The first year of marriage can be a whirlwind. You’re riding the high of a wedding celebration, a honeymoon, and potentially embarking on some additional major life changes. Celebrate 365 days of your union with a first anniversary gift that you’ll both cherish for decades to come.
Paper is the traditional one-year anniversary gift, but if you’re in search of something more modern, clocks are the contemporary option. Looking for a more general guideline? Gold, rather than a particular gemstone, is often gifted at this time, while gold and yellow are traditional colors for a first anniversary gift.
To commemorate one year of marriage, here are the best traditional, modern, and themed first anniversary gifts in 2022.
Note: Prices and availability are subject to change.Related: Gifts for Couples That’ll Make Them Both Happy
Cable Chain Tag Necklace
$600 from Mejuri
Jewelry retailer Mejuri has exploded in popularity in the last couple of years, with fine jewelry for both him and her. This tag necklace, available in 14k gold, can be customized with up to three characters, and is a great gold-themed gift for your partner.
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Engraved Windsor Watch
$63 from Etsy
With clocks as a modern first year anniversary gift, watches are a no brainer. Make this one personal by customizing a message on the back, with either a quote, a date, or just your names.
Related: The Best American-Made Watches
Book of Love Poems
$16 from Amazon
Is there anything more romantic than a love poem? This book is full of ’em, with poems from John Donne, e.e. cummings, Dorothy Parker, Christina Rossetti, W. H. Auden, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and other talented writers.
Mates For Life Print
$100 from Uncommon Goods
Artist Jacqueline Schmidt has created an ode to soulmates in this poster, which features animals that respect the sanctity of a life-long partner. Find sketches of Gibbon monkeys, swans, coyotes, and even termites on recycled newspaper print paper.
Framed Wedding Vows
$37 and up from Etsy
A year after reciting your vows, you may need a little refresher. Preserve them with this custom framed first anniversary gift, which invites you to have your vows printed on various sizes of paper with multiple frame options.
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Stuhrling Vintage Mechanical Pocket Watch
$85 from Amazon
If your partner is a little old-fashioned, a pocket watch is a stylish, themed first anniversary gift. This piece from Stuhrling Original’s Special Reserve Collection comes with a 14-inch stainless steel chain, as well as a hinge that allows the watch to double as a small desk clock.
Origami Butterfly Earrings
$15 and up from Etsy
This sweet set of origami butterfly earrings is perfect for a paper anniversary. The earrings can be finished with silver, sterling silver, rose gold, or gold plating, and are made from recycled book pages.
Dainty Custom Roman Numeral Bar Bracelet
$42 and up from Etsy
Etch that special date — birthday, wedding anniversary, the day you met — in Roman numerals with this personalized engraved bracelet. It’s available in sterling silver or 14-karat yellow or rose gold.
Related: Heartfelt and Hilarious Gifts for Everyone on Your List
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NoteCube
$69-$99 from NoteCube
This is a wonderful personalized gift, and embraces the first anniversary paper theme. The concept is simple: You tell NoteCube your favorite qualities about your partner, and use the site’s tools to edit and add notes (typically between 40-60 but NoteCube recommends at least 20). Finally, add some photos and choose a style of NoteCube. When everything is just how you want it, you finalize and pay for your order and it gets shipped.
Related: Photo Tile Face-Off: Mixtiles vs. Shutterfly vs. Mixpix
Hello… Will You?… I Do! Print
$25 and up from Etsy
Turn those three special moments in your lives — the day you two met, the date of your engagement, and of course, the wedding itself — and turn it into art. Available in a range of sizes from desktop to wall-sized, printed on paper or canvas.
Paper Culture Photo Book
$28 and up from Paper Culture
Commemorate your first year together by creating a photo book at this site. It has lots of themes, colors, and two sizes available and instructions will walk you through the process.
The Anniversary Journal
$85 from Uncommon Goods
You have already begun writing your story together. With this journal, you two can record your favorite moments and memories of the year past, as well as goals and dreams for the years ahead. Blank pages are included for every anniversary from first to 60th, with room to stash special mementos.
Paper Roses
$35 from Etsy
These paper flowers are a fun take on the traditional first-anniversary gift of paper and will never wilt — just like your love. Each bloom is handcrafted in the U.K. from a vintage paper map and affixed to a wooden stem. (Bonus: No thorns!)
Medallion and Diamond Necklace
$300 and up from Kimberly Doyle Jewelry
A special occasion deserves a special gift such as this diamond-accented, 14-karat gold necklace. The medallion can be engraved with an initial, and you can add up to four additional blank gold discs to the 14-karat gold chain. Available in yellow, white, or rose gold.
Related: Engraved Gifts That Will Make ‘Em Remember You
New York Times Custom Front Page Puzzle
$55 and up from Uncommon Goods
Life is a puzzle to be figured out together. Celebrate your wedding anniversary, the moment of your engagement, or any other special day in your lives with this jigsaw puzzle depicting the front page of The New York Times from that special date gone past.
Custom Stationery
Price varies from Paper Source
Celebrate your paper anniversary with custom stationery. Choose personalized notepads, cards, address labels, and envelopes in scores of designs from traditional to whimsical.
Related: Creative Gifts for Artists That Are Sure to Inspire
Personalized Dual Time Zone Clock
$60 and up from Etsy
Here’s one for those of you in a long-distance relationship. This sleek modern clock will always let you know what time it is over there — and clocks are a contemporary take on a first year anniversary gift. This concrete clock measures just over 5 inches in length and is available with or without custom text.
Related: Thoughtful Gifts for Love and Friendship Across the Miles
Paper Anniversary Custom Wedding Art
$124 and up from Etsy
Celebrate your wedding date with this framed custom paper silhouette set against a hand-painted watercolor background. The 11- by 14-inch frame is available in white or black.
Embroidered 1st Anniversary Toilet Paper
$10 from Etsy
Are you married to a prankster, someone who just cannot get enough of gag gifts? Give ’em something unique to remember their paper anniversary… and just maybe come in handy during the next toilet paper shortage. (Just kidding! This is an Etsy bestseller.)
