wedding favors
History and traditions of wedding favors
The tradition of giving wedding favors, or ‘bomboniere’
is rooted in ancient European history. It was a ritual
of common practice for wealthy aristocrats who were
celebrating marriages, christenings, births and
birthdays. The bride and groom give small presents, or
favors, to their guests and well-wishers to thank them
for sharing the momentous occasion. Initially the
‘bomboniere’ were of great value, and were made of
expensive materials such as gold, silver, precious gems,
porcelain or crystal. The contents of the ‘bombonaiere’
were also of great value, most notably sugar. At the
time, sugar was a very rare substance, prized for its
supposed medicinal qualities.
Additional meanings have become attached to the wedding
favor tradition as time has passed. In total, the
wedding favor is a symbol of well wishing for the five
most important ingredients of a marriage bond:
Health
Wealth
Happiness
Fertility
Long Life
Essentially, the wedding favor is a symbol of love and
respect from the bride and the groom, and a token of
well wishing for their deliriously happy future
together. In addition, they add to the décor and overall
theme of the wedding itself.
Wedding favors have become increasingly popular over the
years as more and more people want small keepsakes to
remember special occasions by. The actual monetary
‘value’ of the gifts is relatively small now in
comparison to our ancient Ancestors. Common favors
include ribbons, candles, picture frames, personalized
book marks, laminated plaques, candy, seed packets,
pillows, balloons and potpourri, amongst others.
Many couples prefer to give the gests something edible
rather than an expensive crystal ornament. Candy,
sugared almonds, mints and truffles are always a
pleasing favor to give. These can be exquisitely gift
wrapped in presentation boxes, or personalized by a
professional cake decorator, for a relatively small sum
of money. The overall effect, however, can be completely
sublime!
Wedding Favor Themes
Because wedding favors can very much enhance the overall
theme of a wedding it is a nice idea to try to get a
balance. And don’t forget, any favor can be personalized
with a unique thank you note or a short poem on an
elegant card.
Seasons
Seasonal wedding favors are a fairly obvious theme. In
winter you could give floating poinsettia candles or
mini cherub ornaments. In fall you could wrap tulip
bulbs in tulle and tie it with a ribbon to create a kind
of home made sentimental potpourri. Spring could bring
tiny glass ornaments or a personalized seed packet. And
in Summer you could give elegant candles or brightly
colored ribbons.
Overall wedding plan and color scheme
It makes very good sense to try to tie in your wedding
favors with the overall theme of your wedding. Think
about what the favors represent initially, and then
consider things like color scheme. For example, if you
have decided on a traditional white wedding, you could
package the personalized candy wedding favors in a box
that coordinates with the bridal dress, or give ribbons
that match the color of your bouquet exactly.
The best way to select a perfect wedding favor is to
determine your budget, number of guests, and to think
about what your friends and family might like to receive
themselves.
There are many website on the Internet which are
dedicated to the supply of beautiful wedding favors.
Many of these sites have very interesting innovative
ideas for gifts and themes, so if you don’t know quite
what to get, you soon will…!