Wedding Favors: A History
July 16th, 2010 by Benedict Perez
Wedding favors are little gifts, tokens or trinkets which are given to the guests of the newly wed couple after the wedding ceremony or during the wedding reception. They are often tokens that extend a sense of gratitude for the presence of the guests during the wedding day.
It is a very archaic tradition when you talk about giving a wedding favor during a wedding. History had it that the first ever practice of giving a wedding favor were done by ancient European aristocrats, nobles, and members of the elite and upper class. Bonbonnier, which is an Italian word, was the first term for wedding favor.
Centuries ago, bonbonnieres were always characterized by a little box, the size of a trinket or jewel box that was made out of porcelain, crystals, and rarely with additional precious gems and stones. These boxes often had sugar, sugar cubes, and other fragile confections. This was created to solely signify loyalty and wealth. The purpose for this was, because back then, sugar was a rare commodity because of its expensiveness, only the rich people and the nobles could have and could afford it at that particular time.
Thereafter, bonbonneries were being replaced with almonds because of the declining trend of sugar over the ages its becoming more reasonable in terms of prices. For several centuries, it was common to give almonds as a wedding favor to the wedding guest to signify the affluence of the new couple’s life together.
Thereafter, bonbonneries were replaced with almonds because of the decreasing trend of sugar over the ages and its becoming cheaper. For many centuries, it was usual to give almonds as a wedding favor to the wedding guests to convey a message of affluence of the new couple’s life together.
It was part of the tradition to bear five Jordan almonds to be offered in a confection box or to be wrapped in a fine fabric. Each almond signifies wealth, health, longevity and long lasting joy. One fundamental reason why almonds were used, apart from being a bit expensive, was because its bitterness and sweetness of candy coat symbolizes the perfect mix of marriage.
In today’s world, wedding favors are a part of a wedding reception plan, which is especially popular in the United States and in Canada. Sometimes these gifts come in different shapes and sizes depending on the theme or the season. Classic wedding favors come in sugared almonds, individual chocolates, to mini cakes, to candles. More contemporary gifts are now in style like tokens with the bride and grooms picture with their names and the wedding date engraved.
Nowadays, gifts to wedding guests are more commonly considered as wedding favors and the giving of tokens of gratitude to guests is a tradition continuously existing for the longest time and is shared by different countries around the world. More importantly, a wedding favor is included in the reception plan of every wedding that is particularly popular in the United States and in Canada. Sometimes, these gifts have variety of shapes and sizes depending on the motif or the theme. Classic wedding favors usually come in sugar coat almonds, chocolates, small cakes and scented candles.
Weddings are such joyous occasion that everyone participating in the wedding entourage are excited to experience its preparation. You can begin with wedding favors that will display a stunning effect on this big day. Or you may want to try bridesmaid jewelry.
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