71st 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 71st wedding anniversary in countries around the world…

Traditional Gift – UK		No Traditional Gift
Traditional Gift – US		No Traditional Gift
Traditional Gift – Spain		No Traditional Gift
Traditional Gift – Germany		No Traditional Gift
Traditional Gift – Russia		No Traditional Gift
Traditional Gift – France		Ochre
Traditional Gift – Italy		No Traditional Gift
Flower Gift		No Traditional Gift
Gemstone Gift		No Traditional Gift
Modern Gift		Stately Home and Garden Visit

About 71st Wedding Anniversaries

It will probably be difficult to top last year’s Platinum Anniversary celebrations. After seven decades together, however, every year represents another rare event that is well worth celebrating in style.

Your 71st wedding anniversary adds to a growing list of remarkable milestones, even if by now there is perhaps an element of luck (or destiny) involved, as well as impeccable genetics, when both husband and wife live well into their nineties.

You may even be enjoying a little media stardom, as news of your anniversary feat is published in the press and well-wishers from around the globe pay their respects. They will all surely appreciate that a couple who have been married for 70 years-plus are a wonderful example of selfless and committed love – serving as an inspiration for all.

Gift Ideas for the Couple

As there are no traditional symbols for this anniversary, why not plan your celebrations – for parents, grandparents or great-grandparents – around their long-standing likes and customs? While, of course, bearing in mind any current mobility limitations.

In the past, they might have enjoyed a tradition of gathering with family or friends for dinner at a restaurant or organising a party at a local club. If that is no longer possible, or they simply prefer a more low-profile celebration, organise a smaller luncheon get-together nearby, or arrange a quiet evening at home for the immediate family only.

For many couples, the ideal celebration will be one that keeps things simple. After all, 71 years on from their marriage, the family is likely to have grown to a vast and widely dispersed group – spanning four or even five generations – and it will sometimes seem like you need to book a stadium-sized venue to accommodate everyone.

Wherever or however they celebrate this year, you can always add a poignant touch to the partying (or quiet dining) by downloading a copy of an original newspaper published 71 years ago, and printed on the day they were married. That would certainly make a beautifully thoughtful gift, and no doubt generate a few tears of nostalgic delight.

If the couple are, or have been, keen gardeners, buy them a special plant that has always been a favourite, or an attractive bouquet of flowers. And don’t forget an accompanying box of chocolates for the perfectly complete gift.

Alternatively, arrange for the couple to visit one of the listed RHS gardens dotted around the country. There are plenty to choose from, including fascinating stately homes. Some specialise in specific flowers, while others have themed gardens to wander through, nearly always with convenient wheelchair access if required. And most will offer an appetising selection of afternoon teas and cakes – a guaranteed treat for any couple who have been happily enjoying each other’s company for 71 years.

RHS’s 5 Garden Paradises

Inaugurated in May 2021, Bridgewater became the fifth Royal Horticultural Society garden and first to be opened in 17 years…

• RHS Garden Bridgewater (Salford): 10 miles (16 kilometres) from Manchester city centre.
• RHS Garden Wisley (Woking, Surrey): around 25 miles (40 kilometres) from central London.
• RHS Garden Hyde Hall (Essex): under 43 miles (69 kilometres) from London and 10 miles from Chelmsford.
• HS Garden Harlow Carr (Yorkshire): 15 miles (24 kilometres) from Leeds and two miles from the spa town of Harrogate.
• RHS Garden Rosemoor (Torrington, Devon): under 40 miles (64 kilometres) from the cathedral city of Exeter.

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