The history of having wedding favours at the wedding reception as memento to the guests by the bridal couple dates back to the 16th century. Originally the wedding favour was a way for the bridal couple to show their thanks and appreciation for the guest coming to the wedding celebration. In those times the wedding guest often had travelled many days and gone to great expense just to be able to attend. These favours were then known as bonbonnieres and were little containers made out of precious glass, china and crystal and contained sugary confections.
Overtime these wedding favours changed and assumed some cultural meanings of health, happiness, longevity, wealth and fertility. The number of five is significant as it represents these meanings. The well-known practice of the bride and groom handing out decorated containers with five almonds inside is to bestow on the guests the same blessings the guests were wishing the newly-weds by their attendance at the wedding.
Wedding favours provide a great way for the bride and groom to make their wedding a special event remembered by those attending. Some weddings use traditional wedding favours such as confections, little bits of the wedding cake, some of the more modern weddings have been known to have music CDs, paper and candles. Recently many “green” weddings have little tree seedlings to take home and plant as a memory of the wedding celebration. Some favours are different types of coffee or hot chocolate, others- different soaps, while others still have pens and stationery items. One rather popular favour is including a lottery ticket at each place setting with the one dollar “scratch-and-win” lottery ticket being not only a favourite but also very economical.
There seems to be no end to the possibilities for wedding favours. The best favours are ones that a guest will keep or reuse and has the couple’s name on it and will remind the guest of the celebration and the couple in the years to come. There are some wedding favours that are more suited to personalization than others. Poker chips, playing cards, photo frames (etc.) can be customized to include a photo of the bride and groom plus their names and the date of the wedding. This kind of wedding favour will last for years to come. There are companies who specialize in wedding favours or it can be something the bride and groom make themselves. Either way, wedding favours are a good way to make a wedding unique and help the guests to remember what a great celebration was had by all.
Wedding Favour Ideas
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