Question · Anniversary symbols
What is the pearl wedding anniversary?
The pearl wedding anniversary is the 30th year of marriage — pearl is the traditional symbol; the modern list gives diamond.
Thirty years of marriage is the pearl wedding anniversary on the UK traditional list. Pearl is the older, more widely used reading for this year — the modern list assigns diamond instead, but diamond is more commonly associated with the 60th, so most couples and gift-givers default to pearl for the 30th. A pearl forms slowly, in layers, which is often read as a fitting symbol for three decades built up the same way.
If you're working out where thirty sits against the rest of the list, see wedding anniversary gifts by year. For gift ideas that fit the milestone, 30th anniversary gift ideas covers pearl-themed options and budgets.
Written by Craig Fearn, Printed Weddings.