Make a future box, not a perfect one.

Wait until the day has cooled.

Give yourselves a few weeks before deciding what mattered. Immediate favorites are useful; delayed ones are often wiser.

Ask for one strange thing.

Invite a few guests to send one image, one sentence, or one sound from the day. Do not ask everyone for the same kind of evidence.

Caption before names drift.

Write the names of people and places while they are still close. Include nicknames and relationships, not only formal names.

Leave one envelope unsealed.

Add a note for the next anniversary, or for the person who will open the box years from now. Let the archive anticipate company.

Decide what stays private.

Set aside a small group of materials that should not circulate. An archive can be both intimate and well cared for.

Open it at a new moment.

First anniversary, first move, first child, first difficult year: return without the obligation to make it sentimental. Add a date, if it helps.

This is not preservation advice for a collection of historical value; it is an invitation to make a personal record generous enough to grow. Keep physical materials dry, make a digital backup of the irreplaceable things, and describe what matters while someone can still tell you.

Editorial note: Every story in this edition is an original editorial work. The names and recollections are composites; the feelings, we hope, are familiar.