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The origin and tradition of `wedding favours` - 5 November 2009

There are so many details to get `just right` on your wedding day. Obliviously your dress and the grooms outfit are top priority, as are the bridesmaids dresses and ushers outfits, flowers and venue; in fact weddings are so meticulously planned that every single details has to be perfect! This includes perfectly presented wedding favours.

Wedding favours (sometimes referred to as just `Favours`, `Bombonirere`, or specifically `Bridal Favours`) are a long standing wedding tradition can be dated back to at least the thirteenth century. Traditionally, wedding favour were seen at the weddings of wealthy aristocrats and comprised of gifts of sugar (which was a rare commodity in those days) being presented to their wedding guests. As sugar became more widely available, it became more usual to present almonds as wedding favours to your guests. Presented in beautiful boxes, bitter almonds, coated in sweet sugar, were given to wedding guests by the bride as a thank you for attending her wedding. Often five sugared bitter almonds were given to represent the core elements of a marriage - Health, wealth, happiness, long life and fertility

Many different cultures have adapted wedding favours to comprise of locally sources goods available at their disposal. For example Celtic wedding favours can be anything from the ingredients of traditional Irish soda bread gift tagged with the date of the wedding upon it, or clover seeds traditionally good luck within Irish culture, Connemara marble stones which symbolise intent of a life long friendship in Irish culture and even miniature bottles of whiskey - of course inscribed with the date of the wedding!

With the growth of the Internet and the ease at which items can be bulk bought and imported, there has never been a better time to be choosing wedding favours. There is no need to stick to traditional gift ideals  although if you choose to you will find the choice of presentation boxes, pouches and variety of almonds is vast. Sweets, mints and candy are popular modern day wedding favours - obviously presented in adorable and stylish trinket boxes engraved with the bride and grooms name and date of the wedding. However, candles, dried flowers, seeds, key rings, soap and pot pourri are all popular modern day wedding favours.

The choice of presentation boxes and pouches is incredibly extensive and surprisingly affordable. Tiny tin heart shaped boxes, treasure chests, top hats and miniature pails are all highly popular. Indeed, the mass production of wedding favours and boxes can lead many a bride to search for something unique and individual. For example, personalised gifts as wedding favours are often an excellent choice to make your guests feel extra special. You can even combine your wedding favours with other essential wedding apparel, such as table place cards; for example, there are some stunning candle holder wedding favours, that have place card attachments. Other unique personalised wedding gift favour ideas include  mini wine or spirit bottles, with specially made personalised labels, chocolate bars with customised labels or even personalised notebooks all make beautiful and unique modern wedding favour gifts.