5 Best First Wedding Anniversary Gifts That Are Very Sentimental

Most couples feel like the first wedding anniversary is the hardest to buy for. Yhe marriage is still new and full of romantic feeling, and both spouses want to mark the occasion in an especially memorable way.

The traditional gift for the first anniversary is paper, while the modern approach calls for clocks. But these sentimental wedding anniversary gifts are a selection of spectacular and creative mementos that highlight your love for each other.

1. An art-quality framed map

If your relationship has included travel to exotic locales or just dreams of visiting distant shores, a handsome map of the world shows your spouse you remain invested in the dream. And for many couples, the first anniversary doesn't land during a high-income phase of their careers, so let this gift be a down payment on the life you're working to build with each other.

2. A scrapbook of your first year

Talk about a chance to dig into sentiment! Nothing says "What a great time we've had so far" like collecting photographs, stubs from movie and concert tickets, the airport code tags pulled from your bags after a trip, dried flowers, and the other odds and ends of the first year of your marriage.

To make it even more special, build in a pocket on the last page with concert or plane tickets, or a similar gift.

3. A sundial

The modern gift for the Paper Anniversary is a clock, symbolizing time together and the years ahead of you. A sundial connects that tradition to the past and also speaks to the cycles of your relationship as part of the cycle of the seasons and the movement of the planet.

And as a decorative piece, a sundial adds beauty to outdoor spaces or serves as a lovely indoor conversation piece.

4. Memory box

If you want to really get sentimental with your wedding anniversary gift, take a large box and begin filling it with the things that helped bring you together to begin with. Did you meet at a concert for a band whose music you only have on a computer? Purchase a physical CD (or LP, if that's your thing) of your spouse's favorite record from them.

Do you own a copy of the first movie you held hands to? Were there restaurants, museums, bars or other places from which you can get gift cards, a sweatshirt or some other reminder of the time you spent there together? Fill the box with gifts tied to the things that made you fall in love in the beginning, then close it up and decorate it.

5. Scavenger hunt

A scavenger hunt can be a fun way to tie together a number of small, special gifts. Leave meaningful clues throughout the house ("The first place we kissed when we moved in") that direct your spouse toward a big gift or to you.