From “I Do” to Every Year After: Post-Wedding Traditions to Start Together
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Your wedding day is full of traditions.
Something borrowed. Something blue. Cutting the cake. The first dance. Throwing the bouquet.
But what about everything that comes after?
Once the wedding day is over and you’re officially married, there are so many lovely ways to create your own traditions as a couple.
They don’t have to be expensive or elaborate. In fact, some of the most meaningful ideas are incredibly simple.
The key is finding something that feels like you.
Here are a few ideas to inspire your own post-wedding traditions.
Turn your anniversary into an adventure
If you both love travelling, why not make exploring somewhere new your anniversary tradition?
Rather than spending a few hundred pounds on the same kind of anniversary dinner or UK staycation every year, make a rule that you’ll visit somewhere in Europe that neither of you has been to before.
You could simply check the cheapest flights, find a destination that takes your fancy and book it.
Maybe it’s a city you’ve always wanted to visit. Maybe it’s somewhere you’ve never even considered.
The point is that every year, you’re ticking somewhere new off your list.
You’ll get to try new food, experience different cultures and discover places you might never have thought to visit otherwise.
And eventually, you’ll have a collection of anniversary trips that tell the story of your marriage.
Save a bottle of wine from your wedding year
We love this one.
One couple shared that after getting married in 2015, they bought around 60 different bottles of red wine made in their wedding year.
The plan?
Open one bottle every anniversary.
So each year, they get to sit down together, open a bottle from 2015 and toast another year of marriage.
It’s such a lovely way to make something ordinary feel incredibly meaningful.
You could do the same with wine, champagne or another drink you both love.
And if you really want to make it personal, write a little note about the year on each bottle before putting it away.
By the time you reach your final bottle, you’ll have a pretty special collection of memories to go with it.
Ask yourselves the same questions every year
This one is simple, but could become one of the most special traditions you have.
Before your first anniversary, create a list of questions about your year together.
For example:
What’s your favourite thing we did together this year?
What’s one thing you’re proud of us for doing this year?
What’s one thing we did for the first time this year?
What’s your favourite memory from this year?
What made you laugh the most?
What was the biggest challenge we overcame together?
What’s something you want us to do more of next year?
Then, every anniversary, sit down and answer the exact same questions.
Don’t change them.
You could write down your answers, keep them in a special notebook or even record yourselves answering them.
Then, each year, look back at your previous answers.
You’ll get to see how your relationship, priorities and life together have changed – and remember all the little things you might otherwise have forgotten.
Write each other an anniversary letter
Instead of exchanging anniversary cards, write each other a proper letter.
But there’s a catch.
You don’t give it to your partner straight away.
Write your letter on your wedding anniversary and keep it somewhere safe until the following year.
When your next anniversary comes around, you’ll each have a letter from the previous year waiting to be opened.
Read them together, reminisce about everything that’s happened since, and then write a new letter for the next anniversary.
Over time, you’ll build a little archive of your marriage in your own words.
And imagine reading them again on your 10th, 20th or 30th anniversary.
Try something you’ve never done before
Make your anniversary the excuse to do something completely new together.
It doesn’t have to be a huge adventure.
Try a pottery class.
Cook a dish neither of you has ever made before.
Go to a cooking class.
Try a new type of sport.
Take a dance class.
Go wine tasting.
Learn something you’ve always been curious about.
The rule is simply that neither of you has done it before.
You might discover a new hobby you both love.
Or you might spend two hours making terrible pottery and laughing about it for years.
Either way, you’ve made another memory together.
And next year, you get to find something completely different.
Make your own little traditions
The best thing about these traditions is that there really are no rules.
Your anniversary doesn’t have to mean an expensive meal, a luxury hotel or a big gesture.
It could be a cheap flight to somewhere you’ve never been.
A bottle of wine you’ve been saving for years.
A list of questions you’ve answered together five times.
A letter you wrote a year ago.
Or an activity you’ve never tried before.
They’re all small ways of stopping for a moment and appreciating another year of your life together.
Because your wedding day is just the beginning.
The years that follow are where you make the memories, build your life and create traditions that are completely your own.
So, what will yours be?