The wedding favour is a time-honoured tradition, stemming back centuries. It is thought that wedding favours were popular amongst European Aristocracy whereby a small token, known as a bonbonnaire, was given by the couple to their wedding guests.
The bonbonnaire was a small box made of crystal, precious stones or porcelain, or a combination of the three, and contained sugar confectionary. Because sugar was an expensive commodity at the time, the contents signified wealth and royalty.
As sugar began to decrease in value, people began to fill the bonbonnaire with sugar-coated almonds instead. This favour is still very popular today, with many people giving five different coloured almonds wrapped in netting as a token to their guests. These five almonds are meant to signify health, happiness, fertility, wealth and long life.
While the almond was King back in ye olde times, today there are hundreds of options to choose from, from designer, traditional, personalised, DIY to charity donations. A quick surf through the numerous websites dedicated wholly to wedding favours will give you plenty of ideas if you’re stuck.
The trick is to keep within the style of your wedding overall. If it’s traditional, go for a silver photo frame in which your guests can keep their mementos of the day. If you are having a fun, knees-up type of an affair, maybe think about lottery tickets or mobile phone covers. WeddingsOnline.ie’s online store provides tonnes of ideas from the traditional to the wacky, and at a very affordable price. You’re sure to find something to suit the tone of your wedding.
Favours are a great gesture of gratitude and can be suited to almost any budget -from homemade to Cartier, however they are becoming less popular in recent years. With budgets getting smaller and demands getting bigger, many couples are finding that they simply do not have the money to spend extravagantly on favours.
A gift gaining in reputation is the charity donation. Increasingly, couples are opting out of trinkets and are instead making donations to a charity close to their heart. Many of these charities provide a small token such as a pin or keyring for guests to take away. Instead of leaving a gift at the table, leave a short note “Thank you for coming to celebrate our special day. A donation has been made in your name to insert charity name here.” Charity donations are a wonderful way to ensure that people in need will also benefit from your special day.
For more information see:
· WeddingsOnline: https://www.weddingsonline.ie/shop/category/35/wedding-favours/
· Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals: http://www.ispca.ie/fundraising/weddingfavours.html
· Irish Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.ie/fundraising/special_occasion.php
