Here’s a wedding anniversary photo idea to celebrate your marriage journey.
Every year since we’ve been married, we’ve taken a picture of ourselves holding the photo we took the previous year. We wind up with kind of a tunnel where we can look back at the course of our marriage. Each year carries with it a story of joy or sorrow, sickness or health, and more. No matter what, we cherish every year and the tie that binds us together in love.
Our wedding photo, 2011
We got married at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Lincoln, Neb. Because we had an eight-week engagement there were no churches, reception venues, or photographers available for an evening wedding on the last Saturday before Husker football started. So, Ann had a great idea to get married in the morning. It turns out, that was a perfect time of day for us because we had a full day to celebrate and Steve got to have bacon at the reception.
First wedding anniversary photo idea, 2012
Dressed for work, one year in! Steve was a middle school principal and Ann was VP of Communications for Time Warner Cable. We both were up and out of the house most mornings before 7:30 a.m., so we took a picture after work that day in our back yard.
Second anniversary photo, 2013
Looking at this picture, Ann always says, “I loved that green jacket.” Steve just thinks he needed a haircut.
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Third anniversary photo, 2014
It was raining on Aug. 27, 2014, but we decided to roll with it and grabbed and umbrella and a willing neighbor to take our photo before we headed to work.
Fourth anniversary photo, 2015
Ann was very sick on our fourth anniversary, recovering from several surgeries and very fatigued. She just got out of bed just long enough to take a picture for our wedding anniversary photo idea and then rested most of the day.
Fifth anniversary photo, 2016
This year our anniversary fell on a Saturday, so no tie for Steve! You can take a look back at our first five years of marriage in a blog post wrote about Our Journey of a Lifetime.
Sixth anniversary photo, 2017
And this is the year Steve left his job to focus more on the blog, so no tie, again! Life was full of adventures that year as we traveled abroad and were introduced to Pawhuska, Okla., for the first time.
Seventh anniversary photo, 2018
As you can see, the sun was a little bright in our eyes this year. Also, ignore Steve’s legs. He had to get lower to be in the frame with Ann. This is, by far, the worst anniversary photo we’ve ever taken. The worst.
Eighth anniversary photo, 2019
2019 was the year we embarked on our healthy living journey. By our anniversary in August we were both down more than 50 pounds and feeling better.
Ninth wedding anniversary photo idea, 2020
Yes, the weight loss thing worked! This year, for the first time since our wedding, we both fit into our wedding attire. It was fun to take a fancy stroll down memory lane.
10th anniversary photo, 2021
When we were married, our pastor made us both memorize our vows. He insisted because we were making big promises to each other and he wanted us to remember them for the rest of our lives. So, on our 10th anniversary, we returned to the church for our photo. We also took a moment to pray together and then to repeat our vows to each other in the same place we’d said them ten years before.
11th anniversary photo, 2022
For our 11th anniversary photo, we returned to our backyard in Crete. We came home to this house together for the first time the day after our wedding, and we have made many wonderful memories here in over the past 11 year
12th wedding anniversary photo, 2023
After a crazy summer travel schedule, we arrived back home in Crete, Neb. just a few days before our 12th anniversary. Our anniversary lands on a Sunday this year, so we’re planning to go the church in Lincoln where we were married and then out for brunch.
Do you have any special traditions to celebrate your wedding anniversary? Let us know in the comments below.
My Son and Daughter-in-law have been doing the photo-in-a-phone for their anniversary’s too. Great idea.
Also . . . we share the same anniversary date of August 27th but we are 34 years ahead of you! 🙂
That’s so wonderful! Happy to know that we share an anniversary.
Was Steve standing in a hole on the 12th anniversary picture? This is such a wonderful tradition of yearly pictures esp with the previous picture included. Do you have a gallery of them hanging in your home?
We picked a spot in the yard where Steve could stand a little lower and Ann would be a little higher. And, she wore heels. 🙂
Love the picture idea! Congratulations on 8 years,
Thanks so much, Linda. It has been fun to look back on the years. Hope we can continue this tradition for a long time.
Such a unique idea
Thank you! This was all Ann’s idea, but we’ve had fun with it!