What is the golden wedding anniversary?

Fifty years of marriage is the golden wedding anniversary — the headline milestone on the UK anniversary list, and one of the few years where the traditional and modern conventions agree outright: gold, no split. It's usually the biggest celebration on the list, marked with extended family, renewed vows, or a party that runs bigger than the wedding itself did.

Gold turns up as jewellery, a gilded keepsake, or simply the colour theme for cards and flowers on the day. For the milestone just before it, see the ruby wedding anniversary, or go straight to 50th anniversary gift ideas.

Written by Craig Fearn, Printed Weddings.