Wedding favours have a long history and have traditionally been given as small gifts to wedding guests. It originally started in Europe as with many things with the Upper Class. In those early days, wedding favours were small trinket boxes made from materials such as crystal or porcelain. Inside would be sugar cubes or high quality confectionary. In those days, sugar was an expensive commodity and it showed the wealth and prosperity of the givers.
Of course, as the price of sugar came down, others started to follow the fashion first popularised by the aristocracy. They too started giving similar favours to their wedding guests. Over time, these favours were replaced with almonds to represent wellness in the bride-groom’s life. These almonds in turn became sugar-coated almonds.
Traditionally, the sugar-coated almonds are given in sets of 5. This is to represent fertility, wealth, health, longevity and happiness. These are usually presented to guests in simple but elegant favour boxes or favour bags. This is still a very common favour given to wedding guests the World over but things are changing and people are starting to get more inventive.
Nowadays you will still see sugar-coated almonds and other confectionary but you will also see more expensive favours such as crystals to lovely candle favours. These are the sign of the times and it is just another way for the bridegroom to thank their wedding guests. For those on a tighter budget, couples are becoming more creative and making their own favours and perhaps presenting them in a nice favour box. This can save on cost but still have a great effect by adding a lovely personal touch.
Whatever direction the fashion for wedding favours go, it is clear that they are extremely popular still and are here to stay. Wedding favours are a fantastic way for the bridegroom to thank their guests and it need not be an expensive exercise. A simple home-made favour presented in a lovely favour box can be a great gift to receive.
UK Wedding Store is an online retailer of wedding favours, favour boxes and wedding dress boxes.