It started long ago that the tradition of offering guests at weddings gifts of appreciation for attending your occasion. It is said that the first wedding favor was known as a bonbonniere which is a tiny trinket box, made out of porcelain or crystals. The European aristocrats filled these boxes with sugar cubes or confections. During this era, sugar was expensive and only the wealthy could afford it. Therefore, if guests were given wedding favors consisting of this precious commodity, it made them happy.
As time went by, the price of sugar reduced and soon every family could afford it. When people realized that sugar was a very modest gift they replaced it with almonds. For a long time, almonds were the best wedding favors any bride and groom could give. It symbolized well wishes from the new couple. This was used for some time until something better came up. This time almonds were coated with sugar for better taste. Sugarcoated almonds, candle history, symbolized the bitter sweetness of every marriage.
These sugar coated almonds were called confetti which later evolved into the present types of wedding guest favors in use today.
Wedding favors in the olden times included five sugarcoated almonds. These represented the five aspects of marriage which are usually hoped for. The five aspects are fertility, wealth, longevity, happiness and health. To this day, some cultures give wedding favors in groups of five. Therefore when are planning your wedding guest favors you might want to include some tradition by offering the gifts in groups of five.
Remember to label each gift representing each of the different wishes so the guest grasp your intent.
Through all these years, the tradition of wedding guest favors has continued to evolve. These days’ couples decide on wedding favors based on the theme of the wedding. Some themes used in weddings include heart theme, beach theme, flower theme, wine theme, and valentines theme just to mention a few. Depending largely on the wishes of the bride some choose to make a bold statement by personalizing their favors.
There are shops that offer the services of personalizing candles, plates, bags and even picture frames.
Despite the change in types of favors offered, the reason for them remains the same. Whether you offer almonds or sophisticated favors, your aim should be to show sincere appreciation. Wedding favors may seem like a small part of a wedding but they have such a long history, albeit ever changing, that they continue as an important part of the modern ceremony.
If you’re finances are pressed try not to cut out these favors from your ceremony.
You can resort to simple homemade gifts and, in most cases, people would appreciate something that looks like you put time and effort into. Now you can share the history of wedding favors with your guests.
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