Today marks my five-year wedding anniversary (though my husband, Andy, and I dated for fifteen years before making it official)! In researching a fitting topic for this post, I was disappointed to learn that the traditional anniversary gift for our significant milestone is…wood. Not the most romantic material.

But then I glanced over at my bookshelf and saw these wooden reminders of our wedding day–a pair of pine cones from the woods outside my family’s log cabin, decorated with sketches of me and Andy on our wedding day, as drawn by my sister (Lauren) and her now-husband (David):

Andy and I didn’t have a traditional wedding. On September 3, 2015, we got married in the chambers of a judge I had worked for during law school, with only our immediate families present. Later we had two separate parties: one for my more extended family at the cabin over Labor Day weekend, and another bigger dinner party in Chicago for all our family and friends in October. I don’t know what motivated Lauren and David to make these kooky pine-cone portraits, but I love how they embody the unique hybrid nature of our extended wedding celebrations.

My parents also have a quirky wedding trinket that a friend gave them when they got engaged. This vintage cake topper, which now lives on my mom’s dresser next to her framed family portraits, looks innocent enough from the front:

But it holds a mischievous secret when you turn it around:

So cheeky (pun intended)!

This got me thinking about a necklace of mine that also has a secret (and before you ask, no, there’s no nudity) and happens to be well-suited for an anniversary post. Instead of a traditional locket, it’s a tiny envelope with a literal “Love” note inside:

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I purchased this sweet necklace from Capsul, an L.A.-based jewelry company that sells lovely, unique, romantic pieces. I opted for the basic Envelope Locket Necklace with the standard “Love” note ($75), but there is also a version with a note you can customize to feature a loved one’s handwriting or a special date (starting at $170).

Capsul also sells pieces you can have engraved with the sound-wave pattern of a meaningful audio clip (think: a baby’s giggle or your partner saying “I love you”), like this necklace and ring:

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These would make perfect anniversary gifts!

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In closing, I wish a Happy Anniversary to my dearest Andy! Five years happily married, twenty years of fun together, two amazing kids, one crazy dog, and two pine-cone portraits. What more can you ask for out of life?

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