DIY Keepsake Wedding Anniversary Shadow Box

Give a 50th anniversary gift that will become a treasured keepsake for years to come! This is one of my favorite things to do! This DIY Keepsake Wedding Anniversary Shadow Box was easy to make and a perfect gift idea! Get the design details in this post.

Growing up I never understood the hype behind 50th wedding anniversary celebrations. Once I married I truly understood the celebration of that achievement. Marriage can be hard work; sometimes real hard work. Most of all marriage is very rewarding.

These days the likelihood of reaching 50 years of marriage is slim.

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Today is my in-laws 53rd wedding anniversary. That made today the perfect day to share this easy craft that I created for the both of them. Sadly, we lost my mother-in-law in 2020.

This is not my first DIY Keepsake Wedding Anniversary Shadow Box. I’ve been giving framed wedding invitations as gifts for years and years. They are unique, personalized gifts to give.

My sisters-in-law asked me to create something similar for their parents many years ago. The timing of not having created this years ago worked perfectly. Now it was a great gift to give on their parents’ 50th anniversary celebration.

Details To Consider

Wedding invitation
Wedding pictures
Wedding colors
Wedding theme (simple, elegant, rustic, etc.)
Type of favors given
Seasonal elements
Wedding cake
Brides dress material

In their case, the bride wore a light blue dress and the men wore white suit coats. Their cake topper was a white double wedding bells decoration and their wedding colors were blue, yellow and white.

Supplies

Most of the supplies are from Michaels.

Vintage wedding photos
Flower picks of little blue flowers and yellow silk roses
White, yellow and light blue ribbon
White wedding bell decoration
White silk flowers
Scrapbook paper in light blue
Scrapbook paper in a pearly white with a rose textured pattern on it
Strand of small white pearls
1/2″ Wide Dark Green Floral Tapes for Bouquet Stem Wrapping
Gold puffy letters and numbers (I picked these up at Michaels)
8×10 Shadow Box, Black Frame with Linen Back

So let’s jump into the details!

DIY Keepsake Anniversary Shadow Box

My in-laws had a small, unfussy wedding. There were not a lot of details to incorporate. I did focus on their wedding cake and photographs.

Design Process

Keep the background simple: To keep the vintage photos from disappearing into a busy background, I kept the background simple by using light blue scrapbook paper.
Use photos as the focal point: Three of the four vintage wedding photographs were the highlight of this DIY shadow box and were placed front and center at the top. I added three small white silk flowers in the corner of two of the photos.
Create a 3-D element: I created a 3-D wedding cake element. For that, I cut two strips from the textured scrapbook paper and glued light blue ribbon across the top and; a strand of pearls across the bottom, of each strip. Then I rolled each strip into a circle and glued the backsides to the light blue scrapbook paper. Once the cake strips were in place I was able to gently glue down some of the same white silk flowers to each cake tier.
Add a related element: Their wedding cake topper was a double bell. I found a bell that was perfect but too big. To make it fit, I cut off a piece from one side of the bell and then glued the bell down in an angled position.
Recreate bridal bouquet: This is one of my favorite things to do! To create the bridal bouquet, I took a bunch of the small light blue flower picks and added in some yellow silk rose flowers. Next I used floral tape and ran it down the “handle” of the bouquet to hold it all together. To finish it off I tied short strips of both white and yellow ribbon to the underside of the handle on the bouquet. This bouquet was also glued down to the light blue scrapbook paper.
Add names and date: The last step was to add their names and wedding date using the gold puffy letters and numbers.

Happy 50^th Anniversary!

They both loved their wedding anniversary shadow box gift. This shadow box now resides on their family picture wall as a reminder of their special day.

The happy couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2028. Little did any of us know that my mother-in-law wouldn’t be here for her 53rd anniversary.

Our days are busy and we are all working off of fumes sometimes. It’s at those times, we have to stop and remember just how important it is to treasure every day. You never know what tomorrow brings.

“The possibilities to create are limited only by your imagination and passion for uniqueness.”

Stephanie

Founder of Behind the Designs

Anniversary Gifts by Year

Many interpretations of this anniversary gift ideas list exist and the ideas listed below are just a suggestion. Take inspiration from this post and be creative in your gift giving, year round.

1st Anniversary -Paper or clocks
2nd Anniversary -Cotton or china
3rd Anniversary -Leather or crystal/glass
4th Anniversary -Fruit/Flowers or linen/silks
5th Anniversary -Wood
6th Anniversary -Candy or iron
7th Anniversary -Wool or brass
8th Anniversary -Bronze
9th Anniversary -Pottery or copper
10th Anniversary -Tin/Aluminum or diamond
11th Anniversary -Steel or fashion jewelry
12th Anniversary -Silk/Linen or pearls
13th Anniversary -Lace or textile
14th Anniversary -Ivory or gold jewelry
15th Anniversary -Crystal
20th Anniversary -Porcelain
25th Anniversary -Silver
30th Anniversary -Pearls
35th Anniversary -Coral
40th Anniversary -Ruby
45th Anniversary -Sapphire
50th Anniversary -Gold
55th Anniversary -Emerald
60th Anniversary -Diamond

Remember to have fun with your gift! Take the suggestions and come up with a unique way to create a gift.

Were you inspired to create an anniversary gift idea?

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