Play the couple's first dance song when they take the floor.
A wedding anniversary is a major milestone for any couple, whether it's the first or the 50th. A reception is a chance for all the people closest to the couple to gather together and celebrate their commitment to each other. While it's perfectly acceptable for a couple to organize their own party, most couples will be touched and honored if someone else steps up to organize the party for them. Let them create their own guest list, then take over the reins and keep the rest of the plans a secret.
Instructions
1. Choose a venue. If you're aiming to throw an intimate reception for the couple's closest family and friends, hold the party at your home. For a bigger celebration, rent a local restaurant or small banquet hall. If the anniversary is major milestone like the 50th and the couple lives near where the place where they were married, rent out the hall where the couple held their wedding reception.
2. Send out invitations. While it isn't proper etiquette to specifically ask for gifts in the invitation, you can stress that gifts are not required if that's what the couple wants. If they're happy to accept gifts, make no mention of them. Some guests may decide to bring gifts, while others may not.
3. Order food that mimics the food the couple served at their wedding reception. The dishes don't need to follow the same recipes to make the couple feel nostalgic.
4. Bring a photo of the couple's original wedding cake to a baker. Ask her to replicate the design onto a smaller cake.
5. Ask a few of the couple's closest friends and family members to make toasts at the reception. They'll appreciate having as much advance notice as possible so they have time to write their toasts. Two or three speeches are plenty.
6. Decorate the reception space with the couple's wedding mementos. Blow up some wedding photos to place on easels throughout the room, and borrow a copy of the wedding video to project onto a screen.
7. Create a gift for the couple that all the guests can contribute to. Place a photo of the couple in a large paper frame that guests can sign, or set out squares of cloth and fabric pens. Each guest can decorate one square with a message for the couple. After the reception, arrange for the squares to be sewn into a quilt.
Tags: anniversary major, anniversary major milestone, couple closest, major milestone, photo couple