An anniversary gift he'll wear, not shelve
Anniversaries get harder to buy for the longer you've been together. The traditional gifts by year – paper, cotton, leather and the rest – are fun but can turn into a puzzle to solve. Anniversary cufflinks skip the puzzle entirely because they're about your marriage itself. He'll wear them to other people's weddings, to dinners and parties, and most fittingly on your own anniversary night out.
Then and now
One lovely approach is to set your wedding day against where you are now. Choose a wedding photo for one anniversary and, a few years later, a recent picture of the two of you, gradually building a small collection that tells your story. Or, for a big milestone, recreate an original photo: the same church steps, the same pose, the same slightly awkward grins, a couple of decades on. Each pair becomes a record of the marriage as it grows.
Design ideas for different years
The first year. A favourite shot from the wedding day, perhaps an unposed moment the photographer caught while you weren't looking.
Five or ten years in. Your wedding date in numerals, or the view from the honeymoon balcony.
Twenty-five years. A photo scanned from the original album, perhaps turned black and white for a timeless look.
Forty years and beyond. A picture of the family you've built together – children, and perhaps grandchildren too.
Other options for anniversary cufflinks: a line from your wedding reading in your own handwriting, the front door of your first home, or the title of your first dance written out simply.
Finding and preparing the wedding photos
Wedding photos usually exist in several forms: the printed album, the digital files from the photographer, and a scattering of guests' phone pictures. Where possible, use the photographer's full-size digital file rather than photographing a page of the album. If you only have prints, lay them flat in daylight and photograph them straight on without flash.
Guests' photos shouldn't be dismissed, though. Some of the most natural moments – laughing during the speeches, the first dance caught from the edge of the floor – were taken on a friend's phone. A quick message to the wedding group chat asking for originals can turn up a picture you've never seen.
Because the image will be small and square, crop tightly to the two of you. Full-length shots with the whole venue look wonderful on a wall but lose your faces on a cufflink. We print from the full-resolution original you upload, so the better the source, the crisper the result.
Choosing between a photo and a date
A photograph is warm and instantly personal. A date is more discreet and suits a man who prefers a classic look for work. If you're torn, think about where he'll wear them most: at family occasions, a photo gets noticed and admired; in the office, a date or monogram looks quietly elegant.
Dates can be written in lots of ways, and the style changes the feel. Roman numerals look formal and a little mysterious; a short numeric date, such as 14.06.03, looks modern; the month and year in words feels traditional. Whichever you choose, prepare it as a square image with plenty of contrast before uploading, then check it on the live preview to make sure every digit is crisp.
For a truly personal version of anniversary cufflinks, some wives photograph a few words from their wedding vows in their own handwriting. It's the kind of detail nobody else would ever spot, and exactly the kind he'll never forget.
How it works
- Upload your wedding photo, date or design.
- Use the live preview to see it on both cufflinks, dragging and zooming until the framing is right.
- Order through the secure checkout – a single pair is £40 with shipping included.
We make every pair at our workshop in Cornwall, where KF Online has been making personalised gifts for 17 years, and each one is sent in a gift box, ready for the anniversary morning.