This friend, Cora, used to work with my fiancé and me.  A while back, I used a wood burner to burn a dragon into a box for an anniversary gift for my fiancé, not a 5 year gift, just a gift.  The box was sitting on his desk and Cora saw it. 

She apparently really liked it, because she asked me to burn “something” into a wooden plaque for her to give to her husband for their 5 year wedding anniversary.  I wasn’t given much to go on, just her complete faith in my abilities.  Let me tell you, that was a little terrifying.

Getting Started I spent almost a full day working on a drawing for the plaque, which was an almost prehistoric scene of trees and tall grass.  Don’t ask me why I chose this scene, as it has nothing to do with a 5 year mark, but I liked it and I thought it would look nice in their house.  In the open space between the trees, I added their last name and the date of their wedding.  She had written the information down for me.

I was completely self-conscious about the whole thing, afraid that I would give it to Cora and she would hate it.  This was her wedding anniversary after all, and I know more than a few girls who get anal about such things.

Where it went wrong:

After it was finished, and I had scanned it into my computer so I could keep a copy, I gave it to Cora.  She loved the image, and the overall look of the gift.  Problem was, a 5 year wedding anniversary gift is supposed to mark the occasion of the wedding, right?  Well, mine was a little off…by 4 days to be exact.

I felt awful about it, despite having used the date that she wrote down for me.  When I burned it, I noticed that the date she wrote didn’t coincide with the date of the day she told me her anniversary was on.  I figured she was celebrating it on a different day than the actual wedding was, because she had waited for the weekend or something.  Unfortunately, she had written down the date (with the exception of the year) that it was when she visited me.  Oops. 

Luckily, a dark brown fine tip sharpie is very close to the color of burned wood.  She will be fixing the date before giving it to her husband, though the mistake will likely be somewhat visible.

The moral...?

So, what is the moral of the story?  The traditional gift for a 5 year wedding anniversary is wood, which gives you a chance to show of your artistic skill (or the skill of a close friend).  Just make sure, and double sure, that you get the date write.

Or convince your husband to celebrate the wedding anniversary a little early from the 5 year point on.  ;)

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