An anniversary invitation is half love letter, half logistics. The best ones manage to do both — celebrate the years gone by while still telling people clearly where to be on Saturday.
Anniversaries grow weightier with every milestone. The wording should too.
Examples below for every major milestone — from the first all the way to the golden 50th — plus surprise parties, vow renewals, and the formal vs. casual question.
What every anniversary invitation should include
- The couple's names — full first names, last name if appropriate
- The milestone — “25 years,” “our golden anniversary,” “a decade together”
- The hosts — is this thrown by the couple, their children, friends?
- Date, time, and venue
- RSVP details and dress code
- Gift guidance — “no gifts please,” or a registry/charity link
Milestone-by-milestone wording
1st anniversary (paper)
One year of marriage.
One year of figuring it out together.
Join us for cocktails as Em & Sam celebrate their first anniversary.
Saturday, August 8 · 7pm at our home.
5th anniversary (wood)
Five years and counting.
Anna and Mark are celebrating with dinner and drinks.
Friday, June 14 · 7pm
The Garden Restaurant · 240 Elm Street
10th anniversary (tin / aluminum)
A decade of love, laughter, and the occasional argument about the thermostat.
Em & Chris are throwing a party — we'd love you there.
Saturday, October 17 · 7pm – late
Our backyard. Bring a story.
15th anniversary (crystal)
Fifteen years of building this beautiful life together.
Please join Sarah & James for an evening of dinner and dancing.
Saturday, September 6 · 6:30pm
The Riverside Hotel · Cocktail attire
20th anniversary (china)
Twenty years of him. Twenty years of her.
Twenty years of them.
Please join Anna & Mark for an anniversary celebration.
Saturday, August 22 · 6pm – 10pm
The Lakeside Pavilion
25th anniversary (silver)
Twenty-five silver years.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Thompson
joyfully invite you to celebrate their silver anniversary.
Saturday, the fourteenth of October
two thousand and twenty-six
seven o'clock in the evening
The Astor Ballroom · Boston, Massachusetts
Cocktail reception followed by dinner and dancing
Twenty-five years ago, our parents said “I do.”
Help us throw them a party they won't see coming.
Anniversary surprise for Mom & Dad.
Saturday, October 14 · 6pm – please arrive by 5:45 sharp.
30th anniversary (pearl)
Thirty years of marriage.
Three children. Two grandchildren. One love story.
Please join us as we celebrate our parents' pearl anniversary.
Sunday brunch · September 27 · 11am
The Hampshire Hotel
40th anniversary (ruby)
Forty ruby years.
The Andersons request the honor of your company
as they celebrate four decades together.
Saturday, June 18 · 6 in the evening
Dinner and dancing to follow.
50th anniversary (gold)
Fifty golden years.
Our parents, Margaret and Edward Walsh,
celebrate their fiftieth wedding anniversary.
Please join us for an afternoon of memories.
Sunday, November 1 · 2pm – 5pm
The Long Hall · Newton, Massachusetts
Your presence is the only gift we ask for.
60th anniversary (diamond) and beyond
Sixty diamond years.
Please join us as we celebrate Grandma & Grandpa's milestone.
Saturday afternoon tea · 2pm – 5pm
Their home · 142 Walnut Street
Stories, photos, and Grandma's famous shortbread.
Surprise anniversary parties
Hosting a surprise party for parents (or grandparents) is a common — and lovely — gesture. The wording needs to make the surprise crystal clear and the timing impossible to miss.
SHHH! Don't spoil the surprise.
Our parents are celebrating 30 years of marriage —
and they have no idea we're throwing a party.
Saturday, October 14 · please arrive by 6:30 sharp.
They arrive at 7. Park around the corner.
Don't post photos until midnight.
A secret 50th-anniversary celebration
in honor of our beloved grandparents.
Sunday, November 1 · please arrive by 1:30pm.
Surprise at 2.
Vow renewal invitation wording
Vow renewals are a beautiful way to mark a major milestone — often the 25th or 50th — by formally renewing the marriage vows. The wording walks the line between “wedding invitation” and “anniversary party.”
Twenty-five years ago, we said “I do.”
We'd like to say it again.
Sarah and James warmly invite you to join us
as we renew our vows.
Saturday, June 14 · 4pm ceremony
Cocktails and dinner to follow at The Hampshire Hotel.
Fifty years on,
we still mean every word.
Margaret and Edward Walsh invite you to share in a renewal of our vows.
Sunday, October 5 · 3 in the afternoon · St. Mary's Church
Casual & humorous anniversary wording
Em & Chris are still married.
Come help them celebrate that small miracle.
Saturday at 6pm. Our backyard. Wine welcome.
Ten years. One wedding. Zero regrets.
Come drink with us.
Friday night at the Riverside Pub. 8pm.
How to make digital anniversary invitations feel special
For milestone anniversaries especially, the invitation should feel as significant as the occasion. Tips:
- Pick an elegant theme — Inviteable's Elegant Gold, Starlit Night, Royal Velvet, or Art Deco work beautifully for 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th anniversaries
- Include a photo — upload a wedding photo as the custom design (you can do this on Inviteable for the same flat fee)
- Make the year part of the invitation — “Anna & Mark · 1996 – 2026” gives the milestone real weight
- Skip gifts gracefully — “your presence is the only gift we ask for” works for nearly every anniversary
A note on the parents being honored
If children or grandchildren are hosting the party, make sure the parents being celebrated sign off on the wording — or at least the broad strokes. People have strong opinions about how they're described, especially in front of a hundred people. Better a small conversation now than a quiet wince at the venue.
Whatever wording you choose, anniversaries are a chance to say out loud what gets quiet across the years: this is a marriage worth celebrating. Say it well.