What to write in an anniversary email: a simple structure and 12 examples

The structure

• Open with the number and a place. 'Seven years since Charleston.'
• One memory from the beginning. Small and true.
• One thing from this year. Proof you're paying attention now, not just then.
• One line about tomorrow. Not a promise, a direction.

Year one to three

• One year since we stood in that too-small room and said the words. I'd say them again in a smaller one.
• Two years. We've moved twice, killed three plants, and somehow got better at this. Happy anniversary.
• Three years today. I still get that quiet rush when I think of you as my wife.

Year five to ten

• Five years. Half a decade of you laughing at your own puns before the punchline. Happy anniversary, my love.
• Seven years, and I'd still pick you at that wedding in Napa. Every time.
• Ten years. A whole decade of mornings. I don't want a single one back.

Beyond ten

• Fifteen years and I still learn something about you every week. Last week: you can whistle. How did I miss that?
• Twenty years. The kids think we're boring. I think we're the most interesting thing that ever happened to me.
• Twenty-five years. Silver, they say. Feels more like home.

Words to avoid

'Words can't describe.' They can, that's the whole email. 'Here's to many more.' Everyone writes it. 'Another trip around the sun.' Please. Say the small true thing instead. It is always better.

If you want this written for you every year

Add the anniversary and the year in DontRemember with a few facts about your partner. Each year it writes a fresh email with the right number of years, using your facts, in your tone. You get it the night before, you can edit a line, and it sends from your Gmail in the morning.