18th Wedding Anniversary

Traditional, Modern and Symbolic Anniversary Gifts

Below is a list of both traditional and modern gift materials, as well as classic flower and gemstone symbols, which mark a couple’s 18th wedding anniversary in countries around the world…

Traditional Gift – UK		No Traditional Gift
Traditional Gift – US		No Traditional Gift
Traditional Gift – Spain		Quartz
Traditional Gift – Germany		Turquoise
Traditional Gift – Russia		Turquoise
Traditional Gift – France		Turquoise
Traditional Gift – Italy		Quartz
Flower Gift		Deep Red Flowers
Gemstone Gift		Garnet
Modern Gift		Porcelain

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About 18th Wedding Anniversaries
18th Wedding Anniversary Gifts for Him
18th Wedding Anniversary Gifts for Her
18th Wedding Anniversary Gifts for the Couple & Parents

About 18th Wedding Anniversaries

Eighteen… the age when grown-up children frequently leave home to study and many parents are once again on their own. Perhaps this is the case as you celebrate your 18th wedding anniversary?

If your son or daughter is about to depart the family nest, this could be a significant moment in your relationship and married life – a period when you are likely to have more time for each other and your shared interests.

How to Celebrate an 18th Wedding Anniversary

Eighteen is also the year when love metaphorically comes of age, so what are you going to do with your partner to celebrate your 18th wedding anniversary?

In Chinese tradition, 18 is an extremely lucky number, traditionally meaning that you are going to prosper. If you do now have more time on your hands, how about revisiting an old business idea that you put on hold while raising a family?

Even if it doesn’t immediately lead to prosperity, the chance to combine your skills on a new enterprise will still provide many enriching moments.

Garnet and porcelain are both associated with this anniversary. Garnet is a stone symbolising romance, love and passion, and it is used in metaphysics to enhance sensuality, sexuality and intimacy in a balanced way. It is also considered a stone that represents blossoming truth, commitment, hope and faith.

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” Quoted by: Judy Garland

18th Wedding Anniversary Gifts for Him, Her… and the Couple

Bring together these two symbols for the perfect 18th wedding anniversary gift: garnet jewellery in a porcelain box. Alternatively, as garnet is a deep red colour, you could treat your loved one to a porcelain vase full of beautiful red roses.

Sweet Summertime – £18.99, Flying Flowers

A fine dining set – destined one day to be cherished as a family heirloom – would also make a wonderfully appropriate gift.

If you want to be especially creative on your anniversary, maintaining the porcelain theme, you could both sign up for a ceramic making or ceramic decorating class. Then create your own special keepsakes: an ornament, vase, mug or platter.

COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THE 18TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Q: What is the 18th wedding anniversary called?
A: The 18th wedding anniversary is known as the Porcelain Anniversary – deriving from this year’s modern gift suggestion.

Q: What is the 18th wedding anniversary gemstone?
A: The 18th wedding anniversary gemstone is garnet, which symbolises romance, love, passion and commitment.

Q: What is the 18th wedding anniversary symbol?
A: The 18th wedding anniversary symbol is the garnet, but it can also be symbolised by elegant porcelain.

Q: What is the 18th wedding anniversary colour?
A: The 18th wedding anniversary colour is blue.

Q: What are the traditional and modern gifts for a 18th wedding anniversary?
A: The modern gift for a 18th wedding anniversary is porcelain, or items associated with the gemstone garnet, as there are no traditional gifts for this year’s celebration.

Q: What is the 18th year anniversary flower?
A: No individual flower is popularly linked to the 18th wedding anniversary; however, deep-red flowers such as roses, carnations and tulips would make a great floral gift.

18th Wedding Anniversary Gifts for Him

What can I buy my husband for our 18th wedding anniversary?

When buying a gift for your husband on your 18th anniversary, how about taking the opportunity of expressing the freedom of being 18 again. Recall what interests he had when he was younger, especially if they were activities you shared with him.

Buy him a gift from our great suggestions here, or check out our other anniversary pages for more gift ideas.

18th Wedding Anniversary Gifts for Her

What should I buy my wife on our 18th wedding anniversary?

Aspinal Of London Handbags

Here we have some fantastic gift suggestions for your partner’s anniversary present. However, if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, check out our other anniversary pages, where we have hundreds of additional gift suggestions.

18th Wedding Anniversary Gifts for Him, Her… and Parents

Experiences From Red Letter Days

Travel & Experience Gifts

• Location visit
• Travel gift vouchers
• Special 18th wedding anniversary location and meal
• Country pursuits (clay pigeon shooting, fishing…)
• Helicopter pleasure flight (12 miles – also for families up to five)
• Luxury spa day for two

Jewellery

The traditional 18th wedding anniversary gemstone is garnet.

• Earrings
• Pendants
• Rings
• Necklace
• Tie Pin
• Cufflinks

Something Different & Unique

• Enjoy a brewery tour and beer tasting.
• Take pottery lessons together and create your own timeless pieces.
• Arrange a surprise weekend away, somewhere that brings back pleasant memories of your late teens.
• No problem being served in a pub anymore, so why not celebrate in style at the local bistro bar with family and friends.

Turning 18 was a milestone on so many different, and happy, levels – and the same is the case for your 18th wedding anniversary.

Make the most of your still well-preserved youthful energy, enjoy the day with a renewed spring in your step, and feel like you’re 18 all over again.

18 Cool Facts About Cider

That day, on turning 18, when you were legally allowed to have your first alcoholic drink is now just a distant memory – and perhaps even a little blurry if it was celebrated over-enthusiastically. Since then, most of us will have enjoyed many wonderful parties and dinners with a chilled beer, a glass of fine wine, or a flûte of French Champagne for special occasions such as wedding anniversaries. Perhaps even a tankard of cider, a classic beverage with a fascinating history. Here are 18 reasons why…

1. National Apple Cider Day is celebrated in the UK on 18 November, commemorating the date (in 1307), when Swiss folk hero William Tell is said to have shot an apple from his son’s head. World Cider Day is on 3 June.
2. In Latin, the words for apple (“mālum”) and evil (“mălum”) are almost identical – hence why, possibly, the apple was assumed to be the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. In reality, it was more likely to have been a pomegranate. 
3. The earliest historical record of apples being fermented dates to 55 BCE, when the Romans reached Kent, observed villagers drinking an alcoholic drink made from crab apples, and adopted the habit themselves – before taking it back with them to Rome.
4. Children in the 14th century were reportedly baptised in cider as it was more sanitary than water.
5. Between the 13th and 19th centuries in England, farm workers’ wages included four pints of cider a day.
6. Cider was promoted as a cure for gout and other illnesses in the 19th century.
7. Colonising pilgrims arriving in America drank cider because it was safer than ground water.
8. Cider’s popularity in the US waned in the early 1900s when Europeans started bringing over beer.
9. The third longest-living US president, John Adams (90), reputedly enjoyed a tankard of cider every morning with breakfast.
10. About 36 pieces of fruit are required to make one gallon (3.8 litres) of apple cider.
11. Alcoholic cider (known as “hard cider” in the US, one of the few countries – also including Japan – where “cider” can also be non-alcoholic) is the result of a dual natural fermentation process.
12. There are more than 10,000 varieties of apple, and the juice of any variety can be used to make cider, but fine heritage cider is made with cider-specific apples. 
13. There are believed to be around 360 distinct varieties of cider apple in Britain, although many come from just a few trees in individual orchards.
14. Climate, rainfall, soil and temperature all have an impact on the fruit’s characteristics, like grapes for wine. 
15. Cider is ready to drink after a three-month fermentation period, but it is usually matured in vats for up to three years.
16. Cider alcohol content varies from 1.2% to 8.5% ABV or more in traditional English ciders, and 3.5% to 12% ABV in continental European ciders.
17. In the US cider is categorised as “wine”.
18. Especially popular in Nordic countries, Perry is a similar product to cider but made from fermented pear juice.

And a final word from US “Founding Father” Benjamin Franklin…  “It’s bad to eat apples. It is better to turn them all into cider.”

Next Anniversaries

19th wedding anniversary
20th wedding anniversary
21st wedding anniversary
22nd wedding anniversary
23rd wedding anniversary