Earlier this month, Chris and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary, and I gave you in the inside scoop on our wedding (you can read about it here and here). I realized earlier this week that I never finished the series. Namely, how did we celebrate?!
We stopped giving each other gifts when it became clear, shortly after we were married, that Chris is not only impossible to buy for, but also a pretty bad gift giver. Yes, he knows and admits this :). In an effort to save myself years of disappointingly picking out my own gifts, and save him the stress of trying and failing, we decided to celebrate with experiences instead of gifts.
For our second anniversary, we visited Boston. For our birthdays this year (which are only two weeks apart) we spent a night in Astoria. Last year for our birthdays we went to Bend, in central Oregon.
We had so much fun that we decided to head back this year for our
anniversary.
Bend is located in a gorgeous high desert. It's well-known for it's outdoor activities -- hiking, mountain biking, skiing, etc -- but for also having great restaurants, stores, etc. The best of both worlds. In fact, South Sister, which I climbed earlier this fall, is in those clouds in the previous picture.
We inadvertently stumbled into Bend's annual fall festival. The city
shuts down all the streets in the downtown area and brings in craft and
art vendors .... it was HUGE and completely adorable. We had such a fun
time wandering through booths and check out all the artists goods. Below are my photos for the weekend. I was actually coming down with a massive cold, so the weekend was incredibly low-key, but lovely none-the-less.
How do you guys celebrate significant events? I love it when people creatively celebrate anniversaries with the traditional wedding gifts. But I also love having amazing experiences with my adorable husband. I know we'll treasure them forever.
Awesome pics!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great time was had!
ReplyDeleteMyers Maison
Beautiful pictures! Looks like you guys had a grand time. My husband also lacks in the gift dept. so I feel your pain, sista. The past few years we've gone on "staycations" right here near our home in Lancaster Co, PA. We've loved them! Checking out local stuff that you normally don't have time to check out is super fun. Yay for anni getaways! Glad yours was fun:)
ReplyDeletewhat a great way to celebrate an anniversary! Experiences and memories are better than gifts any day.
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ReplyDeleteaww, thanks so much for sharing! what a sweet post. my husband is a horrible gift giver too. haha.
ReplyDeletewe celebrate mostly by having 'staycations' of visiting towns quite local to us. we live in beautiful nova scotia - there are so many amazing coastal towns to visit - we haven't even been to them all yet!
for our fifth anniversary, we visited the canadian rockies - jasper, lake louise and banff in that order - which was nothing short of incredible. it's one of those things where you see it, it takes your breath away, and you wonder why people think any other place on earth could possibly be better.
You and your hubby are too cute! WE also like to go places for our anniversary - even if it's just to a new restaurant or to a place we had visited when we dated. Bend sounds amazing as does the entire state of Oregon.
ReplyDeleteall men are impossible to buy for and there are not many that are good at getting gifts! we have experiences as well! I love spending our anniversary somewhere romantic and special! love the pics!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an awesome getaway! My husband and I decided long ago that we would not give anniversary gifts and would instead try to getaway to celebrate. The concept worked fine until our kids came along. Now we celebrate with an occasional getaway and usually just an evening out, enjoying a restaurant or experience we have never tried before. It's has worked well for 20 years now! Sounds like this concept is perfect for the two of you.
ReplyDeleteCathy
You hiked that mountain?! You are amazing! We just passed one month, so I am totally going to steal your idea of giving experiences. Who needs more stuff IN the house?!
ReplyDeleteFun times! We have a similar thing where we don't do gifts at all with each other - we just do special things year round so there is not pressure on a certain day...
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! My husband give me gifts that are really for him... e.g. a surround sound system ("babe, don't you just love watching HGTV when you can really hear everything?")
ReplyDeleteSo we've started doing 'experiences' too. It is so rewarding and fun... and keeps our home from filling up with 'things'!
this is such a good idea! experiences instead of gifts. it's a nice way to plan together too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cute couple you guys are!! Happy Anniversary - looks like a great trip:)
ReplyDeleteIt looks like such a blast! I love fall festivals and quaint downtown areas, never tire of either.
ReplyDeleteRyan and I are going to take a trip for New Years' this year instead of doing the holiday gifts. We're both a fan of that vs. more stuff. Plus, I've already gotten the best gift I could ever get from him, it's on my finger! :)