A Paper Anniversary Gift That Tells How You Met

The first anniversary is paper. This one is a book about the two of you.

In the traditional list of anniversary gifts, the first year is paper. Most paper gifts are a card, a print or a pair of tickets. This one is a book about the two of you: how you met, what you thought that first day, and the year since. You answer the questions, it is written as a letter from you, and every page is painted in watercolour from your own photos.

Why paper for the first anniversary?

The old anniversary list starts light and gets sturdier: paper for the first year, cotton for the second, then leather, and on up to silver, ruby and gold. Paper stands for a marriage that is new and still being written on. A book is the most paper a gift can be, and this one is written about you.

What goes in the book

The questions walk you through it in order. Your life before you met, where and how it happened, and your first impression of them. Then everything since: the headline moments like the wedding or a first home, something you came through together, a favourite trip, and what life looks like for you two now. Last, the heart of it: what makes the two of you, you. You can type your answers or speak them, and the book is written from your words, as a letter to them.

You add four photos: you today, you around the time you met, them around the time you met, and them today. For a first anniversary, "back then" can simply be a photo from the year you met. Anyone else in the story, friends, family, the dog, can be added with a photo or described in a few words.

Paper anniversary gift ideas, and where a book fits

The classic paper gifts are good ones. A love letter. A framed map of the place you met. Tickets to something you will do together. A printed photo of the wedding day. What a book adds is room: a letter tells one feeling, a map marks one place, and a book can hold the whole first chapter, from two strangers to the day you said yes, with the pictures to go with it.

Not your first? An anniversary gift for him or for her

The same book works for any anniversary, and it gets better with time. By the tenth there is a first home and maybe children. By the twenty-fifth or the fortieth there are moves, jobs, grandchildren, and a hundred ordinary days that turned out to matter. Whether it is for your husband, your wife or your partner of many years, the book is the story only you could tell.

Buying for your parents' golden wedding? The book they would want from you is about one of their lives: see a golden wedding anniversary gift.

How it is made

1. Share your photos and stories. Around 30 minutes on a web form (plus time to gather good photos).
2. Your book takes shape. 30 minutes to 2 hours. Your answers become the story and every page is painted in watercolour. AI does the drafting; you decide what stays.
3. Review and perfect it. Every page online. Up to 50 free regenerations: faces, outfits, scenes. Nothing prints until you approve.
4. Your hardcover arrives. 5–10 working days print and ship (EU + UK; US around 7–10 working days). 24 pages, full-colour, archival paper.

When to order

Allow about 2 weeks door to door. The questions take around 30 minutes and your draft is ready the same day. After that the timing is yours, because nothing prints until you approve. Print and shipping take 5–10 working days (EU and UK; US around 7–10 working days). If the anniversary is close, finish your review at least two working weeks before the day.

Frequently asked questions

What is the traditional first anniversary gift?

Paper. The traditional list starts with paper for the first year, then cotton, leather and on up to silver at twenty-five and gold at fifty. A book counts, and a book about the two of you is about as personal as a paper gift gets.

Is it a good anniversary gift for him, or for her?

Yes, for either. It is written as a letter from you to your partner, so it works whoever is giving it. Same-sex couples too: the story follows who you are, and nothing is assumed.

We've only been married a year. Is there enough story?

Usually more than you think. Your life before, how you met, your first impression of them and the wedding are the heart of the book, and the first year together is the rest of it. For a first anniversary, the photo of each of you "back then" can be from the year you met.

How long does it take?

Around 30 minutes to answer the questions and 30 minutes to 2 hours until your first draft. Then you review every page. With print and shipping (5–10 working days, EU and UK; US around 7–10 working days) it is about two weeks in total.

What does it cost?

A How We Met book costs incl. VAT, plus shipping for your country. You get a 24-page, full-colour A4 hardcover on archival paper.

Will it look like us?

The illustrations are painted by AI from the photos you upload, and you see every page before anything prints. If a face or a scene is not right, you have up to 50 free regenerations.