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Are you looking for a great way to reflect on and record your special moments as a couple after the wedding day is over? Here are some creative ways to take a snapshot of your marriage memories each year with this printable anniversary journal.
My husband and I have been married for ten, going on eleven years. Our life together has been amazing, filled with ups and downs, blessings and hardships. Everyone says that time goes faster as the years go by, but now I’m really starting to believe it! We do not do a good job of regularly reflecting on our relationship, much less recording our favorite moments or a highlight of each year. Not many of us have time to keep up on something elaborate, so I wanted a simple process to look back on each year of marriage. I think I have devised the perfect way to rectify that problem with this printable! It’s a single sheet (front and back) with plenty of prompts to help us record the favorite memories of our own love story. I wish I had done something like this since our first wedding anniversary, and I intend to make it a new meaningful tradition.
Things a Married Couple Should Record In Their “Love Journal”
Once you’ve passed your wedding date, here is a list of things you’ll want to record as you keep track of your anniversaries:
1. How You Celebrated Each Anniversary
As you and your spouse go through many seasons of life, I’m sure that the way you celebrate is going to look different as the years go by. Some years might be a huge, elaborate affair, and others may be much more low-key. I think it would be cool to look back on how the celebration has varied over the years.
2. How You Spend Your Time as a Couple
Do you remember what you did for fun ten years ago, or which friends you spent the most time with? What about the things you and your spouse typically did on date night? Recording these things is a simple way to remember what your life together looked like at that moment in time. You can even record what books, movies, or TV shows you both enjoyed.
3. Best Moments and Special Memories of the Year
The years are filled with so many fleeting moments, which makes it hard to remember special occasions and other memorable moments. You can use your calendar and photos on your phones from the last year to remember all kinds of important information. You can record major events or milestones, places you traveled together, or major projects you completed. You’ll want to make sure you record the biggest moments of the year, even if they’re not necessarily a precious moment of your relationship. You can also use the journal entry to record funny memories, new traditions you started, or other little things. Make it whatever you want! Basically, you want to make sure you hit the big moments and favorite things from the last year.
4. Highs and Lows
This is the part that will probably be the most worthwhile look back on in the future to see how your relationship has grown. You can reflect on your biggest highs and accomplishments in your relationship, as well as your most difficult experiences and biggest challenges of the past year. You can list the things that you appreciated most about each other, and what you enjoyed most about being married each year.
5. Looking Ahead and Setting Goals
This is where you get to talk about what you’re looking forward to in the following year, as well as set goals for things you want to achieve or projects you want to complete. You can also discuss new things you want to prioritize as a couple or new habits you want to start forming.
Get your free printable below and start recording!
Other Creative Ways to Use This Printable Anniversary Journal
1. It Would Make a Great Gift!
You could print off a bunch of these printables, put a cover on them, and give them as an anniversary book to any happy couple you know as a wedding gift. Did you know that the traditional anniversary gift for year one is paper? What could be a more perfect gift than some blank pages ready for them to record things from their first to their 70th anniversary! You could give it to them anytime during the first year of marriage to set them up with a timeless anniversary journal to record their relationship.
2. Mix It Up On Your Anniversary
You could fill this out together with your spouse each year, or better yet, print two copies both complete your own. That way you can capture the life experiences of each person in their own words, from their own perspective. You could each fill it out ahead of your anniversary, and spend time discussing and reflecting as part of your anniversary celebration. You could even bring it with as a date-night activity. If you haven’t done something like this on year one, you could start by reflecting on the last decade, or two or three, wherever you are!
3. Make A Creative Keepsake
You could simply bind the sheets together into a special anniversary journal, or you could combine it as a part of a photo book or scrapbook. My husband and I do have a tradition of making sure we get a photo together on our actual anniversary each year (we’ve only forgotten once!), and I keep prints of them in a separate photo album. I plan to combine that with these journal sheets to truly have an annual snapshot of our lives!
Here are some products that might be helpful in making this into a special book:
This Leather 3 Ring Binder would be a classy way to keep all of the journal pages together over the years or to give as a gift. Don’t forget the page protectors to keep those memories safe!
Want to Buy an Anniversary Journal that’s Already Done For You?
If you want to skip the DIY and just buy a book that is already put together, I hear you! Companies like Duncan & Stone Paper Co. and Truly Amor both make a beautiful anniversary journal!
Want to Capture More of Your Family’s Stories?
If you really want to go big on capturing the life story of your relative or loved one, you can get a copy of my FREE ebook, The Ultimate Life Story Interview. With over 500 interview questions, this how-to guide will walk you through the whole process of recording your loved one’s life story. You can get your free copy here. You can also read my post on what to ask about in a life story interview here.
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