5th anniversary · the wood year
Five years is wood. Make it this wood.
The traditional gift for a fifth wedding anniversary is wood, chosen because by year five a marriage, like a tree, has put down roots. A hand-cut piece of olive wood that grew for half a century in Andalucía takes the tradition literally, and beautifully.
Every piece is one of a kind. If something above has found another home by the time you visit, the full shop always has what's just come off the bench.
A tree's second story, for your fifth chapter
Every piece here began as a working olive or almond tree that finished its fruit-bearing life. We cut, shape and finish each one by hand, keeping the live edges and the grain the years gave it. It is a gift about time, which is exactly what an anniversary is.
Choosing the piece
A statement bowl or lamp for the home you have built; a wine holder for the anniversary bottle; a grazing board for the dinner where you tell the story of five years. Each is one of a kind, and like the marriage, there is no other one.
The traditional materials, year by year
In the traditional British and American lists, each early anniversary has its own material. The first years are soft and practical; the fifth is the first one built to last.
| Year | Traditional gift |
|---|---|
| 1st | Paper |
| 2nd | Cotton |
| 3rd | Leather |
| 4th | Fruit & flowers (UK) · linen (US) |
| 5th | Wood: you are here |
| 6th | Sugar (UK) · iron (US) |
| 7th | Wool |
| 10th | Tin |
Married in any month
There's no season to a fifth anniversary: whether they married in a June garden or a December church, the wood year arrives on their own calendar. That's why we keep anniversary-worthy pieces on the bench all year round, and why each one ships with its story: the grove it came from, and the decades it stood there.
✦ The date is set. Theirs.
Order two to three weeks ahead, and the wood year arrives on time.
Cutting it fine, or can't choose between the bowl and the board? A gift card arrives by email in minutes, and lets them pick their own piece of the grove.
Send a gift card insteadGood to know
Why is the 5th anniversary called the wood anniversary?
In the traditional list of anniversary materials, the fifth year is wood, symbolising the roots and strength a marriage has grown by then. Olive wood, from trees that live for centuries, suits the symbolism better than any other.
What is a good wood anniversary gift for a couple?
Something one of a kind they will use together: a hand-cut serving board, a fruit bowl for the kitchen, a floating wine holder for the anniversary bottle, or a statement lamp. Each of our pieces is unique, and the grain you see is the piece that arrives.
Where does the wood come from?
From retired olive and almond trees around Huércal-Overa in Andalucía, Spain, trees that finished their fruiting lives. We give them a second story instead of the fire.
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