DO you have to be married to celebrate your anniversary?

[Pink_minx]

So Friday was my 2nd anniversary with my bf. And his family was like "wait you two arent even married yet why are you celebrating an anniversary?" Im like what? because this was the day that we officially considered ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend and it was our very first date. And then they said that we had to be married first to actually celebrate our anniversary. So Im a little confused about it...like my bf and I fought because he didnt really put into thought about our anniversary this year now that his family is telling him about this. And he said himself "its not like we are married" and I got really hurt because I felt that since we arent married then our relationship isnt important to him. I may have over reacted with him but I've always celebrated my "anniversary" with my previous boyfriends and never thought of it in that way. I just thought it would be nice to celebrate the day that we first started going out you know. Last year we didnt do much because we were so broke so we just said to each other "happy anniversary" and that was it. But he wasnt so into it this year...

I was just wondering when do you really celebrate each other's anniversary? when your married? or does it really matter?

 

[Simply Elegant]

I think it's up to you as a couple, not what his parents think since they shouldn't be so involved in something like this. I always would celebrate anniversaries even though I've never been married.

 

[gildedangel]

I will celebrate anniversaries with my boyfriend on the annual marks. It would be weird if you celebrated monthly anniversaries, but there is nothing wrong with celebrating yearly ones.

 

[TISH1124]

You can celebrate anything you like...Hell I make up reasons to celebrate to get gifts from my husband....Today is the day we met, today is the day we first kissed, Today is the day I told you I loved you for the 1st time...It is never ending in my house LOL

 

[Pink_minx]

Yeah well his parents didnt say anything...but his older brother, nephew and sister were all saying these things. And I think it got to my bf... he even said to me that we werent even married so why make a big deal out of it. Im like well it matters much to me! its a special day you know.

 

[Pink_minx]

^^LOL I know right! there are no rules.

 

[kdemers1221]

my boyfriend and i celebrate our yearly anniversaries. it shouldn't matter whether you're married or not an anniversary is to celebrate the commitment to each other to be together. i would talk to your boyfriend and explain to him that it is something that is important to you and if he doesn't want to make a big deal about them that you should try to find some compromise. he might have just been feeling pressure from his siblings to not "do something dumb" like celebrate an anniversary.

 

[LMD84]

me and my hubby have always celebrated our 'going out aniversary' we just have the bonus of having a wedding aniversary too a couple of weeks before!

 

[dollbaby]

It really does depend on the couple. It's nice to know that your SO remembers the day you both declared each other bf/gf. My bf used to say that we don't really have to celebrate an anniversary since we aren't married, but we do acknowledge the date. As long as you both love each other, I don't think it matters if you celebrate or not

 

[Chikky]

You don't have to be married to celebrate an anniversary (of any kind; first date, first kiss, first anything!), but I do believe that it depends on the couple as to how much they celebrate. The same way that different families celebrate different things, traditionally.

His family obviously isn't big on that. No big deal, its just how they are, I suppose.

 

[Makeup Emporium]

You definitely don't need to be married to celebrate an anniversary. My hubby and I were together for years before we got married and celebrated every year on the day of our first date. He actually turned around to me after we were married and said don't expect me to start counting over!

So for him our first date is a more important anniversary than our wedding anniversary. So we celebrate both! (I agree with TISH the more presents the better)!!

 

[cupcake_x]

My boyfriend likes to celebrate monthly ones, although "celebrating" ends up being a "Happy anniversary!" text.

I think annual anniversaries are perfectly fine to celebrate whether you are married or not. We've been together almost 3 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TISH1124 You can celebrate anything you like...Hell I make up reasons to celebrate to get gifts from my husband....Today is the day we met, today is the day we first kissed, Today is the day I told you I loved you for the 1st time...It is never ending in my house LOL

I agree! It is up to you as the couple.

 

[sweetbabyblue]

We always have, although for us it's just simply saying 'happy anniversary!'. To us it's still nice to acknowledge the day and we make an effort to see each other that day if we can

 

[kaliraksha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TISH1124 You can celebrate anything you like...Hell I make up reasons to celebrate to get gifts from my husband....Today is the day we met, today is the day we first kissed, Today is the day I told you I loved you for the 1st time...It is never ending in my house LOL

I'm not married yet and I'm already like this. We celebrate like 4-5 things throughout the year. Granted we only really fully celebrate our official 1st date anniversary... every other celebration is simple and just a light playful reminder.

I say celebrate whatever you two want. It personally brings me joy to take the time to notice that my life would be entirely different if it wasn't for all the firsts that started what we have now.

 

[InTheFade]

I would be hurt if my any of my partners had said that about celebrating an anniversary to me so I understand your frustration.

My fiancé and I have celebrated our anniversary (the date we first kissed and became a couple) since we met. We even used to celebrate the date every month (a "month'aversary" perhaps?

) up until we hit around 2 years and we forgot to keep counting.

We'll continue to keep celebrating our anniversary until we get married I guess - we haven't set a definite date yet (and I know he's also booked our romantic dinner at a posh restaurant already). If the date of our wedding is totally different from our actual anniversary then we'll probably make a nice gesture to each other for the original anniversary date every year too.

In this day and age when people often have more long term relationships before marriage I think that celebrating milestones in a relationship (such as anniversaries etc) are just as legitimate as ones based around marriage.

Maybe have a chat with your man when things cool down and you're feeling less upset and explain that it means a lot to you to celebrate the day you met your favourite person in the world?

 

[roxy_rouge]

Me and my fiance celebrate our anniversary every month, we don't do much except say happy anniversary and maybe get a piece of cake so I don't know if you can really call it celebrating lol
Its actually quite fun to see who forgets each month.
We definitely celebrate it annually though, I think we're one of those relationships that people would say that we are sickeningly cute.
I hope that makes sense

 

[L1LMAMAJ]

it's really up to the couple. married or not, i've heard of couples celebrating their anniversary. it's a celebration of a year of begin together or a year of whatever significant event. i celebrate it every year with my bf and we're not married.

 

[Makeupaddict88]

Me and my boyfriend just celebrated our 4 year, and yes we celebrate it every year. It's still an anniversary no matter which way you look at it. People don't stay together at all now a days and I think it's something special the two of us can do together and reminisce on all our stupid stuff we do together and think about all the good times we have had. I don't think you need to have rings on your finger to do that.

 

[jungleland]

Me and hubby celebrate both our dating anniversary and the wedding one.
And I feel more the dating one. It's when we realixed we were very seriously in love with each other.

Speak with your boyfriend and let him realize how this behaviour is hurting you. All the best

BTW I hate with all my heart meddling relatives and friends!! End of rant

 

[MedicalMaladies]

It's really up to the couple, but my boyfriend of 6yrs and I always celebrate on our dating anniversary. It's a nice way to remind each other how much they mean to you and how they've changed your life for the better. If/When we get married the marriage date will replace the dating one, but that's just us.

If you don't mind me saying, I think it was pretty crummy of his parents to be so insistent about this. Every couple is different and they should respect that.