Anniversary flowers

An anniversary bouquet has a harder job than a birthday one: it has to look like it was chosen for one particular person, by someone who has known them for years. This collection is what we build for anniversaries — romantic bouquets, large statement work and the pieces that stand up for a week rather than a weekend. For a round year the statement piece is almost always the bouquet of 100 red roses — it goes out for tenth and twenty-fifth anniversaries far more often than for an ordinary date.

Anniversary Flower Delivery in London and Across the UK

Anniversary flower delivery runs seven days a week from our studio at Unit 3, The Willows, 80 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SY. Order by 10 PM for same-day delivery across London and Greater London; the rest of the UK takes two to three working days.

An anniversary is the occasion most worth booking ahead, because it is the one date in the year that cannot be quietly moved. Choose the delivery date at checkout and leave the card message there; the bouquet is made up on the morning of that date rather than sitting made since the day you ordered. You can book months in advance, which is the sensible move if the date is one you have historically had to be reminded of.

If the flowers are going to the house you both live in, tell us in the order notes and we will call you rather than the recipient if anything needs confirming. It is a small thing that has saved a number of surprises.

Anniversary flowers delivered outside London go as hand-tied bouquets by courier to mainland England, Wales and Scotland in two to three working days — the details are on our UK-wide flower delivery page. Baskets, balloons and gift sets stay London-only, so for anniversary flowers across the UK choose a bouquet from this collection. Next-day anniversary flowers are simply a London order dated for tomorrow; for anywhere else, allow the two to three working days or book the date itself at checkout.

The Traditional Flower for Each Anniversary Year

There is a traditional flower for most anniversary years, and it is worth using because it makes an ordinary bouquet feel deliberate — it gives you something true to write on the card beyond the number.

The first year is the carnation. The second is lily of the valley, the third the sunflower, the fourth the geranium or hydrangea, and the fifth the daisy. The sixth is the calla lily, the seventh the freesia, the eighth the lilac, the ninth the bird of paradise and the tenth the daffodil.

After that the tradition thins out and settles on the ones people actually use: the twelfth is the peony, the fifteenth the rose, the twentieth the aster, the twenty-fifth the iris, the thirtieth the lily, the fortieth the gladiolus, the fiftieth the yellow rose and violet.

Two honest caveats. Not every one of these is in season on every date — lily of the valley has a window of a few weeks, peonies rather longer, bird of paradise is imported and priced accordingly. And several of them make a poor bouquet on their own. The way this usually works best is a bouquet built in the ordinary way with the anniversary flower placed in it deliberately, and a card that says which one it is and why. Tell us the year in the order notes and we will build around it, or tell you honestly if that flower cannot be got that week.

Wedding Anniversary Flowers for the Milestone Years

The round years have names as well as flowers, and the name is usually the easier brief. Most wedding anniversary bouquets we make for a milestone are built on its colour rather than on its traditional flower.

One year — paper. The flower is the carnation, and a first anniversary bouquet works best when it echoes the wedding flowers. The Camille bouquet of hydrangeas, roses and carnations gets the carnation in without looking like a nod to a list.

20th and 25th — china and silver. White and cool tones: white roses, white hydrangeas, lilies. Silver anniversary flowers are the easiest milestone to get right; the Silver mist lily bouquet and White Kensington grace both read as silver without a single sprayed leaf.

30th and 35th — pearl and coral. Pearl is ivory and cream; coral is the warm peach-pink between cream and red. For 35th anniversary flowers the cream peony roses in peach wrap or anything from the peach flowers shelf hits the colour exactly.

40th — ruby. This is where red roses stop being a default and become the point. The signature bouquet of 50 red roses is the usual ruby anniversary bouquet; the hundred-rose bouquet above is for when forty years deserve more than fifty stems.

50th — golden. Yellow roses by tradition, and the colour everyone at the party will expect. 50th anniversary flowers look better in warm gold and cream than in solid yellow — say so in the order notes, or start from the yellow flowers shelf.

60th — diamond. White again, but bigger: a statement all-white bouquet and a card that says the number out loud.

Romantic Flowers That Are Not Red Roses

Red roses are the default, and after enough years the default starts to read as a default. Four things work better, each for a different reason.

Peonies, if the date falls between late spring and mid-August. Nothing else reads as romantic and generous at the same time, and their season is short enough that receiving them feels like timing rather than a purchase.

Garden roses and peony roses give the same feeling all year with far more texture than a standard long-stem red. They open wide and messily, which is the point. This is the closest thing to a safe upgrade.

Orchids read as considered rather than passionate, which suits a long marriage better than a dozen red roses do. They also last a fortnight, which for some people is the entire argument.

Deep burgundy calla lilies are the choice for someone who dislikes anything fussy. Structural, dark, no frills, and unmistakably not an office bouquet.

Colour is doing more work here than variety. If you want romance without the obviousness of red, the pink, peach and white shelves are where to look; red is there when red is the right answer.

Anniversary Flowers for Her — a Wife, a Girlfriend or a Partner

Most anniversary flowers are ordered for her, and the advice on this page applies unchanged. Two things to add. For a girlfriend and an early anniversary, restraint reads better than scale: Petals for her, thirty-five peony spray roses in soft beige, says more than an armful of red. For a wife and a long marriage, go the other way — 50 pink roses or a milestone bouquet from the list above, delivered to the door on the morning of the date.

Anniversary flowers for him follow the same rules with less pink: structure, deep colour and something that lasts. Orchids and burgundy callas are the usual answer.

Matching the Bouquet to Their Taste Rather Than Yours

The most common way an anniversary bouquet misses is that it is beautiful and it is not theirs.

Tell us about the room it will stand in. Someone with a minimal flat wants white, green and structure; someone with a warm, full house wants garden roses and colour. That single question is more reliable than any amount of thinking about personality.

The other useful thing is what they dislike. Most people have a flower or a colour they will not have in the house, and knowing it is worth more than knowing a favourite — a favourite gets you a good bouquet, an aversion avoided gets you a bouquet that does not have to be politely praised.

Scale is worth a thought too. A very large bouquet in a small flat is a burden: it needs a vase that may not exist and a surface that is already occupied. If in doubt, an arrangement in its own vessel or a flower box removes the problem entirely, and neither reads as less generous.

Which Anniversary Flowers Last Longest

If longevity is the point — and for a milestone it often is, because the flowers are standing in for the week rather than the evening — the ranking is fairly settled.

Carnations and chrysanthemums give two to three weeks and hold their shape the whole way. Lisianthus, alstroemeria and orchid stems give ten days to a fortnight and look considerably more expensive than they are. Roses give five to seven days. Peonies give three to seven, and hydrangeas depend entirely on whether the water is kept up.

The usual compromise is a rose-led bouquet with carnations and lisianthus worked through it, so the shape survives after the roses have gone rather than collapsing with them. If the anniversary flowers are meant to be there when they get back from a trip, say so — we will build for it. Our table of how long each flower lasts has the detail, and the flower care page covers what actually extends it.

Anniversary Flowers — Questions We Are Asked

Which flowers last longest in a vase for a milestone anniversary?

If longevity is the point, carnations and chrysanthemums are the answer — two to three weeks, and they hold their shape the whole way. Lisianthus and orchid stems give ten days to a fortnight and look considerably more expensive. Roses give five to seven days, peonies three to seven. A common compromise is a rose-led bouquet with carnations and lisianthus through it, so the shape survives after the roses have gone.

Which romantic flowers work instead of red roses?

Peonies, if the date falls between late spring and mid-August — nothing else reads as romantic and generous at once. Garden roses and peony roses give the same feeling all year with more texture than a standard red rose. Orchids read as considered rather than passionate, which suits a long marriage. Deep burgundy calla lilies are the choice for someone who dislikes anything fussy.

Is there a traditional flower for each anniversary year?

There is, and it is worth using because it makes an ordinary bouquet feel deliberate. The first year is the carnation, the fifth the daisy, the tenth the daffodil, the twelfth the peony, the fifteenth the rose, the twentieth the aster, the twenty-fifth the iris and the fiftieth the yellow rose and violet. Not every one is in season on every date — tell us the year and we will build around it or tell you honestly if it cannot be done that week.

How do I match a bouquet to their taste rather than mine?

Tell us about the room it will stand in. Someone with a minimal flat wants white, green and structure; someone with a warm, full house wants garden roses and colour. The other useful thing is what they dislike — most people have a flower or a colour they will not have in the house, and knowing it is worth more than knowing a favourite.

How quickly can you deliver?

Order by 10 PM for same-day delivery across London and Greater London, seven days a week; the rest of the UK takes two to three working days. For an anniversary it is worth booking the date at checkout instead — the bouquet is then made on the morning of the delivery.

What should I send for a first wedding anniversary?

The traditional flower is the carnation, which has an unfair reputation and looks completely different in a modern bouquet from the way it looked in a 1980s garage forecourt. If that does not appeal, the other convention for a first anniversary is to echo the wedding flowers — same palette, smaller scale. Tell us what the bouquet was and we will build the reference; it is the single most reliably well-received anniversary bouquet we make.

Can I send anniversary flowers to a restaurant or a hotel?

Yes, and both need a call first. A restaurant will almost always hold flowers for a table if it knows they are coming and will almost never welcome them arriving mid-service unannounced. A hotel will usually place them in the room before check-in if you give the booking name and date; some charge for it. Give us the venue, the reservation name and the time in the order notes.

Do you deliver anniversary flowers across the UK?

Yes, as hand-tied bouquets. Outside London they go by courier to mainland England, Wales and Scotland in two to three working days, so order that far ahead of the date or book the date at checkout. Same-day delivery, baskets, balloons and gift sets are London only.

What flowers suit a silver, ruby or golden wedding anniversary?

Build on the colour. For a silver (25th) anniversary, white roses, white hydrangeas and lilies; for a ruby (40th), red roses in quantity; for a golden (50th), yellow roses with warm gold and cream. Pearl (30th) is ivory and cream, coral (35th) is peach-pink, diamond (60th) is a large all-white bouquet.

What do I write on an anniversary card?

Name the year and one real thing from it. “Twelve years, and the best of them was the one we spent moving house” does more than any quotation. Avoid anything that could be read as an inventory of achievements; an anniversary card is about the two of you, not about the decade’s output. If it is a card to parents or grandparents, say what their marriage taught you — that one is always kept.