Just because the wedding is over doesn’t mean the party has to be. Your first anniversary is an exciting time, one in which you can look back on your first year of marriage and celebrate everything you’ve been through together. So why not make an event of it? Here are a few fun ways to celebrate your first anniversary.
1) Dinner Party
Do you wish you could have spent more time with your closest friends and family on your wedding day? This is a great way to spend time with your favorite people as they celebrate your anniversary with you. This doesn’t have to be a literal dinner party in your home — it can also mean going out to eat as a group. Be sure to make a reservation and give the restaurant a heads up that you will be a large group! It may be particularly sweet to have a day with your wedding party, telling now-amusing stories of what went right and wrong on the big day!
2) Literary Trip
Want to get out of town together but don’t know what to do? The traditional gift for your first anniversary is paper. If your spouse is a big reader, you might want to go on a book-inspired trip. One great place to go could be to visit New York City: you can see the massive Strand bookstore as well as visit the New York Public Library. Take your picture with the beautiful lion statues out front — their names are Patience and Fortitude, which might be a source of inspiration for you in your marriage! Also go into the children’s area and visit with the original Winnie The Pooh doll and his friends.
3) Tickets
This continues with the paper theme but interprets it differently. Think about gifting your sweetheart with a pair of tickets that you’ll enjoy together. What you end up doing can be whatever suits your interests — a big movie that you’ve been looking forward to, a night at the theatre, or an exciting sporting event. This is a great way to spend time together and lets you share your interests!
4) Dinner Date
Visit a significant restaurant together. This might simply be your favorite place to eat but it might also be where you got engaged or had your first date. This option will give you plenty of time to talk and enjoy one another without the distraction of entertaining friends and family or of seeing a show. Go all out if you can — dress up in your best and turn your phones off so you can focus on each other.
5) Have a Romantic Hotel Stay
You can recreate your wedding night by going back to the hotel you stayed in after your wedding. If you can, see if the honeymoon suite is available for you to rent. You can order room service and drink wine in comfort and have a sweet nostalgic evening. You may also want to go and visit the locations of your ceremony and reception together. Then enjoy a leisurely morning the next day with a delicious breakfast.
Bonus: Eat Your Cake!
Here’s where the tradition of saving the top tier of your wedding cake comes in. If you’ve frozen the top tier of your cake, don’t forget to bring it out so you can enjoy it. If you didn’t, check out the bakery that made your cake. They may be able to remake the top tier for you — or you can get cupcakes in the same flavor as your wedding cake as a sweet reminder of your celebration.