children is to set up a few craft tables in the corner of the party room.
Food
Consider creating a small replica of the couple’s wedding cake, which can serve as a centerpiece as well. If the couple is game, they can repeat the ritualistic feeding of the first bite of cake to one another for a perfect photo opportunity.
Place the food on a buffet table rather than serving a sit-down meal to encourage mingling. Serve heavy hors d’oeuvres and finger foods adequate to replace a traditional meal.
Sharing Memories
Collect a list of memories about the couple from each guest before the anniversary celebration. Print them up ahead of time, and read them aloud at the party or include them in the printed party program.
Set up a laptop computer with a DVD loaded with rotating pictures from the couple’s marriage. You can place the laptop beside the guestbook.
Call upon the couple’s children or lifelong friends to deliver a roast or speech about them. Instruct the speakers to keep the roast light, humorous, and short.
Anniversary Gifts
A family cruise is a popular way to honor a couple whose marriage has endured for two or more decades. Most cruise lines provide discounts to groups of ten or more travelers.
For the couple who doesn’t want gifts, send them a greeting card shower. This works well if the couple’s friends and family are widely dispersed across the country, or if the couple is living abroad. Instruct everyone who might have been included on the party invitation list to send the couple an anniversary card. Keep the card shower a surprise, and see how many cards it takes before the couple realizes they’re being “showered.”
If you’re still stumped and need ideas for your wedding anniversary party, you can check out some advice from the Party Girl. You can post your own question, or read the responses to other anniversary quandaries.
