Anniversary Wishes: What to Write in an Anniversary Card

Reminding someone of the day they said “I, do” is always an important part of celebrating an anniversary and reaffirming lasting love. In addition to marking the calendar and planning festive activities, it’s important to remember that it’s sometimes the smallest gestures that go the longest way. When you’re sending an anniversary card, the words you choose to inscribe can add remarkable joy unlike any other. Whether you are celebrating your own anniversary, looking back on the fifty years your parents have cherished together, or wishing friends a happy anniversary, we have you covered. Check out our quotes and advice below for what to write in a personalized card.

Don’t feel overwhelmed when you put pen to paper. Our guide includes more than just anniversary messages to help make your anniversary gift even more special. We have the writing advice to back them up. No matter what the occasion or whom the recipient, create an anniversary card that is guaranteed to pull at the heartstrings with these sample anniversary messages, tips, and tricks.

Jump to:

Step By Step: What To Say In An Anniversary Card

What you write in an anniversary card will depend upon who you are addressing the card to. Whether you are looking to offer a toast, share a special memory, or just say a simple ‘Congrats,’ you’ll want your anniversary wish to be heartfelt and reflect your relationship with the recipient(s). Follow these tips to help guide you through what to say in an anniversary card.

a sample anniversary card from Shutterfly

  1. Address the recipient(s). You’ll want to start your wishes off on the right foot! Due to the fact that writing anniversary card messages is more often than not a very personal process, you’ll want to stay away from the simple ‘Dear, so-and-so’ greeting. For a couple you’re close with use their first names “Jane and John.” If you’re writing the card to your parents “Mom and Dad” is best. When it comes to your own anniversary card, using pet names to address your significant other can add the personal touch you’re looking for.
  2. Draft a personal message. Use a few lines of the card to share an inside joke or add a moment you share with the lovebirds that you cherish close to your heart. A special moment like this will ensure your card is tailored to reflect your bond with the honoree(s).
  3. Write an anniversary wish. Take the next few lines to wish the couple well for the future and celebrate what it holds.
  4. Add an anniversary quote. Resonating with a piece of advice or sentiment from someone you look up to is always inspirational to read. Let the professional authors, poets and iconic names elevate your anniversary card to remarkable.
  5. Don’t forget to mention any wedding anniversary milestones. Each and every passing anniversary marks a unique celebration of love, but there are those milestone years that are extra special. Think first year anniversary, fifth, 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 55th, and 60th. Be sure to incorporate this special new number somewhere in your greeting.
  6. Don’t forget to say “Happy anniversary!”
  7. Finish your greeting off with a warm closing. You’ll want to finish your card just as the way you started it, on the right note. Before signing your name use a warm closing to wrap up any anniversary message. For example, you can choose between one of the following or use your own (Warmest Congratulations, With Love to You Both, All life’s Best to You, Happy [20th]!)

Happy Anniversary Wishes and Anniversary Card Sayings

When it comes to your happy anniversary messages it’s not just about the amount of words you use, but more about the thought put behind them. There’s nothing wrong with keeping your anniversary card greeting short and sweet, but you should try to include something specific about the couple if possible. Use these sample anniversary messages to help you create your own perfectly tailored greeting.

  • You have loved one another through all these years. May your love continue to bring you joy as you celebrate your anniversary of love and togetherness.
  • Happy anniversary to a beautiful couple! May the freshness of your love always remain.
  • No one and nothing in this world is perfect…but the two of you are as close as it gets! Happy anniversary.
  • An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow. Happy anniversary!
  • The happiness you share is a precious gift. Happy anniversary to my favorite smiley faces.
  • Happy Anniversary to you two! Hoping for many more years of happiness.
  • The happiest of anniversary wishes to the both of you. I hope you have a wonderful day and year.

A romantic couple sitting on a beautiful beach kissing. Silhouette with anniversary wishes overlay.

Anniversary Wishes To Husband

The pressure to say the right words seems to increase when you are trying to draft an anniversary quote for the him in your life.  But, there’s no need to stress! Let your husband know just how much you adore and cherish your relationship with these perfect words. Whether he is the type of guy who would appreciate a sentimental reflection or the type to love a funny anniversary wish, these messages should get you started showing your husband just how much he means to you.

  • Thank you for being my husband, my partner, my lover and my best friend. Happy anniversary!
  • All these years, you have been amazing. As a dad to our kids and as my lover, I have been happy in your arms and I could see that we’ll be happier for the rest of our days. Thank you for everything. Happy anniversary, my darling.
  • Marriage is a relationship in which one is always right and the other is the husband!
  • On our anniversary, I want you to know how much I’ve enjoyed annoying you all this time and how excited I am to keep doing so in the future.
  • Another year to create precious memories together. Another year to discover new things to enjoy about each other. And another year to strengthen a marriage that defines forever. Happy anniversary!
  • How lucky am I to have a man like you in my life? Here’s to many more years of love and happiness together.

Anniversary Wishes To Wife

Remind your wife of the day she said, “I do” and shine a spotlight on your everlasting love with a few extra special words just for her. She will surely appreciate this romantic gesture and the chance to relive a moment that changed her life forever. The best part about this anniversary quote for her is that it’s coming from you.

  • If I had my life to live over again…next time I would find you sooner so that I could love you longer. Happy Anniversary to us!
  • I feel so lucky to have a wonderful woman – a woman that made my life complete, a woman that makes my day by the time I wake up until i get home from work. I love you so much.
  • I’ll love you even when we’re old and wrinkly. Happy anniversary!
  • Being with you makes me feel like our anniversary is every single day. I have been blessed with you by my side, and I cherish you. I love you. Happy anniversary.
  • You have made me a better person by loving me for who I am. Thank you for being there for me always. Happy anniversary darling!
  • I don’t know where I’d be without you, and I never want to find out. Here’s to many years of love and happiness ahead!

General Anniversary Wishes for Anyone

An anniversary should represent the time and love shared together. After you’ve added a personalized message you can use the next few lines of the card to turn to the future and remind the couple that the best is yet to come. Anniversary wishes make for a quick and easy addition to your greeting that will make a big impact.

 

  • Here’s to another year of being great together!
  • Can’t believe it’s been [# of] years already. Here’s to many more!
  • Wishing you many more years of happiness and unconditional love.
  • Sending you loving wishes that you’ll grow deeper and deeper in love with every passing anniversary.
  • Wishing more laughter, more joy, more love for the both of you in the years to come.
  • Wishing you both all of the happiness in the world! Congratulations!
  • Happy anniversary today and happy marriage always! Congrats to you both!
  • Hope you both are able to celebrate a little each day! Congratulations on the anniversary!

Anniversary Wishes For Parents

Your parents have taught you endless amounts about how to love and what love is. Thank them for the example they have set for you and use these anniversary wishes for parents to help you craft a message they will cherish. If you’re looking to add something extra for mom and dad, don’t miss out on these cute wedding anniversary quotes for parents.

  • You are the parents that all kids hope to have, you are the couple that all lovers hope to be and you both are the pillars of support that every family wishes it had. Happy anniversary to the best parents ever.
  • Your togetherness in good and bad times has taught us teamwork. Your tolerance for each other’s habits has taught us patience. And your support during each other’s crises has taught us solidarity. Your lives as our parents have taught us how to live. Happy anniversary.
  • You have always taught us to attain milestones in life. Congratulations on attaining one yourself. Happy anniversary to our dear parents.
  • Thanks for putting so much pressure on me by raising the bar for a good marriage so high. Happy anniversary mom and dad.
  • Most kids take a lot of time to figure out what they want their futures to look like. But I have known from the very start what I want my future to look like- exactly like your present. Happy anniversary mom and dad.

Anniversary Wishes For Friends

Let your friends know that you are thankful they found the one who compliments them; their other half. These anniversary wishes for friends can be used by themselves or added to your own greeting to let your pals know just how you feel about their big day.

Photo of a mature couple, celebrating their anniversary with family, having a dinner outdoors in the back yard with anniversary wishes for friends overlay

  • It’s so great to attain such a wonderful occasion. May you share this love for each other forever and ever. May you have life in togetherness full of good emotions and happiness.
  • From best buddies you turned to spouse, and made a home out of a house! Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness.
  • May your love story never have an end. May your love for each other grow and grow. To years of joy, my friends!
  • I still remember the times when you wanted to ask her out. You shared stories with me and today I wish to shout, Happy anniversary dear friend.
  • Wishing the two of you a happy anniversary and the enjoyment of many more years.
  • I’m so happy for the love you two share. We all love you so much and hope you have a wonderful anniversary!
  • A very happy anniversary to you, my friends. Looking forward to the years to come.

Perfect Anniversary Quotes for Your Anniversary Note

Borrowing a few words can be the best way to convey your emotions through your card. Let these anniversary quotes guide your message.

Photo of a senior couple, celebrating their anniversary with family, having a dinner outdoors in the back yard

  • “Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.” – Robert Browning
  • “I will spend an eternity loving you, caring for you, respecting you, showing you every day that I hold you as high as the stars.” – Steve Maraboli
  • “Real love stories never have endings.” – Richard Bach
  • “Love looks not with eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” – William Shakespeare
  • “You don’t love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.” – Oscar Wilde
  • “You will always be my forever.” – Anonymous
  • “If I know what love is, it is because of you.” – Herman Hesse
  • “Something tells me I’m going to love him forever.” – Anonymous
  • “I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now, and yet I know I will tomorrow.” – Les Christopher
  • “If I lived a million lives, I would’ve felt a million feelings, and I still would’ve fallen a million times for you.” – R.M. Drake
  • “I didn’t fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way. And I do believe in fate and destiny, but I also believe we are only fated to do the things that we’d choose anyway. And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” – Anonymous
  • “All that you are is all that I’ll ever need.” – Ed Sheeran
  • “I love you. I am who I am because of you. You are every reason, every hope, and every dream I’ve ever had, and no matter what happens to us in the future, everyday we are together is the greatest day of my life. I will always be yours.” – The Notebook
  • “‘How do you spell ‘love’?’ -Piglet ‘You don’t spell it, you feel it.’ -Pooh.” -– A.A. Milne From the book Winnie the Pooh
  • “To love is nothing. To be loved is something. But to be loved by the person you love…is everything.” – Anonymous

Funny Anniversary Quotes

If you know your significant other isn’t the type to ooze romance then using funny anniversary quotes to say “Happy Anniversary” may be the way to go. Add these chuckle-worthy quotes to your card!

Portrait of a senior couple relaxing on the sofa, the senior woman has her head on her husband's lap whilst the both look at her smartphone together smiling with funny anniversary quote overlay

  • “It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.” – Rita Rudner
  • “We’re all a little weird, and life’s a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it LOVE.” – Dr. Seuss
  • “You’re the cheese to my macaroni!” – Anonymous
  • “Let’s celebrate the day you gave up on finding anyone better than me.” – Anonymous
  • “I’m yours, no refunds.” – Anonymous
  • “A wedding band is the smallest handcuff ever made, I’m glad I chose my cellmate wisely. “ – Anonymous
  • “I’ll love you even when you’re old and wrinkly.” – Anonymous

Wedding Anniversary Milestones for Anniversary Card Messages

They say that things only get better as they mature and that doesn’t exclude love. As a marriage matures an anniversary is the perfect time to reinforce that love is a priority.  Celebrate making it to a milestone anniversary and make sure the number makes an appearance onto your card to the couple or your significant other.

  • Happy 25th anniversary to one of the greatest couples we know! It’s a joy to have you in our lives and to celebrate with you today!
  • [Twenty] isn’t just a number. It’s good times and tough stuff and forever memories. It’s you and you, and it’s love.
  • [Fifty]-now there’s a number you can be proud of!
  • Sharing in your happiness as you celebrate [forty] years of marriage. Today is your day to be in the spotlight…to celebrate all you have accomplished together…and to bask in admiration.
  • Remember, the first [30] years are the hardest!

Related Resources to What To Write In An Anniversary Card

Now that you’ve figured out what to write in an anniversary card and got the perfect message, it’s time to think about party planning. These anniversary party ideas will help you throw a love-filled celebration that everyone will remember. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of these wedding anniversary invitations or check out our resource on wedding anniversary songs when deciding on all of your party particulars.