Anniversary video ideas: 12 ways to make one they will rewatch
An anniversary video is one of the few gifts that gets better every year you keep it. It does not need professional editing or hours of footage: a clear idea, a couple of minutes of material and a song you both love are enough. Here are twelve anniversary video ideas, from the classic montage to things you can make tonight with only a photo of each of you, plus how long it should be and how to put it together.
12 anniversary video ideas
Some take an evening, some take a few weeks of quiet planning. All of them work for a first anniversary or a twenty-fifth.
1. One moment per month or year
One photo or clip for every month of your first year, or every year of your marriage, in order. Simple, and it always lands.
2. Then and now
Recreate old photos in the same place and pose, and show each pair side by side.
3. Back to the first date
Go back to where you first met or had your first date and film the two of you retelling it on the spot.
4. Messages from friends and family
Ask the people who know you best for a 15-second video each. Collect them a few weeks ahead.
5. Your old messages, read aloud
Read your first texts or letters as a voice-over on top of photos from that time. Funny and moving at once.
6. Two separate interviews
Ask each of you the same questions on camera, apart: how did we meet, what did you first notice. Cut the answers together.
7. Every place you have been
A map with a pin and a photo for each trip, city or apartment you have shared.
8. A day in your life
Film an ordinary day together in short clips: coffee, the commute, dinner. In ten years it will be the best thing you own.
9. Your song, lip-synced
Mime your song together, badly. Bonus points for costume changes.
10. A message to your future selves
Record what you hope for next year and agree to open it on the next anniversary.
11. A kiss video in the place you dream of
Turn one photo of each of you into a short kiss video on a sunset beach, under the northern lights or at a candlelit dinner. Ideal as the closing shot.
12. A couple portrait you never got
Make a dressed-up photo of the two of you raising a glass at an anniversary dinner, even if you have never had one taken.
How long should an anniversary video be?
Plan around where it will be watched.
| Where | Length | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Sent privately to your partner | 1 to 3 minutes | Room for a story and a message at the end |
| Played at a party or dinner | 3 to 5 minutes | Add friends and family to keep the room watching |
| Posted as a story or reel | 15 to 60 seconds | Lead with the best moment, vertical 9:16 |
| A single clip in a message | 5 to 30 seconds | One moment, such as a kiss video, says enough |
How to put it together
The editing is the easy part once the idea is fixed.
Collect more than you need
Gather photos, clips and voice notes into one album. You will use about a third.
Let your phone make a first draft
The Memories feature in Apple Photos or Google Photos can turn an album into a rough montage in seconds. Use it as a starting point.
Edit in an app you already know
A free phone editor such as iMovie or CapCut is enough to trim clips, add the song and put text on screen. Template-based apps are quickest if you are short on time.
Finish with a message
Close on a few words to the camera or on screen. Then watch it once with the sound on before you send it.
Make an anniversary kiss video or couple photo from two photos
Ideas 11 and 12 need no footage of the two of you together. With TryKiss AI you add one photo of each person and pick a scene such as Sunset Water Kiss or Dinner Date Kiss, and get a kiss video with sound, 5, 10, 15 or 30 seconds long, from 20 credits. 30 seconds is long enough to stand on its own as a gift or to close your montage. For the portrait, the AI couple photo maker has an Anniversary dinner style: the two of you dressed up at a candlelit table, 5 credits per photo. New accounts start with 30 free credits. If you only have separate photos, see how to make two separate photos kiss.
30-second kiss video
Made on TryKiss AI with the Sunset Water Kiss scene and its AI sample couple: 30 seconds, 720p, with sound.
More about 30-second kiss videosDinner Date Kiss
A dim, candlelit dining room with wine glasses on the table: an anniversary dinner, even when you are apart.
See the Dinner Date Kiss scene