It wasn't long ago that headline-breaking divorce rates were considered the major cause of dwindling anniversary card sales. Divorce rates ? which hit an all-time high as we entered a new millennium ? were blamed for reduction in sales, especially the ?To my wife? and ?To my husband? captions, for obvious reasons. Fortunately, we are now seeing an upturn in events, with divorce rates falling for the first time in nearly half a decade last year. The good news doesn't stop there as it would seem that weddings are enjoying resurgence in popularity, with couples overcoming their apathy and experiencing renewed enthusiasm for signing up ?until death us do part?.

However, rather than waste time worrying about whether or not couple officially betrothed in the name of god or the law, the majority of greeting cards companies now cottoned onto the fact that this is hardly the point when it comes to celebrate commitment. Anniversaries are now frequently celebrated by unmarried and same-sex couples as often as by married couples. In order to cater for this trend several of our ?On Your Anniversary? and ?On Our Anniversary? cards make no mention of words such as ?wedding?, ?marriage?, ?husband? or ?wife?, and talk instead about the couple's relationship, their love and their life together, which makes them general enough for any sending situations. Just as generic wedding cards are now growing in popularity for their ability to cater for an increasing array of sending situations, so the designs of anniversary cards are becoming less specific, with popular icons being hearts flowers and those ever-pervasive champagne glasses.

In deference to the fact that couples prefer to remain unmarried for longer, a lot of companies are now sticking to simple generic messages, at least until the major milestones set in. Anniversary cards with simple message ?Anniversary for the one I love? are becoming very popular for those celebrating an anniversary not linked to ceremony or wedding.

And also there are currently more people aged 70-80 then ever before it's no longer a rarity to make it 90-years-old and beyond. The baby boomers generation has impacted on Diamond and Pearl Anniversaries ? and, as population ages, it is reasonable to expect more Gold and Platinum designs being required. Meanwhile, the lower landmarks, such as 1st, 5th and 10th milestones are also being celebrated more, bolstered by the growth of second marriages.

Finally, just when you thought you'd got covered on anniversary front, along comes another occasion to cover ? that of the same-sex civil partnership anniversary. Perhaps by this time next year, it'll be one of the hottest trends on anniversary scene.