Golden Wedding: Value, Custom, and Anniversary Celebrations
Fifty years of marriage together is that solemn and significant date, which, unfortunately, not all families can achieve. Therefore, if the couple could live in love and harmony for five decades, be sure to celebrate such a significant event.
The traditional celebration of a golden wedding largely echoes the wedding of young people, which adds a special touching and bright sadness to the whole celebration.
Anniversary value
When a couple reaches 50 years of marriage, this anniversary is called a golden wedding. This anniversary is not without reason got its name from the precious metal. Gold is valued not only for its attractive appearance, but also for its resilience, which means that a marriage that has reached fifty years since the wedding day has stood the test of time and has retained its beauty.
Such a marital union coped with both domestic difficulties, and with the unique and sometimes difficult characters of the spouses, and with external obstacles. The ability to concede, “form your own metal” in many ways makes it possible to achieve such an important term. And, of course, the family celebrating the fifty-year union deserves only admiration.
Holiday customs
The celebration of a golden wedding, as a rule, is accompanied by numerous traditions and rituals, in which both the spouses themselves and their guests take part. The most common is the ceremony of sprinkling symbolic gold: friends and relatives pour gold coins, sweets in brilliant wrappers, rice, rose petals and grain - that is, all those things that symbolize the welfare, love and wealth of the union. Often, children of a married couple embroider a golden scarf as a gift with gold threads. During the festive ceremony they cover the mother's shoulders or the head. Of course, it will be unpleasant to buy a ready-made scarf in the store. An important and very touching moment of celebration is the exchange of rings.
In general, for the first time newlyweds put each other rings at the wedding, then after twenty-five years they have to change to silver jewelry. Finally, on the 50th anniversary of the union, gold returns again. Rings should be concise and simple, but dignified-looking, without unnecessary "curlicues". It will be nice if on the inside of the rings there will be an engraving of important words or a wedding date - this is what children can do as a gift. Exchange of rings can be carried out both in an intimate setting, and in front of guests, telling a bit of their love story. Old jewelry, which was used at the first wedding, is recommended to pass to your children or grandchildren. It is believed that the rings, which are donated by close relatives who celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of living together, are energetically charged, which means that they will definitely bring good luck in love. Very curious is the custom of transmitting the wisdom of generations. As a rule, this happens at the end of the celebration - guests gather in a more intimate setting and the couple shares the secrets of a long happy life together.
Usually, the wife tells the present to the women present, and the husband - to the men. Of course, it is not forbidden to combine stories and make a touching, funny or serious speech. We must not forget about the lighting of candles on this day.By themselves, these decor items are symbolized with the warmth and comfort of home, so using them on the anniversary will allow you to “open the page” of a new fifty years of happiness. Beforehand it will be necessary to prepare two golden candles decorated with bronze ribbons.
The celebration of the anniversary largely repeats the wedding itself, so most often each toast is accompanied by shouts of “Bitter!”. At the end of the holiday, the couple gets a traditional roll, which they have to cut into two halves. A good omen is considered when they use the help of a grandchild or granddaughter for this. One half of the roll goes to the guests, and the second is eaten by the spouses themselves. Otherwise, you can let the newlyweds break off the pieces first, and then the rest of the guests. It is important that no crumbs remain from the symbolic baking - so the couple will continue to live in prosperity and happiness.
Another “hello” from the wedding is the wedding dance. It will be very touching if it will be performed by its anniversaries to the same melody as it was fifty years ago. A golden wedding even implies a “bride” tossing a bouquet. Only in this case, the flowers are presented by their beloved husband, and both unmarried and married ladies are allowed to catch them. The latter, having caught a bouquet, can hope for a long and happy family life, which must have reached the fifty-year mark. The end of the holiday should remain only between the spouses, when they, having accompanied the guests, pour each other a cup of tea, recalling the bright moments of their common history.
How to mark the date?
Of course, the celebration of a significant date primarily depends on the spouses themselves - what they like, what they like to do, what they have achieved and what obstacles they have gone through. But there are some possible elements of the holiday, which will surely appeal to any couple. The decor of the event must be accompanied by details of a golden hue, as well as red, beige and white.
For example, you can meet a married couple with the help of golden confetti and “rain”. Of course, this color should also be present in the interior. For his wife on this day, you can choose a noble light-colored dress, reminiscent of a wedding, and for her husband - an official black suit with gold cufflinks. Jewelry ladies, by the way, should also be made of this metal.
Guests, if there is no desire to mess with the dress code, you can simply issue a gold bow or ribbon, which will have to be attached to an elegant costume. Graceful candlesticks and light napkins with gilded patterns or gilding will successfully fit on the table. A beautiful decision would be to complement the table decor with small vases with tonal bouquets whose flowers are covered with golden pollen.
Always “with a bang” are perceived not ordinary toasts, but something more creative. Therefore, the children and grandchildren of the heroes of the anniversary can jointly prepare some kind of a common, bright performance, presentation of photographs or a film about the life of the heroes of the day from the first archival footage to the present day. Not everyone likes contests, so instead of them it is better to hold a quiz on the knowledge of the spouses of each other.
For example, there may be questions: “Where did you go traveling for the first time? "" What was the most unusual gift? "," How did you confess love? ". Of course, you can not do without a touching photo shoot. Professionals will easily write the story of a beautiful love story and will help to bring it to life. The final chord of the holiday will be colorful fireworks.
To arrange a golden wedding should not be in a noisy company, it is enough to gather a circle of close friends, children and grandchildren. If the "newlyweds" are homebodies, then, of course, it is better to celebrate the celebration in the home circle, but it will be much more convenient to spend the holiday in a cafe, restaurant or even on the deck of a yacht or ship. Although you can always invite a professional presenter, it would be more appropriate to offer this role to a close relative, a friend of a married couple, or a person who knows these people closely and treats them with the warmest feelings.By the way, if a couple did not go through a wedding ceremony before, then it is worth holding it on this holiday date.
What is accepted to give?
For a golden wedding, as a rule, they give either something that is associated with the anniversary symbol, or with a noble metal. Of course, gold jewelry, watches, rings or cufflinks will be a worthy gift. Of course, it will be pleasant for anniversaries to get something from their children, reminiscent of a family, for example, a collage of photos in a golden frame or a portrait of "young". There are no strict requirements for the choice of a gift, but it would be good if he had some connection with the couple and their memorable date, as well as with gilding.
A successful solution will be a cigarette case with a gold string, and an expensive writing instrument with a gold-plated cap. It is quite appropriate to present an anniversary party with interior items, a set of dishes or linens, for example, a reproduction of a favorite artist in a frame with gilding.
Of course, people in the age will be pleased with household appliances - an iron, a vacuum cleaner, a slow cooker, or a dishwasher. The main thing is to pack everything in golden paper.
How to choose a cake?
Speaking of food, it is worth noting that a significant part of the invited guests is likely to be aged, so it is better to give preference to light diet foods. Also, the cake should be light and airy, and its design, as a rule, is done in golden shades, corresponding to the theme of the celebration. It should be refined, symbolic and must be served on a beautiful dish. Do not forget about the delicious stuffing. If the cake is multi-tiered, then each tier should be rewarded with a separate taste, beloved by the "newlyweds". An excellent option would be multi-colored fruit fillings. Flowers, stucco elements, photographs of a couple, or some important items are usually chosen as decorations.
Gilding is usually formed with the help of mastic light golden hue. Calm, not coarse colors complement it. At the top you can hoist the figures of the newlyweds, made of chocolate, marzipan, caramel or the same mastic. Outwardly, they must be reminiscent of anniversaries. If a white cake is chosen, then its decor is already gold. Attractive will look volumetric elements, like flowers, bows or ribbons. By the way, cakes, whose tiers alternate between golden and white, invariably attract attention.
Traditionally, the figures “50” are set for dessert, but such a decision should be deliberate and trusted professionals, since this decor often looks very cheap. Again, if the cake itself is colored gold, the numbers should be chosen in a different shade so that redundancy does not occur.
One or two intersecting hearts, a bouquet of flowers, wedding rings or a photo of the “newlyweds” becomes an appropriate decoration. In the case of buds, it is better to place them in a neat cascade.
See the video below for ideas on giving a wedding anniversary.