A decade of sickness and health, bad times, and good – hopefully, the post-wedding years have been filled with the latter in each case.
Acknowledging a marriage that’s lasted that long is worthy of more than a pat on the back. So, whether you’re planning a 10 year anniversary celebration for yourself or someone else, we’ve got some suggestions. Combining tradition with a touch of creativity will lead to a memory-making event to look back on when the big 25 rolls around.
A Touch of 10 Year Anniversary Tradition
In this particular post, we’re going to focus on the fun stuff – the party planning.
But this isn’t our only homage to ten years. We’ve got in-depth guides to this and other marriage milestones that’ll give you additional background information and gift suggestions. So, whether you just enjoy researching an event or you need some inspiration, we’ve got you covered.
- Anniversary Flower: Daffodil
- Anniversary Stone: Diamond
- Modern U.S. Gift: Diamond Jewelry
- Traditional U.S. Gift: Tin or Aluminum
- Traditional U.K. Gift: Tin
Prep Work for a 10th Anniversary Party
We approach each of our milestone anniversary celebrations from different angles. So, for some, you’ll find budget-saving tips. Then, for other years, we’ve got party alternatives like destination festivities.
There’s no right or wrong way to commemorate a decade of marriage, and you can certainly get some inspiration from any of the ideas, regardless of the year. That being said, we like the symbols and themes that accompany the 10th. So, we’re focusing on a 10 year anniversary party that combines casual with elegant, tin with diamonds, low budget with high. You get the gist.
Pre-Planning
Before you leap right into party planning, there are a few questions that you need to answer.
- What is your budget?
- How big is the guest list?
- Is it a day or night celebration?
- Do you have other people who can help you with planning and setup?
- Have you identified a venue?
Along the way, there are seemingly countless decisions to make, and we’ve got a “how to plan an anniversary celebration” guide you can bookmark. But addressing those five questions is first and foremost and will create the framework for your formal or informal festivities.
The Diamond Anniversary Celebration that Shines
As we mentioned, we want to focus on combining themes and symbols for a one-of-a-kind 10 year anniversary party.
Pay or Play with Creativity
The benefit to relying upon the official symbols for inspiration is that it’ll accommodate various budgets. If money is no object, then you can hire professionals and draw upon their expertise.
However, when you’re working with limited resources, a touch of innovation is always the solution. So while you might initially come up short with ways to incorporate daffodils, tin, and diamonds, we’ll get your creative juices flowing with a few ideas (and you can even share them with the professionals!).
For example, the 10th anniversary flower is the daffodil. If you plan to incorporate daffodils in your décor, you could go all out with fresh floral arrangements. Or, you could purchase artificial flowers and use a little design magic to disguise them – perhaps a little glitter, paint, or lighting effects?
Our approach to a 10 year anniversary celebration combines:
- Daffodils
- Tin
- Diamonds
It doesn’t matter if you opt for a formal indoor setting or a casual outdoor barbecue or buffet. For this particular concept, you’re focusing on the theme and décor. From there, you can let your imagination run wild with food and entertainment.
Daffodils and Tin
We showed how daffodils apply to both low-budget or big-budget party planning. Regardless of how you use them, daffodils will brighten the room.
Merging Anniversary Symbols
One suggestion is to combine daffodils and tin. We like the idea of an elegant setting with passed hors d’oeuvres, flowing champagne, and formal attire accompanied by table arrangements of daffodils in tin plant pots.
Now we’re not saying throw a few flowers in a cheap pot and call it a day.
If your budget permits, your florist will undoubtedly come up with a unique and impressive presentation. However, if you’re sitting there the night before with boxes of tin pots and daffodils, you can turn around an equally spectacular arrangement.
Tins that Twinkle
We’re going to get to other lighting effects soon. But one of the best ways to turn something simple into something elegant is with twinkle lights.
Did you know that you could buy twinkle lights that don’t require an outlet? Amazon has a 12-pack with individual (and tiny) batteries for under $15.
You can quickly fill the pot with the lights and daffodils – and it’ll dazzle!
Other Uses for Tin
Tin pots can accommodate more than flowers as well. Of course, you don’t want to go too tin-crazy in a formal setting. But if you opt to take the casual route for your 10 year anniversary celebration, then tin can play a starring role.
For example, use large tin budgets to hold ribbon-wrapped beverage bottles. Or, set up a popcorn station with containers that you place on every table.
You could also incorporate tin in party favors. How about creating mini versions of your table arrangements with smaller pots and flowers? Or, buy some of those small fabric gift bags and include a small tin and some daffodil seeds.
Diamonds
While diamonds can be tricky to incorporate unless you have a sky’s the limit budget, we suggest using lights in place of diamonds.
Just as the centerpieces are elevated by twinkling lights, your room can be as well.
Dripping in Diamond-like Lighting Effects
These days, do-it-yourself kits cover the gamut. For example, you could place curtains of lights over the windows or on the walls. And, if you’re thinking, how does that work with a daytime, outdoor 10th anniversary party, then add a tent.
Even the simplest of tents will look incredible with the proper lighting effects.
A Few Final Notes on the 10 Year Anniversary Celebration
We’ve only scratched the surface with a few ideas for festivities that’ll shine, but you get the gist. You can play around with the theme in some unexpected ways, regardless of budget, venue, or guest list size.
Our advice (unless you’re giving the party for yourself) is to keep in mind that it’s all about the couple. If they prefer casual, don’t go with a black-tie affair, and vice versa. We also suggest that you be clear about gifts (or no gifts) on the invitation. You’ll take the stress off of party-goers. After all, a celebration is supposed to be fun!