Celebrating your anniversary is one of the
most special of occasions – apart from your actual wedding day of course! More
relaxed than your actual big day, a wedding anniversary party is the chance for
friends and family, both old and new, to gather round and celebrate the love
between too people that has lasted through all of the ups and downs that
marriage brings.
When to Have an Anniversary Party?
There’s no year that is a definitely yes or
no, but most people won’t have a party until they have reached year 10, 15, 20
etc. Of course, if you want to celebrate 1 year or 12 years of marriage, then
you can, it’s completely up to you! After all, life doesn’t always go according
to plan, so having a party on one of the ‘big milestones’ might not always be
possible. The same goes for the date of your party. It would be best to have it
as close to your actual anniversary date as possible, but if it happens three
months after it, none of your guests are going to mind.
Make Sure It’s About You
Many people still have wedding days that
are focused not on them and their partner, but on their family and friends and
ensuring that they have a good time. There is always a lot of pressure to do
things a certain way and conform to a set of ideals. Times are changing of
course but an anniversary party doesn’t come with this sort of pressure. It’s
not a wedding, and so there are no traditions that need to be adhered to. You
can have it is whatever style you want. Casual, formal, outdoors, indoors,
themed or not. You can have only a handful of people in attendance, or hundreds.
All without the added pressure of it actually
being a wedding day. It’s just a day to celebrate and have some fun.
Vow Renewal
Yet if you do want to recapture the essence
of your big day, you can always use your anniversary party as an impromptu vow
renewal. If your guests don’t know that this is happening, then you will be
able to witness the shock on all of their faces! It also means that they don’t
feel pressured into bringing a ‘wedding’ gift. You already did all of that once
before after all! A vow renewal can be a really special, intimate occasion,
that means even more to the both of you now that you have been married for a
while. You can read out bespoke vows and have a day that is completely
different than your last one, all while celebrating the love that you share.
Venue
Just like with a wedding, the venue is key
when it comes to having an anniversary party. You might not think so at the
time, what with the amount of décor and the catering and all of the other
additions – not to mention your nearest and dearest. Yet if you are in the
wrong space, it just won’t work, and neither you or your spouse will feel comfortable.
Choose somewhere that really speaks to you, and take your time deciding. There
are hundreds of anniversary venues for hire in London, so view as many as you
need to before making your choice. If you are having a particular theme, keep
this in mind when viewing, and make sure you think about capacity and where all
of your guests are going to sit. An anniversary is a chance to do something really
out there, and luckily there are lots of unique venues like galleries or underground
bars! So long as it reflects your personality, it’s perfect.
Entertainment
Having outside entertainment isn’t a must
at an anniversary party, but it can definitely help people to enjoy themselves.
Hiring a band or a DJ is one way of getting everyone up onto their feet and is
perfect even for the most formal of events. Alternatively, you could go for something
a little more casual, such as a comedian or magician. Yet even a good playlist
can be enough to get everyone mingling, dancing, and laughing. If you are
hiring entertainment, make sure that it fits with your chosen venue, particularly
if you want a full band. Having a quiz is also a great icebreaker. You can have
it themed around your life together to see which of your guests knows you the
best!
Reminisce
Perhaps you want to get away from the ‘wedding’
theme and do something a little different, or perhaps not. Whatever you decide,
it’s a good idea to have mementos about that reflect on your big day, and all
of the memories you’ve made together since. Pictures are the best way to do
this, and if you are having a sit-down dinner each table could be themed around
a particular happy memory. Maybe you’ll serve the same type of cake that you
had on your wedding day, or have a slideshow playing in the background. It’s
important that guests know that this is a celebration of happiness and success,
and that they see that through the way the party has been organised.
Relax
It’s your day after all, and there’s no
point in getting stressed about it. If you do find that you are worrying too
much, it might be an idea to scale back your plans into something a bit more
casual. Remember, it’s not your wedding day, and so there’s no need to panic
about it. This should be a relaxed and enjoyable day for you, no matter what.
If you’re still struggling, don’t be afraid to ask people for help. Your
friends and family will be happy to take over some of the organising so that you
can enjoy the experience.
The most important part of any wedding anniversary
party it the two people that are celebrating their lives together. Fun and light-hearted,
it’s a great excuse to gather friends and family together from all of the
different corners of the world to catch up and reminisce. If anything, you
might end up enjoying in more than your actual wedding day!
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