1. Memory Plates
One of the most important dates of a person's life, the date of their marriage, is often a date that people commemorate. What better way to do this than with a memory plate?
Memory plates are a great gift for a potter to give as either a wedding or anniversary present. Generally a memory plate is decorated with one or more of the following: the wedding date; the names of the couple; an appropriate phrase or words, for example "Loving Hearts"; appropriate decorative motifs, such as rings, clasped hands, hearts, and so on.
2. Special Ceramic Service for Two
Sharing a meal together has a special place in building and binding relationships. Make your favorite couple's wedding night or anniversary dinner even more fantastic by creating a special two-person place setting just for them.
Explore your romantic side as you create go-together plates (matching or different-but-unified), bowls, salad plates, dessert plates, goblets, and perhaps even serving dishes.
3. Dining Service Sets
Of course, not every meal will be shared only by the happy couple. Help newlyweds set up their household or help enliven the table of a couple who have been sharing theirs. Create a dining service set that will make guests and family alike take notice!
Generally, dining service sets have place settings for eight to twelve people. As you prepare to create this set, think about how large a family the couple has or wants, how much entertaining they do, and how fumble-fingered they are (in other words, allow for breakage if necessary).
Also consider how formal the couple is. Will they need the full complement of bread and butter plate, salad plate, dinner plate, dessert plate, soup bowl, mug or cup, water goblet, wine goblet, or cup and saucer?
4. Sentiment Vases
Flowers are also often a special part of wedding and anniversary celebrations. Therefore, vases that are decorated with words and symbols of love and happiness make an especially appropriate gift.
To create a sentiment vase that is the perfect gift, consider the color preferences of the couple, how the form matches the couple's personalities (tall, round, with a single neck, with multiple necks, and so on), and how the vase might be used as a part of the couple's overall decor.
5. Wedding Sculptures
Have you ever watched any of those television shows that feature cake decorators or cake decorating competitions? Some of those cake creations are true works of art.
How wonderful it could be to present your own favorite couple with a permanent wedding or anniversary sculpture made in clay, underglazes and glazes rather than cake, icing and fondant.
6. Twined Names Wall Hanging
Ceramic wall hangings add a special note to a home's decor. You can create a wall hanging that will show the commitment and shared lives of your favorite couple.
Entwining the couple's names together in a calligraphic way can be both beautiful as well as imbued with meaning. Mary White's book, Lettering on Ceramics, can be very useful if you are not used to doing lettering or calligraphy, especially using slips, underglazes, or overglazes. (Read my review of White's book.)
7. Loving Cups
The loving cup tradition goes back at least as far as the 15th century, with the cup often being used as part of the wedding or vow renewal ceremony. They are often decorated or incised with the couple's names, and may also include the wedding date or an appropriate phrase or quotation.
Loving cups can take many forms, but probably the most common form is a large cup form with two large handles. Some other forms are a double-spouted jar, a soup bowl shape with two large handles, and a shallow bowl form with two large handles.