Forty years married. That’s four decades of mortgages and school runs, Sunday dinners and long drives, the good years and the hard ones, weathered side by side. A 40th wedding anniversary is the ruby anniversary, and it deserves a gift with more weight to it than flowers and a card.
For more than twenty years, Memorable Moments has been finding the newspaper from the day a couple were married and turning it into something the whole family gathers round. Hand your parents the paper from their wedding morning and watch what happens. The stories start before they’ve turned the first page.
What is a 40th wedding anniversary called?
The 40th is the ruby wedding anniversary. The ruby’s deep red is traditionally said to stand for lasting passion and a love that has only grown richer with time. Ruby-red flowers, a ruby piece of jewellery or a gift wrapped in red are all classic nods to it. Married forty years ago? Choose their wedding date and we’ll find the paper from that very day.
The unique 40th anniversary gift: the newspaper from their wedding day
Our Newspaper Book – Anniversary Gift is a reproduction of the full edition of the newspaper from the date they were married, taken from the archive and hand-bound by our partners at Kennys Bindery in Galway, a second-generation family bindery like ourselves. Each book includes:
- The whole newspaper from their wedding day, as readers saw it that morning
- Their names embossed in gold on the leatherette cover, in burgundy or dark green
- A personal greeting printed inside
- Both their birth dates, if you’d like, included alongside the wedding day. Simply add each spouse’s date of birth when you order
- Major news and sport from the decade they married, so their wedding sits in its wider story
The book is €149.99, and we deliver nationwide.
Choose their paper and wedding date →
What was in the paper the year they married?
This year’s ruby couples: married in 1986
If they married in 1986, their paper was full of a year Irish people still talk about. That summer the country voted on divorce in a referendum, and Barry McGuigan’s world title fight in the heat of Las Vegas had households up late. In September Kerry beat Tyrone in the All-Ireland football final, and Cork took the hurling title against Galway. Somewhere in between, on the page they never noticed on the day, are the cinema listings, the price of a pint and the small ads. Those are often the parts that bring the loudest laughs at the party.
Whatever year they married, the paper holds the same mix of big news and small details, and we’ll find the edition from their exact date.
Choose the paper they read
The best choice is usually the paper that came in the door every morning in their first home.
- National titles: the Irish Independent (a Sunday wedding brings the Sunday Independent), The Irish Times, the Irish Examiner (the Cork Examiner in those years), the Irish Press, the Belfast Telegraph, The Irish News and the Evening Herald
- Local papers: the Anglo-Celt, Connacht Tribune, Kerryman, Limerick Leader, Mayo News, Meath Chronicle, Southern Star, Western People and many more. Local papers carry the parish notes and the names they’ll actually remember. If a weekly paper didn’t print on the wedding day, we use the next edition and still emboss their wedding date on the cover.
A ruby anniversary gift for the wall: a framed front page
If your parents would rather hang it than read it, we can frame a page from their wedding day in an aluminium silver frame with a black mount, with a free personalised message printed above the masthead. Framed pages are available for the Irish Independent, the Irish Examiner, the Irish Press, the Belfast Telegraph, The Irish News, the Belfast News-Letter and local titles. The Irish Times is available as a newspaper book only. See framed pages →
40th anniversary gift ideas for parents
- From all the children together. The book makes a natural “from all of us” present. Put every name in the greeting and present it at the anniversary dinner.
- For the couple who say they want nothing. It costs them no space and no effort, and it becomes a family heirloom.
- For a GAA or rugby household. Pair it with one of our sports history books: All-Ireland football finals, hurling finals or Irish rugby.
- Planning ahead? See our ideas for the 50th (golden), 30th (pearl), 25th (silver) and 20th (china) anniversaries, or the newspaper from the day they were born for a birthday.
How to order
- Choose the newspaper: a national title or their local paper.
- Enter the wedding date, and both birth dates if you’d like them included.
- Add their names and your greeting: the names are embossed in gold on the cover, and the greeting is printed inside.
- Pick a cover colour: burgundy or dark green.
Unsure which paper to pick? Call us on 01 2952173. We’re a small Irish family business, and we’re always glad to help.
Order the anniversary newspaper book, €149.99 →
Frequently asked questions
What anniversary is 40 years?
Forty years married is the ruby wedding anniversary.
What is a good 40th wedding anniversary gift for parents?
Something personal that marks the day itself. The newspaper from their wedding morning, hand-bound with their names on the cover, is one of the most personal gifts you can give, and the whole family can enjoy it.
Is it an original newspaper?
It’s a reproduction of the full edition from the archive, hand-bound in Galway. These are not original copies of the paper.
What if they married on a Sunday?
If you choose the Irish Independent for a Sunday, we supply the Sunday Independent from that date.
Can I get The Irish Times framed?
The Irish Times is available as a newspaper book only. For a framed page, choose the Irish Independent, the Irish Examiner, the Irish Press or one of the other framed titles.
How quickly will it arrive?
Newspaper books are usually delivered within three working days anywhere in Ireland, and framed pages in three to five. For Christmas delivery, please order by Friday 18 December 2026.