Beyond Fruitcake

Ahhh! Those Pesky Wedding Favours!!

There is no in between: You love the idea of wedding favours or you don't.

How much to spend? What is useful? Practical? Fun? Will guest's table be too busy with wedding favours at each placing? Or, do you give one per couple?

The majority of brides and grooms to offer favours to their guests in one way or another:

From a useful gift per person or per couple, or a small treat at each place setting, or a donation to a charity of the couple's choice - favours have come a long way since finger sized fruit cake pieces were wrapped in smallish paper doilies!

The biggest question, "Why have favours at all?" arises when, generally, the bride and groom need to reign in their budget.

Here is the history of, and reasoning behind, the wedding favour:

According to Wikipedia:

Wedding favors are small gifts given as a gesture of appreciation, blessing, or love bestowed upon guests from the bride and groom during a wedding ceremony or a wedding reception.

The tradition of distributing wedding favors is a very old one. It is believed that the first wedding favor, common amongst European aristocrats, was known as a bonbonniere. A bonbonniere is a small trinket box made of crystal, porcelain, and/or precious stones. The contents of these precious boxes were generally sugar cubes or delicate confections, which symbolize wealth and royalty. (In this era, sugar was an expensive commodity and was treasured only among the wealthy. It was believed that sugar contained medical benefits). As the price of sugar decreased throughout centuries, the tradition of providing gifts to guests reached the general populace and was embraced by couples of modest means.

As sugar became more affordable, bonbonnieres were replaced with almonds. For centuries, almonds were commonly distributed to wedding guests to signify well wishes on the bridegroom’s new life. In the thirteenth century, almonds coated with sugar, known as confetti, were introduced. Confetti soon transformed to sugared almonds, which later evolved into the wedding favor for modern day weddings. Traditionally, five Jordan almonds are presented in a confection box or wrapped in elegant fabric to represent fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness. The bitterness of the almond and the sweetness of the coated candy exemplify the bitter sweetness of a marriage.

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Steven and I have seen some really fun and meaningful favours over the last 6 six years:

- A few couples have had a candy bar in lieu of guest favours, but also donated money to the Canadian Cancer Society.

- One couple had measuring spoons with an attached favourite cookie recipe at each place setting b/c they love to cook together.

- In keeping with their lime green and brown colours, one bride purchased and washed Granny Smith Apples for her guests. Each apple had two paper leaves pinned into the top center of the apple, and one leaf had the person's name and the other the table number.

- Some couples had little jars of homemade jam and honey at each place setting.

- One bride was lucky enough to have some sweet lady knit for each guest those colourful dish cloths!

(They were rolled and tied with ribbon and set on each plate.)

- It is fun to create, if you can find the time, your own favours - and don't be afraid to rope in help!

Steven and I had a winter wedding - about a week and a bit before Christmas. I thought it would be fun and unique to make gingerbread men and ladies. We packaged one of each in clear cellophane bags and placed them in a large grapevine basket.

Other ideas I have heard of include an ice cream scoop per couple for a summertime wedding, little tins filled with gourmet jelly beans, and maple leaf sugar in small, clear cellophane bags.