For a wedding anniversary that is neither the 10th nor the 25th, the song that lands tells the stage you are at: the first year that turned everything upside down, year five with small kids, year fifteen when the routine finally feels like yours, year twenty and everything that held. If you want a song that sings your names, a custom song is written from your story and arrives in minutes, as 2 full tracks.
Why these anniversaries deserve a real song
Nobody throws a big party for a paper anniversary. That is exactly the point: the audience is small, your spouse expects almost nothing, and the surprise counts double. At 25 years you celebrate a family, at 50 a lifetime. In between you celebrate a stage: one year of official married life, five years of choices confirmed, fifteen years of perspective, twenty years of practice at being a couple. A song can say that stage. A card reading “Happy anniversary, babe” cannot.
For year ten we have a separate guide: 10th anniversary songs.
Which wedding anniversary song: the options, from simplest to most personal
A playlist of songs about love that lasts
Free, quick and very effective over dinner. A few tracks about settled love rather than a crush: “You're Still the One” by Shania Twain and “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. Add the song from your first dance, which is already yours. The limit: none of them says your name.
A song written by a musician
A songwriter writes and records an original track. The result can be beautiful, but expect €150 to €600 and several weeks: book early. More ideas around the date are in our guide to wedding anniversary gift ideas.
A custom song with both your names
You tell your story in a few lines, freely or guided by a few questions, you pick a style, and the song is composed in minutes. When ordering, you can enter two names, “Julie and Thomas”, so they are sung together. Before paying, you read the lyrics and edit them freely. You get 2 full tracks with two different pieces of music, and you keep both. Our page A custom song for a wedding anniversary explains how it works.
1st wedding anniversary, paper: the song of the first year
The first anniversary is the lightest and the funniest. Put in the wedding as each of you saw it (the dress, the botched toast, the uncle on the dance floor), the first apartment, the first fight and how it ended, the first Christmas at the in-laws. The tone can stay playful, with a single nod to paper. This is the moment for inside jokes by the dozen.
5th wedding anniversary, wood: the song of the first busy years
Year five is when the first kids arrive, the real house, the careers settling in. In the lyrics: the night of the birth, the mortgage signed with shaking hands, the weekends spent assembling furniture, the “it will calm down when” that never comes. For a husband, tell what he held together when you could not; for a wife, the strength she showed without making noise.
15th wedding anniversary, crystal: the song of perspective
Fifteen years: crystal is fragile and shines when it is looked after. The kids grow, the parents age, and you find yourselves face to face in the kitchen. In the lyrics: how you met, told with today's humor, the rough patch you crossed (a move, a lost job, an illness) without detailing it, the habit that became a ritual, what you learned not to say. The tone is calmer and tenderer: this is the right date to talk about an “us” that is no longer the one from the start, and is better.
20th wedding anniversary, china: the song of what held
Twenty years: china is delicate, yet fired at very high heat. This is a couple that has lasted a generation, and the oldest child is sometimes the age you were when you met. In the lyrics: twenty Christmases, the houses, the losses you got through, the teenager you were when you met, then the promise for the second half. Skip the inventory: pick three images, one of them something your spouse forgot and you kept.
From the kids to their parents, or from friends to the couple
At 20 years, the song is often a gift from a daughter or son. Tell what you noticed without being told: dad singing off-key while cooking, mom keeping her letters, the look when the other walks in. When ordering, you can enter two names, “Sophie and Mark”, so they are sung together, and your parents hear their story told by the people who watched it best. The gift page is shared with the family by a link.
Sample lyrics for a 15th anniversary
Here is a verse and a chorus written for Hannah and Ben, married one September Saturday in Bristol. Borrow them on a tune you know, or adapt them with your own memories.
Verse: A September Saturday and soaking shoes, / your toast went wrong, I laughed to save you, / three houses, two kids, one dog that never learned, / and your hand on my shoulder when the day is long.
Chorus: Fifteen years, Hannah and Ben, / crystal only shines if two of us take care, / we got lost, we found the way back in, / and I would say yes again, and mean it more.
How to play it on the day
- Just the two of you: at dinner, phone on the table, at dessert. Press play without a word, and watch.
- With friends: ask the best man or maid of honor to play it after a short toast. The table knows half the stories and will laugh in the right places.
- As a slideshow: with The Platinum, up to 10 photos scroll past as polaroids over the song, one per year if you like, then the MP4 video arrives by email, ready to send to the family.
Judge the result on our Platinum demo with a photo slideshow, sound on.
Prices and lead times, no fuss
| Gift | Indicative price | Lead time |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional keepsake (crystal, china) | €30 to €200 | One to three weeks |
| Dinner or weekend away for two | €100 to €600 | Book early |
| Song written by a musician | €150 to €600 | Two to six weeks |
| Parody written with friends | Free | An evening or two |
| Tubissime custom song | €5, €8 or €13 | A few minutes |
The three packages: The Single at €5 (about 2 min 30, MP3), The Gold Record at €8 (about 3 min 30, full-screen karaoke, illustrated cover) and The Platinum at €13 (about 5 minutes, two different styles, a slideshow of your photos, MP4 video). Every package delivers 2 full tracks set to your lyrics. Market prices are broken down in how much a custom song costs. And for your parents' silver anniversary, our guide to the 25th anniversary song covers what to sing five years later.
Mistakes that ruin a wedding anniversary song
- Making an inventory: twenty years in twenty verses is a resume, not a song. Three memories are enough.
- Jokes about routine and the mother-in-law: funny with friends, much less when your spouse replays the song alone.
- Forgetting to check names and dates: read the lyrics before paying, that is what it is for.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 1st, 5th, 15th and 20th wedding anniversaries called?
In the US and the UK, the traditional gifts are paper for the 1st (cotton for the 2nd), wood for the 5th, crystal for the 15th and china for the 20th. A keepsake in that material is the traditional gift, and a song pairs well with it.
What is a good song for a 15th or 20th wedding anniversary?
For a playlist, love songs about lasting: “You're Still the One” by Shania Twain, and the song from your first dance. For a song that sings your names and your memories, a custom song is written from your story in minutes.
Can I give my parents a song for their 20th wedding anniversary?
Yes, it is one of the best gifts a grown child can give. You tell what you saw of their marriage, enter their two names, and read the lyrics before paying so you can correct them. The gift page is then shared by a link.
Can we put both our names in the song?
Yes. When ordering, you can enter two names, for example “Julie and Thomas”, and they are sung together. You read the lyrics before paying to check they sound right, and you edit them if needed.
Key takeaways
For a 1st, 5th, 15th or 20th anniversary, the best song is about the stage you are at: the shaky first year, the busy years, the perspective of crystal, what held in china. Kids can give it to their parents too. When your memories are ready, create your song.