The anniversary is a significant date for most spouses  and most celebrate it every year. The longer a couple stays together, the more they have to rejoice! And many married couples wish to share their joy with family, friends and close colleagues.

Enter the anniversary party! It can be a celebration of virtually any magnitude - from an intimate dinner "a deux" to an elegant at-home cocktail do or catered dinner for the couple's nearest and dearest; to a big, boozy bash for 400-plus guests. Whatever the style and scope of your anniversary celebration, make it truly memorable by following our experts' tips.

Planning a successful anniversary party
Whether you're dreaming of the perfect romantic evening, or planning a magnificent party to commemorate your own or your parents' 50th wedded year, start planning as far in advance as you can. Popular party venues, caterers and entertainers often book out months ahead.
You'll need to handle the following early in the piece:

¥ invitations and rsvps;
¥ menus and seating plans;
¥ car hire;
¥ flowers;
¥ accommodation;
¥ equipment, props and decorations that need to be sourced or shipped;
¥ permits for parking, pyrotechnics and outdoor sites - obtain before you lock in equipment hire or performers;
¥ anniversary gifts - go shopping well beforehand (especially if it's your anniversary!)  

Theme & decorations
Create a theme around materials traditionally associated with the anniversary you're celebrating, and the style and tastes of the couple of honour.  Be imaginative in your party concept and decor choices - "year of marriage" materials can be interpreted in original, evocative ways to create unique celebrations.

Earlier anniversaries are associated with more mundane materials such as paper, wood, tin and aluminium, and china. They may not be as valuable as rubies, diamonds or gold, but you can create amazing decor around them - think origami for a first anniversary, Balinese for a fifth, sci fi for a tenth and Oriental for a twentieth.

Visit party goods and equipment stores, costume/prop hire outlets, retro and imports stores to source materials that suit your party theme. Then combine them to create an extraordinary party - perhaps with help from a creative consultant or event coordinator. The precious stones and materials associated with many anniversaries can be themed in various ways, the most obvious being colour - pearl, coral, ruby red, emerald green, sapphire blue and glittering diamond white - or pale pink. You can also take the geographic origins of a stone, or what it symbolises, as your party theme.Making all your decorations from paper for a first-year anniversary party might sound simplistic, but it's amazing what you can do with this ubiquitous and versatile material. The silver and gold traditionally associated with twenty-fifth and fiftieth anniversaries offer lots of scope for elegant colour schemes and glittering decorations of all descriptions, from reflective panels to gilded mirrors, silver-rimmed glassware, even gold-hued food.

Or dare to be different and choose a theme that has nothing to do with traditional anniversary materials, and everything to do with love, romance and enduring relationship. The choice is yours - it's your celebration (or your parents'), after all!

This article continues in Party Magazine.