Please help with 50th anniversary layouts

[MerryPoppins]

Help. What have I gotten myself into?

My MIL and FIL recently celebrated their 50th anniversary. It was a day that was bittersweet for them. My FIL is a stroke victim and is wheelchair-bound. MIL is his caregiver. He is unable to speak or do many of the things that they had hoped they would be doing at this time in their lives.

I want to take the photos of their celebrations (they had a family event and a surprise rehab center party) and make an album for her birthday. I want to make it special for them, but I don't have many ideas.

I've checked out dMarie. Anyone else have any sites where I might find some layout ideas? I want a simple style. Not a lot of glitz or too elegant since these parties were sort of informal. Still, I want to make it something special.

I have the album and will get the pictures within the next week or so. I have about a month to put this together. Help me with some ideas, please!

 

[yummy72]

MerryPoppins-


I checked the twopeasinabucket site, and they have about 3 pages of anniversary ideas. If you go to the peanut gallery and then click on search by category you will get a huge list. Just click on anniversary and you'll get the thumbnails. Maybe you'll find something there that inspires you.

www.twopeasinabucket.com

Good Luck with your project!
Candi

 

[MerryPoppins]

Thanks Candi. Some of those will be really helpful.

Anyone else have any ideas?

 

[janette]

Do you have any old pictures? A wedding picture, or other celebrations during their marriage. They could be added to the present pictures.

 

[Pam]

DMarie and Two Peas In A Bucket were the sites I was going to recommend.
I really like Janette's idea of incorporating their wedding and 50th anniversary photos into a joint album celebrating their 50 years of marriage.

Would you want to take it a step further and add photos chronicling the happy times and events during their years together? That might make your FIL feel happy, recalling all the good times he and his wife have shared.
Pam

 

[MerryPoppins]

Pam, that is exactly what DH and I had in mind originally. We don't have many pictures of them through the years, so we thought we'd ask their friends to send us a photo and/or a story to put in the album. MIL told us we were forbidden to ask for cards, photos or stories. So much for that. I know she has some photos that would work, but they haven't been offered to me.

Seems like the only photos I have are family shots or pictures with the grandkids. Most are from the last 15 years. Not far enough back to really do it justice. We took a lot of family shots and ones with them and the grandkids at the parties. I'll include those for sure. In fact, we have our pictures and copies of all the ones the other relatives took. We should have plenty of pictures to choose from!

They only have a couple of wedding photos and we are planning to incorporate them into the album. I thought I might start out with a poem about love through the years and the old photos.

 

[Pam]

Merry,
Well - it sounds as though you're on the right track!

Why won't your MIL let you ask for photos and stories? I don't think she realizes what a beautiful memento of their lives that an album would make!!
Pam

 

[MerryPoppins]

She says she hates it when people ask for her to recall a cute/funny story. She didn't want to "put her friends on the spot". It didn't matter that we know her friends wouldn't feel that way.

I picked up her wedding photos today. She didn't have the party pictures ready for me yet. I only have the ones we took, and I want to make the pages after I look at all the photos. I may start working on some pages without the photos, so I only have to add the pictures when they arrive.

 

[pas2]

I just finished a 50th Anniversary for my parents and I did what was already suggested above. Since we have very few photos of my parents early years I could only include an alter photo and a reception photo.

If you can get a hold of it, try to include a copy of the newspaper report of their marriage from the social section. I had a copy and it really surprised my mom!

I also made up one of those then and now pages like they have for birthdays, the price of bread, gas, homes, wages, president, popular song, movie... I used the info from the DMarie Timecapsule section then filled in the blanks.

Everything was kept very simple, subtle papers in mauve, burgundy, green, gold and cream (Dec wedding) with minimal lettering in a 5 x 7 book.

Good luck, let us know how it all turns out.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I LOVE the "then and now" tip. What a great idea. They'd get a real kick out of that!

I'll have to ask her sister if she happens to have anything from the paper. They lived in a **teeny** town, so I'm not even sure if it was in a paper, but that is a good idea.

MIL said she might see if she can round up pictures from their 25th. They spent that anniversary on a vacation with another couple to New Orleans. I told her that I thought that would be fun.

Thank you for the ideas!

 

[pas2]

My parents lived in a rural village and the article was submitted in the nearest newspaper. Back then I think they thrived on gossip so I would bet someone "reported" the event. Find out where they lived/were married and then go to the library, they could help you out. Good luck.

My fav now and then was the song of the year, "Come on t'a my house" by Rosemary Clooney vs "Who let the dogs out" by Baha Men!!