Ah, marriage… The great ‘m’ word, discussed ad nauseam for thousands of years (both covertly and overtly) among every child, teenager and adult man, and woman on the planet.
In order to deepen their relationship, show their mutual love and respect to the world, or simply because they like the idea of it – people marry. They solidify their bond in their own eyes and the eyes of their family, friends, and strangers. Marriage is a wonderful thing when you find the right person, someone who loves you, respects you and treats you like an equally beautiful human being of equal worth.
Like everything in life, relationships change. Marriages change and, more importantly, people themselves change. Therefore, a number of once beautiful and ‘perfect’ relationships and marriages deteriorate over time and end up in break-up or divorce. One way or another, it is only natural.
But if people decide to work on their relationships and marriages, be one with compromises, and invest their time and energy into one another, their marriages will work. They will inevitably reach the one and only…
… wedding anniversary.
(‘one and only’ does sound ominous when it comes to wedding anniversaries; absolutely no pun intended)
Wedding anniversaries are beautiful, special milestones that mark yet another year of mutual understanding, love, and passion.
Or, you know, you may think of them as tedious made-up dates that horrify you year after year because of all the implicit planning, expectations, presents – the lot. If you’re a person who loves wedding anniversaries, this article will be right up your alley.
Here are 7 unusual ways couples celebrate their wedding anniversaries:
- A great way to bond, get over your fears and really get out of your comfort zone (well, more like shoot out of it on a spaceship strapped to a wing), is an adventurous, adrenaline-filled anniversary.
Depending on what you fear the most, you could choose an activity such as skydiving, bungee-jumping, or hot-air balloon flying. You’ve never done anything like it before and, depending on how traumatic this one turns out to be, you may never do it again – but it will be a trip to remember, talk about and be proud of for the rest of your life.
And you will be proud, why, how often does a regular person decide to jump out of an airplane with a piece of cloth stuffed in their backpack?
2. Do a unique photoshoot. Choose your favorite time period, style or what-have-you, buy all the necessary attire and props, and hire a photographer. Be it the 80s, the medieval times (just don’t choose the Black Plague as a theme, that might turn out awkward) or the 1960s with their milkshakes and convertibles and drive-in movie theatres – just have fun.
Wildly different from the nowadays quite common text message/phone call congratulations, a bouquet picked up on the way from work, or dinner in your nearby cafe (all acceptable/good/valid ways of congratulating your partner), it will bring freshness and fun into your relationship or marriage.
3. In theory, this one is not that unusual, but it might prove to be so in practice. Write your partner a letter.
However, don’t hand them the “I’ve typed this up in the alleyway on my lunch break” kind of letter. Put some deep thought and care into it, sit down for an hour every night after your partner goes to bed, and think deeply about what you’re going to say.
A deeply thought-out, structured letter will differ greatly from something you’ve scrawled down in a hurry just to get the wedding anniversary present over with. Just like with everything else, right? Not only will your partner feel special, but it will also strengthen your relationship and may break open any potential communication blocks that previously existed between the two of you.
4. Play a 1v1 game of paintball with your partner. But chaps, please don’t sulk and pout if your significant other beats you – after all, all is fair in love and war.
A 1v1 paintball game might be a great, cathartic and liberating way for a couple to get any unresolved issues out of the way, settle any outstanding arguments, or simply get back at one another (not an unhealthy amount, you know, just a bit) for all the things they did to annoy each other with throughout their marriage. Have fun and let that extra ball fly, even though they’ve already raised their hand to signal they’d been hit.
We won’t tell.
5. Draw each other (paint, canvas and all that) and make a solemn promise that you’ll put the paintings up on the wall – whatever the result.
Whether you’re a Picasso in the making or possess all the hand-eye coordination of a tipsy sloth with bad eyesight, get a canvas, some colors and prepare for lots and lots of laughter. After you’re done painting, sit down and calmly pose for your significant other. Be brave, clench your teeth and hang the results of joint efforts up on the wall.
Why, have you ever heard of a better conversation starter?
6. Go to a makeup artist and pay them to make you look like an old version of yourself – you’ve all seen those YouTube videos where pranksters dress up as old people and then astound everyone by playing football and lifting weights. Then, hire a photographer and get some pictures of yourself.
You will love it. It will be like Doc and Marty in Back to The Future all over again, but much, much creepier. And amusing, of course. Enjoy it.
7. If you have sudden aspirations to sleep on the couch for the better part of the upcoming week, go to a costume shop, buy a prisoner’s outfit with a metal ball on the chain, and wait for your wife or girlfriend to come home from work.
Of course, this is a terrible idea and you shouldn’t do it – but throwing it out there for the more adventurous and humorous among you – after all, we make money from all the flowers you’ll buy as a way of apologizing.
However you decide to spend your next wedding anniversary; be it plain old “boring”, or perhaps new, fresh and exciting using some of the examples above as guides, don’t forget the most important thing – do it with love. You’ve chosen to marry your significant other for a very particular reason, and never let them forget how important they really are to you.
Happy anniversary!
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