The 35th Wedding Anniversary – The Quick Guide | Wedding Anniversary Advice (2023)

Wedding anniversaries are such beautiful milestones. We love them. We are Eleanor and Graham, your hosts for this tour of the 35th wedding anniversary.

• The traditional symbol / gift of the 35th wedding anniversary is coral.
• The modern symbol of the 35th wedding anniversary is the gemstone jade.
• The gemstone for the 35th wedding anniversary is emerald.
• The 35th year wedding anniversary is one of the anniversaries that do not have a traditional, assigned flower.

35th Wedding Anniversary Gifts

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35th Anniversary Milestone

The 35th wedding anniversary can be a neglected milestone. After all, it comes between the much-celebrated 25th silver and 50th golden anniversaries. But it celebrates over a third of a century of marriage, and has a great deal of meaningful history.

What is special about the 35th wedding anniversary? What are its symbols and its gifts? How can you make someone’s 35th anniversary memorable? Come along with us and let’s explore this together.

Here’s a list of anniversary gift ideas:

• Gift ideas for her

• Gift ideas for couples

• Gift ideas for him

What is the 35th wedding anniversary gift symbol?

The traditional symbol / gift of this milestone is coral.

Coral takes many years to develop, and forms little by little, very much like the strength of a 35-year-old marriage. It is a perfect symbol in that respect. Coral is a magnificent stone, and symbolizes protection, fertility, strength, and longevity.

Although coral can be red, orange, pink, black, white, brown, and even blue, the coral used for making jewelry is in the red, orange, or pink family. It was once considered a plant, which is why it is a symbol of fertility. In fact, it is the calcium carbonate secretions of the soft-bodied coral organism.

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It is a symbol of protection for good reason. It hosts over 25% of the world’s ocean life, and is a major source of protection for young fish.

The fact that these important reefs are being depleted is one of the reasons why the modern symbol was created. We don’t want to harvest more coral and harm the coral reefs any further.

What is the modern 35th wedding anniversary symbol?

The modern symbol of the 35th wedding anniversary is the gemstone jade. Part of the reason we needed a new symbol was to spare the coral reefs. However, having a new, fresh color update was another factor. Jade also comes in many colors including pink, brown, and black, but its most common color is the lovely emerald green.

Contrary to what you might think, Jade is not one gemstone. It is one of two different gemstones! They are jadeite and nephrite. These are very similar, but differ in chemical composition and crystalline structure. Of the two, jadeite is the most highly prized. Jade is often found in Myanmar and in other parts of Asia.

Both types of jade are strong stones, which take a high polish. Jade has a highly significant similarity to coral. It symbolizes the same things: protection, strength, longevity.

When you consider what it takes to have a relationship spanning over a third of a century, these three qualities make a great deal of sense. We protect each other; our relationship is strong, our relationship is long lasting. What wonderful symbols these are!

What is the 35th anniversary gemstone?

The gemstone for the 35th wedding anniversary is emerald. You can see how this fits beautifully with Jade as the symbol! Emeralds are, of course, also brilliant green gemstones with a highly polished shine. This is a perfect gemstone to complement the jade symbol.

They are found in Columbia, Brazil, and other parts of South America. It has been called “the stone of successful love”. They have been associated with Venus, the goddess of love. How appropriate this is for a 35th wedding anniversary!

• Need ideas for a 35th Wedding Anniversary gift?
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The colors for the 35th wedding anniversary are both coral, and green, from the two traditional and modern symbols. This opens the door to so much creativity in gifts, decorations, and food. The sky is almost the limit with these colors! We will explore this more in a few moments.

What is the 35th wedding anniversary flower?

The 35th year wedding anniversary is one of the anniversaries that do not have a traditional, assigned flower. However, this also leads to so many wonderful possibilities, that we consider this a plus, rather than a minus! Flowers of all shades of reds and oranges are perfect.

A bouquet of orange roses, perhaps, would be lovely, with bright jade-green foliage. A mixed bouquet of all manner of red and orange flowers – lilies, roses, chrysanthemums, gerbera daisies, and carnations – is eye-catching.

A blooming orange orchid plant could be perfect. A spray of coral Peruvian Lilies would be spot on. Or what about a lovely jade plant, to hit that jade note?

There are exquisite green bouquets to play on the green theme. Bouquets with Sea Holly, Ornamental Kale, Green Hydrangeas, Trachelium, and Eucalyptus are all beautiful separately or together. There are other green flowers to consider as well; these are just a start.

Green plants of all description would fit beautifully with the jade theme. Consider a small ornamental tree for a gift. Consider a collection of succulents, perhaps on a coral or a green tray. There are so many possibilities for green gifts, that this barely scratches the surface.

What gift should I buy for the 35th wedding anniversary?

Are you planning to throw a party? Here’s our recommended list of MUST HAVE accessories.

To see more of our recommendations see our:

Recommended anniversary gifts for couples

Recommended anniversary gifts for him

Recommended anniversary gifts for her

By the way did you know that this is the most sold gift on Amazon for ANY anniversary event? We were surprised! What do you think? Leave a comment below.

There is so much to consider! You may want to use the traditional symbol of coral for this special anniversary. Yet, you may not want to further deplete the coral reefs.

Aquariums & the gift of giving

What about contributing to a coral reef preservation organization? Or giving a gift of tickets to a sunny, beach-focused, coral reef destination? What an exciting gift that might be!

Does the recipient like fish? They may love the gift of small aquarium – with coral colored fish, or with artificial coral. Or maybe they have an aquarium, and that perfect coral aquarium ornament would be so special in it.

Or perhaps tickets to that huge aquarium in that nearby city would be exciting. There are many ways to play on the coral theme.

Clothes associated with the 35th anniversary

Red or coral-orange clothing can be appreciated, if it is within the recipient’s color preferences. A lovely jacket perhaps, a sweater, or a silk scarf might be perfect.

Jewelry & the 35th anniversary

If jewelry is what you really want to give, there are still many choices. Artificial coral jewelry can look very authentic. Or there are coral-colored pearls, or quartz, or other stones, that aren’t meant to look like coral at all.

Giving gifts with the jade theme can be much easier. If jewelry is what you are looking for, there are men and women’s jade jewelry items of all descriptions – cuff links, bracelets, necklaces, brooches, pins, rings. Also, green is often more aligned with clothing color preferences, thus can be an easier gift choice.

35th wedding anniversary apparel

Don’t forget that silk makes an excellent choice for men and woman both. Silk handkerchiefs for the gentleman and silk scarves for the ladies are often welcome gifts, Eleanor owns this one which is really nice!

35th anniversary home gifts

Jade and coral can make striking home décor choices. There are so many choices. Imagine these colors combined in throws pillows, lamps, small sculptures artwork, and large serving bowls. Jade carvings are especially easy to find and especially striking.

We’ve all seen Indian elephants, which are symbols of wisdom and longevity, carved in jade. These can be exquisite gifts for your spouse or your family or friends celebrating their anniversary.

As you can tell, there are so many fun and meaningful traditional and modern ways to celebrate the 35th wedding anniversary milestone!

The 35th wedding anniversary celebration

Often people don’t arrange a huge party, but this is still a significant milestone to celebrate. If you are having a party or a dinner, consider the green and orange color schemes for meaningful decor. You can do so many fun things with these colors.

You can go all out with an ocean theme for a party. Or you can just do only a few small ocean-based decorations – maybe an ocean centerpiece.

Some like to have a seafood-based meal for the coral aspect. (How perfect is salmon for that color scheme?) Or do orange and red balloons! Consider a tropical theme to highlight the jade aspect, with green crepe paper and tropical centerpieces!

Ask party guests to wrap their gifts in coral, or green, or both! But however you choose to decorate for your celebration, the important thing is to honor the happy couple and celebrate their 35 years together!

Other questions people have about the 35th wedding anniversary:

Should you really avoid real coral gifts?
Follow your conscience, but be aware this can easily offend those who are aware of coral reef depletion. It is safer to avoid real coral as gifts.

Jade is expensive. How can you give an affordable jade jewelry gift?
Look at local or online craft or jewelry supply stores. You can actually get gemstones at a great discount if you are willing to put it together yourself. Look at You Tube for jewelry making possibilities. Even a complete beginner can put together something quite nice. What could be more meaningful that handcrafted gemstone jewelry?

The 35th anniversary is not a major one. Maybe one should just not make a big deal out of it. Should we just ignore it?
This is possible, but you will never go wrong honoring an important milestone. And you can inadvertently hurt someone by not doing so.

Coral and jade are so different! What should I choose as a color scheme for my gift or celebration?
Look at the preferences of one or both of the couple. If they don’t seem to gravitate towards or way from oranges or greens, do both!

Above all, enjoy celebrating your 35th wedding anniversary and congratulations!