Gifts For Every Season

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!

By Joanne Elliott