How much do you spend on your anniversary? Is it enough?
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are celebrating their fifth weddinganniversary this week. There's a reasonable chance they have something nice planned, and the possibility they might treat one another, but what about the rest of us? A new study shows that William and Kate could show us up horribly.
The study, by American Express, looked at the milestone anniversaries, and the average sums spent by British couples. They found that - on average - there's a fair amount of spoiling going on.
The average spend on a first wedding anniversary is £50 - which is a pretty impressive sum to spend on paper. For the fifth (wood) we stretch to £56, and from there onwards we spend more than £100 on each of the milestone years.
10th anniversary (Tin) £105
20th anniversary (China) £144
25th anniversary (Silver) £392
30th anniversary (Pearl) £287
40th anniversary (Ruby) £468
50th anniversary (Gold) £695
60th anniversary (Diamond) £689
Some of these expenses are staggering. Of course any wedding anniversary is worth celebrating, but after 40 years together you'll be spending more than £500 on each milestone.
The divide
These averages, however, disguise a vast divide. On the one side are the romantics splashing the cash, and on the other side are the vast numbers of people who forget.
A recent survey by Travelodge found that one in five married Brits have no idea when their wedding anniversary is, and half don't bother celebrating each year. Some 13% say they don't have the time to plan anniversary celebrations, and 10% say they've never even considered it.
When it comes to the big landmarks, the survey found that just 14% will buy something special to mark the event.
It means that those who do celebrate their anniversary must be spending a small fortune on one another, in order to bring up the averages to a respectable level.
Shown up
This isn't going to affect most couples when it's done in private and behind closed doors, but there's always a risk with the Royals.
When Kate wore lace for her wedding five years it boosted a fashion trend that is still running today, because anything this royal couple does, hundreds of thousands of people will want to do too.
With the Duke and Duchess set to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary on Friday, it could kick-start the anniversary industry.
The good news is that Kensington Palace has said they will be celebrating their anniversary privately. However, royal watchers have highlighted that Kate has previously been seen sporting new jewellery shortly after her anniversary, so there's always a chance this private celebration will become a public display of a lavish gift.
This runs the risk of raising the bar for the rest of us, so that when you come to hand over a tatty old card to celebrate your silver wedding anniversary, you could find yourself in the doghouse.
It means you'll either have to implement a media ban on Friday, have a serious conversation about budgets, or stump up to keep your other half happy.
But what do you think? Do you celebrate your anniversary? And will you be starting now? Let us know in the comments.
