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Aug
26

Wedding Anniversary Symbols

Have you ever wondered about what wedding anniversary symbols are all about?

No one knows precisely when wedding anniversaries were first celebrated, but the tradition is believed to go back at least to the Middle Ages.  At that time in the Germanic regions of Europe, a husband crowned his wife with a silver wreath on the 25th anniversary of their wedding day.  If the couple was fortunate to live long enough, the husband presented his wife with a gold wreath on their 50th wedding anniversary.

Over the years more symbols have been added and it is generally believed that increasingly durable gifts were chosen for successive years to represent the progressive strengthening of the marriage relationship.  As the years go by, the gifts increase in strength and worth from paper to diamond.

1st - Paper

Anniversary symbols paper

The first year of marriage is like a clear sheet of paper, a new beginning upon which to write your passage through the years together.  Also like paper, it is fragile and can easily rip, not having yet been tried by the fires of adversity and the storms of life.
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May
18

Why it's not just a piece of paper

People sometimes say to me, why get married "it's only a piece of paper".  Is it this simple?
I think not....


 A lot of couples get caught up in the fun, glamour and frivolity of their wedding day - the dress, flowers, food and music.  It is however, the ceremony, in particular the legally binding words that are spoken by both bride and groom and the signing of the marriage documentation that is in effect the beginning of a legally binding contract, which comes with significant legal obligations and responsibilities.  Getting married changes your legal and taxation status and insurance, wills and social security status change.  Laws regarding inheritance and custody of children also come into play.  

Marriage really is one of the most important contracts one will sign in a lifetime, so perhaps this is why in Australia couples are legally required to give notice of their intended marriage to their celebrant, at least one clear month before their wedding day - a "cooling off" period perhaps?

 

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