What To Do For 25th Wedding Anniversary

• This article shows you how to celebrate your 25th wedding anniversary and how to plan a 25th wedding anniversary celebration.

What is the 25th wedding anniversary?

Number of special wedding anniversaries in the Netherlands in 2019. Source: Statista​

Your 25th wedding anniversary celebrates your 25 years together as a married couple. It is usually known as the silver wedding anniversary.

25 years in marriage, which is equivalent to a quarter of a decade as a married couple, is no small feat at all and is a significant milestone for any married couple. Such a significant milestone should be celebrated and enjoyed by the spouses.

From the 2019 survey from the Netherlands seen on Statista for instance and depicted in the chart above, 25th wedding anniversaries accounted for 55,600 wedding anniversary celebrations in that year. While we do not have a similar survey here in the U.S, that survey reveals that all around the world, people celebrate their 25th wedding anniversaries. And you should not be left out.

In this article, we help you with how to celebrate your 25th wedding anniversaries by giving you exciting and unique 25th wedding anniversary celebration ideas. We also give you helpful tips on planning a 25th wedding anniversary celebration to have a truly unforgettable 25th wedding anniversary celebration.

Best place to celebrate 25th wedding anniversary.

When it comes to celebrating your silver wedding anniversary, there isn’t the best place per se because each couple has their peculiarities and experiences that mean different things to them. For instance, for one couple, a trip to the Galapagos would be a dream way to celebrate while for another couple, staying at home and spending quality time with each other would be extra special for them.

And so, when it comes to trying to find the best place to celebrate your 25th wedding anniversary, these are the pointers that will help you in choosing what would be the best place for you and your spouse:

1. Who do you want to celebrate the special occasion with?

Do you want to spend it with just the two of you, or do you want to celebrate it with family and friends? Or maybe you want to do a bit of both? Knowing who you want to celebrate with will help you with choosing the place(s) you want to celebrate it.

There are advantages to celebrating it both alone and with family and friends. Spending it alone gives you both time to deeply reflect on your journey so far and be thankful for each other and how far you’ve come. Celebrating it with close family and friends who walked that journey with you gives your friends and family a chance to share in your joy and celebrate you.

And this is why, if you can afford to, doing a bit of both would be ideal. If you cannot however afford a bit of both, then decide which one will be a better way for you to celebrate.

2. How do you want to celebrate the special occasion?

Do you want something small and intimate indoors (or outdoors) or a big and exotic celebration with friends and family? Even with a small and intimate celebration, would you want to celebrate it at home or somewhere small and intimate outside your home?

3. What kind of activities are looking to indulge in to mark your celebration?

Do you want to use the celebration as the perfect time and opportunity to also rekindle the fire of passion in the bedroom or you’re looking for more chilled out, get to catch up time talking and enjoying all your pastime hobbies or activities?

Or perhaps you want to be surrounded by friends and family sharing in your joy and playing exciting games together.

Once you can have answers to these 3 questions, you will be able to know precisely where you want to celebrate your 25th wedding anniversary.

Some examples of the best places that offer all the advantages of quiet and intimate if that is what you are going for are the following:

Your home.

Celebrating your 25th anniversary at home may sound like it is boring but it is anything but. Your home is where all your fond memories are. It is filled with nostalgic memories, pictures, and everything in the mix.

You can use all these to your advantage to create a truly nostalgic 25th wedding anniversary celebration. Your home is ideal if you’re looking for something nice and intimate away from all the hustle and bustle of people around. Staying at home gives you the advantage to do whatever you want to do and be as loud (or quiet) as you want without worrying about intrusions or disturbing other people.

Our article on Activities for couples to do at home has some exciting activities you can combine in your anniversary celebration activities if you decide to celebrate it at home.

A nice hotel.

A nice hotel is a great alternative to your home if you are looking for quiet and intimate outside the home setting. A nice hotel will also afford you almost all the advantages your home will offer you and has the extra advantage of giving you the feel of a different environment. You can also get some help with appropriately setting up the room to set the tone for your romantic anniversary night together.

Our articles on Romantic anniversary night ideas and Ideas for a romantic night in a hotel have very good ideas and insights you should check out even in planning your romantic anniversary night in the hotel if you opt for that option.

A nice fine dining restaurant.

A nice fine dining restaurant is another good place for a quiet intimate dinner with just the two of you, without having everyone else there. A quite intimate anniversary dinner should normally be coupled with other anniversary activities. In the next sections, we will be giving you some anniversary celebration ideas.

Exotic holiday destinations or any holiday destination.

Vacations are always a great way to celebrate any milestone. Vacation destinations offer that relaxing atmosphere and are also therapeutic. It provides a chance to create memories and enjoy experiences you may not otherwise get from staying in your locale.

According to one survey seen on Statista (and depicted in the chart below), wedding anniversaries accounted for 87% of celebratory vacations among baby boomers in the US.

Most popular occasions for celebration vacations among baby boomers in the United States as of July 2014. Source: Statista

Whatever your travel preferences, whether it is a nice location here in the U.S or abroad, find a place that is different and appeals to you and your spouse, and have a 25th wedding anniversary getaway.

We list some pretty cool celebration holiday destinations in our articles on 40th birthday trip ideas for couples and Places to go for 50th birthday. You can still pick a place or two from those lists for your celebration vacation.

If your preference is a sailing vacation, our article on Sailing vacations for couples can help you out.

Picnic gardens.

Picnic gardens are another beautiful location to have a quiet and intimate time together. You can also take a walk and just enjoy each other’s company.

Hiking and camping trails.

If you’re both an outdoorsy type of couple then you would likely get a kick from celebrating in the great outdoors. You can make it a combined road trip too and make brief stops and camp out or hike on your stops.

We have exciting road trip ideas for couples in our article on Fun things for couples to do on a road trip.

Ways to celebrate 25th wedding anniversary and things to do for 25th wedding anniversary – 7 Awesome 25th wedding anniversary celebration ideas.

You can celebrate your 25th wedding anniversary in one or more of these 7 ways.

1. Carrying out a charitable deed.

You will particularly enjoy this celebration activity if you’re both given to philanthropy. Even if you are both not given to philanthropy, you can use your anniversary celebration as an occasion to give to others. Such adult generosity activities are known to give a high positive boost. It will definitely set the right tone for your anniversary celebrations.

This anniversary celebration activity does not require much from you except deciding what causes or charities you want to make a donation to and also deciding on how much you want to give.

If you prefer to give non-cash donations such as volunteering your time to help them, agree with your spouse on how much of your time you are both committed to giving.

For more ideas on what charitable deeds you can carry out to celebrate your 25th wedding anniversary, you can check out our helpful article on Ways to show generosity to others.

2. Taking a vacation.

You can never go wrong with a celebratory vacation. And if you are both avid travelers, you can decide to take the vacation to a place that holds a special place in both your hearts. It could be the first place you vacationed when you started dating. Or it could be the first place you vacationed in the first year of your wedding.

If you choose to go with any of these nostalgic travel themes, you can make it extra special by lodging at the same places you lodged when you made those first trips (if they are still available), and eating out at the restaurants you both enjoyed on that trip (if they are also available).

You can even take it a step further and dress in almost the same breathtaking outfits you wore on such occasions, especially if you’re going with the first place you vacationed when you were dating. If the outfits are not feasible, as the lady you could wear your hair in the same way that he found super attractive the first time he set his eyes on you.

The whole point is to remind each other of the special moments in your 25 year marriage journey.

Or, you could decide that your anniversary vacation is time to start building new travel memories. In which case you should pick out a place from both your travel bucket list and use the occasion of your wedding anniversary as a time to explore new places. And since you are looking to start new memories and traditions, you can use the vacation as a time to start new traditions.

Another great idea if you decide to settle for a vacation as a way to celebrate is to have the following as activities at your romantic holiday getaway:

• An intimate romantic dinner for two either in your hotel room or in a nice fine dining intimate restaurant in the holiday destination;
• A romantic evening with flowers, candles, nice romantic music and all the nice romantic settings to have a sensual time together. Your anniversary celebration night is a time to also enjoy each other intimately and passionately. You can also check out our helpful article on Romantic evening ideas for married couples for more ideas.
• Take a trip down memory lane by going through all your favorite albums. If you have a travel album that you had both put together as you traveled in your 25 years together, it would be fitting to relax, lay back and enjoy the trip down memory lane.
• Explore your holiday destination and make new memories together.

3. A romantic night at a hotel.

Taking your celebration to a nice intimately set-up hotel room is another cool way to celebrate your 25th wedding anniversary. Book yourselves into a nice comfortable hotel room with the right amenities for a romantic night.

Ask for the romantic suite in the hotel and intimate the hotel that you are booking it for an anniversary celebration night. In that way, they can set it up for you to fit the occasion. You can even go some hours earlier just to make sure that everything is set up according to your taste and preferences.

You can make the romantic night at the hotel even more memorable by combining the following activities:

• Opt to have dinner inside the room. Have them set up a nice romantic candlelight dinner for two with roses, soft music and the right lighting set-up. If you are lucky to get one of those romantic suites that has a balcony that overlooks the city, you can set up dinner on the balcony at sunset. And if you are lucky you could have the moon out on that night to complete the natural ambiance.
• Lie outside and take in the skies and the stars. Star gazing is a nice relaxing romantic activity that allows couples to connect even more deeply.
• Spend quality time enjoying the activities and games you enjoy as a couple and take a trip down memory lane. Have your photo albums and have a good laugh together going through the memories you both created in your 25 years together.
• Have a nice romantic bath/shower together after your evening activities. Make it extra special by decorating the bathroom and bathtub with rose petals and scented candles. A bath would be more fitting because it would be a great opportunity to give each other a good scrub and just enjoy lying together in the bathtub and enjoying your bodies against each other.
• An anniversary date night is never complete without passionate, sensual love-making. Explore different sexual fantasies that you both have and go as wild as you are comfortable with going. It is a time to remind each other of the passionate fire that has kept you going for the past 25 years and counting.

4. A nostalgic trip down memory lane date.

You can use your anniversary as a time to celebrate all the special moments that led to your happy 25 years together. You can start by recreating your first date when you first met, down to a date at the place where the marriage proposal took place.

Or you can even be as adventurous as recreating the moments leading up to your first kiss and the first time you had sex together.

Whatever the special date memories you have had in the 25 years and the period before that, a nostalgic trip down memory lane date always has a way of reminding you both of why you love each other so much.

5. Staycation at home.

Sometimes you don’t need a vacation outside your house. You can bring the vacation to the house. Like we said in the first section, home has the advantage of having all your favorite memories created in your 25 years together.

If your children are still home, consider asking them to sleepover at their friend’s house or send them over to your parents’ house so that you both have the much-desired privacy.

Your staycation at home could have an itinerary that looks something like this:

• Having breakfast in bed with sweet romantic messages and roses.
• Surprising each other with sweet anniversary gifts.

You may like our related articles on 30th wedding anniversary gift for husband and 30th wedding anniversary gift for wife.

• Pampering and serving each other by switching roles on some household chores that you normally do.
• Hanging out and playing exciting games and other fun activities. Our articles on 9 fun games to play with two people and Games to play with girlfriend at home have good game suggestions you can explore.
• A nostalgic trip down memory lane. You can watch any favorite family videos and go through all family albums.
• A romantic picnic indoors followed by a romantic dinner in the evening.
• And an evening of passionate sensual lovemaking.

6. Anniversary party/celebration with friends and family.

Anniversary celebrations are also better enjoyed with close friends and family that have worked the journey with you both in your 25 years together. In the next section, we discuss how to plan a 25th wedding anniversary celebration with friends and family.

We also have two articles, Anniversary celebration ideas with family and Wedding anniversary celebration ideas with friends, dedicated to all the details you should pay attention to in planning such a celebration. They will be helpful reads.

7. Outdoor activities like picnics, camping, hiking, taking a road trip.

This one is an anniversary idea that would be enjoyed by outdoorsy couples. Take a road trip to a place with hiking trails or camping sites and have a truly magical outdoor anniversary celebration that involves dinner under a beautifully moonlit night and stargazing outdoors as well as picnics in great outdoor settings.

Our helpful article on Fun things for couples to do on a road trip has more exciting ideas for you to incorporate in your anniversary outdoor celebration.

Planning a 25th wedding anniversary.

If you are planning a 25th wedding anniversary celebration with friends and family, to have a successful celebration the following helpful tips will be useful:

1. A small and intimate venue.

Remember that your anniversary is meant to be celebrated with close friends and family who were close to you and your spouse through the journey. And usually, that guest list will be very small. This is why a small and intimate venue works best. A small and intimate venue will also save you unnecessary costs that will arise from using an unnecessarily big venue.

2. A small and intimate guest list.

Your guest list should be people who are close to you and your spouse. If you are uncomfortable with scaling down the guest list, an easy trick that will scale down the guestlist for you without you saying anything is to have your anniversary celebration outside town in a location that would require people to travel and bring themselves to the celebration. In that way, only seriously close friends and family members who have a deep relationship with you and your spouse show up.

3. Catering options that will not break the bank.

The evening is much more about celebrating you and your spouse than it is about eating and getting full. Finger foods and light snacks make for easier catering and would also not break your bank account especially if you’re on a tight budget.

4. An activity lineup that is all about your 25-year marital journey.

You could have a guest well wish book at the entrance where your guests can leave you goodwill messages.

Also, allow for the giving of a toast where you appreciate people and also have some people say some things too.

Have a good lineup of party games that centers around the life of the celebrants. Quizzes and trivia on facts and details of the couples’ always make for good games.

And then don’t forget to take people down memory lane either by pinning up pictures of times in the life of the couple around the party venue or having a video slideshow of their journey or both.

5. Meaningful party favors that would be nostalgic mementos after the event.

You could have wine glasses or champagne glasses with your anniversary details written on them and have people take them home with them after the party. In that way even after your celebration, people have things that still remind them of the epic anniversary celebration night.

If your 25th wedding anniversary celebration also includes time alone with your spouse, choose any of the 6 locations listed in the first section of this article and try out some or all of the ideas listed in this article.

Frequently asked questions.

1. What is the 25th wedding anniversary called?

It is called the silver wedding anniversary.

2. Do you know any 25th wedding anniversary ideas for husband?

Any of the 7 ideas listed in this article will still be good 25th wedding anniversary ideas for a husband.

3. How about 25th wedding anniversary ideas for wife?

The 7 ideas can also work for wedding anniversary celebrations with a wife.

4. What are some 25th wedding anniversary themes you can suggest?

• You can go with retro themes such as the music of the year the couple met and fell in love.
• Or you could go with a trip down memory lane theme where you recreate the special moments in their lives starting from when they met and fell in love to the point where they walked down the aisle and their lives after that.
• Another theme that could work could be the travel diary theme where you go with the flavors, cultures, and food of the several countries, cities, and towns they may have traveled to in the time they’ve been together.

5. What is a silver wedding anniversary and what year is a silver anniversary?

A silver wedding anniversary is an anniversary that celebrates a couple’s 25 years in marriage. The year when a silver anniversary falls will depend on the year when a couple got married. Once you know that year, then count 25 years into the future and you will know the year when their silver anniversary will fall.

To summarize.

25 years in marriage is a huge milestone. It is a milestone that should not be taken for granted because spending a quarter of a century together is no small feat.

In this article, we have helped you with anniversary celebration ideas as well as the best places to celebrate your anniversary and how to plan the celebration. All you need to do now is to take everything set out in this article and put them to action for a truly magical 25th wedding anniversary celebration.

Congratulations on your 25th wedding anniversary and we wish you a very enjoyable 25th wedding anniversary celebration.