How to Make Your 1st Anniversary Unforgettable!
What did you do to celebrate your one-year anniversary? To my shame (or as a sign of my old age!), I have no idea what we did for our one-year anniversary.
Meet my friends Ryan and Ally Wall. They just celebrated their one-year anniversary and made it so memorable that I'll bet they will never forget what they did to celebrate.
On August 23, 2013, the Walls got married.
On August 23, 2014, on their one-year anniversary, Ryan and Ally celebrated their first year by reuniting with friends and family from their wedding party. Ryan and Ally essentially did a reunion of their rehearsal dinner one year after the wedding. They brought together their wedding party and significant others along with their immediate family. Their anniversary celebration provided them an opportunity and excuse to bring together again those who are most significant in their lives.
Here’s what they did:
1. They created an invite and save the date and told their close friends and family to mark their calendars and reserve the night.
2. Ryan created a fun opportunity for Ally to do some shopping for (and I quote) “a cute new outfit.” Guys: Take note.
3. They served wine, cheese and chocolate and did food and wine pairings. (You don’t have to do wine, cheese, and chocolate. Do whatever foods you love.) They added some thin crust pizza and enjoyed the “one-year” cake topper from their wedding cake.
4. They played their wedding DVD in the background.
5. They shared an update on their first year of marriage, shared some of their favorite stories from the year, and gave their friends an opportunity to encourage and challenge them for the years ahead. One of their dads gave them a 50th Anniversary card that said, “1 down, 49 to go.”
Again, the night had the feel of a rehearsal dinner. Throughout the night they were able to thank their friends and family for their dedication and care, and took the time to tell friends and family how significant and special they really are to them.
This idea might be geared more towards you premarrieds or newlyweds out there, but I love this idea. For any married couples out there: What can you do as a married couple to thank your friends and family, either on your anniversary or throughout the year?
I might be dating myself here, but I love the Seinfeld episode when George and Jerry talk about ‘worlds colliding.’ The Walls one-year anniversary celebration gave them the opportunity to see worlds collide once again as they brought together family and friends from high school, college, work and church. What an awesome way to celebrate!
Ryan & Ally - thanks for sharing with us your creative and unforgettable way of celebrating your first year of marriage. May the next 49+ be even greater than the first.
Your Turn:
What is one creative way you and your significant other can celebrate? Your ‘reason’ can be as major as an anniversary or can be as minor as the fact that it’s Monday or because your college football team won a game this weekend. Enjoy the gift of marriage and celebrate an Ecclesiastes 9:9 relationship.