To celebrate our first wedding anniversary we’re planning a long weekend on Martha’s Vineyard in a few weeks. Ahead of that, I thought I’d share our fun spin on the traditional first wedding anniversary gift, paper.
I considered everything: art, books, a photo calendar, even stationery since I am so smitten with mine, with its beautiful married initials monogram. But I didn’t think Brian would find that quite as exciting as I do, so the search continued. Then I started thinking more about paper and where it comes from and landed on an idea: a tree.
Since we’re still renters, we decided to just set some money aside for this purchase down the road, with plans to plant it in our yard someday. But we had a blast pointing out various trees for months, particularly this past spring when all the gorgeous flowering trees came out. These are a few photos I snapped in and around or neighborhood and in Boston while we searched for our perfect tree.
Ultimately we landed on an American Elm since it’s the same type that flanks Poet’s Walk in Central Park where Brian proposed. While I was researching the specific type that grows along the mall, I found a beautiful New York Times piece (here) by Guy Trebay about these trees and how rare it is to find so many arranged this way that have reached maturity. Most were planted as saplings in the 1860’s! I’m a little concerned about how labor intensive caring for an American Elm will be because I read that it is plagued by a very specific type disease, but it’s hard to deny that the extra effort is worth it — they grow to be such spectacular trees.
So that’s our fun spin on the traditional first wedding anniversary gift of “paper.” I can’t wait to think up something fun for next year, which is cotton.
Married with Style 