Caro Davies from Mooks Design discusses everything you need to know about wedding favour ideas.
Origins of the wedding favour
Have you ever wondered where the custom of giving wedding favours originated from? The first wedding favours, known as ‘bonbonniére’, were given as exclusive gifts to the wedding guests of European aristocrats. A bonbonniére was a small ornate box made out of silver, crystal or porcelain and often encrusted with precious stones. These were then filled with cubes of sugar or other luxury confections. In those days, sugar was such an expensive commodity it was only afforded by royalty or the very wealthy, but as the price of sugar decreased the tradition of giving wedding favours was then embraced by all brides and grooms. Tradition later turned to giving five sugared almonds presented in a box or bag representing fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness. These days there are so many wedding favour ideas to choose from, with home-made options being particularly popular.
How much should I spend?
There are so many options available to brides and grooms these days and modern wedding favours can really vary in price, according to your budget. Wedding favours need not be expensive and money savvy brides can still purchase traditional bonbonniére or you can make your own by filling organza bags with sugared almonds or sweets.
Couples with a little more to spend are spoilt for choice as you can buy everything, from miniature bird cages and photo frames to jars of home-made jam. Many couples opt for different wedding favours for men and women, such as miniature bottles of alcohol for male guests and toiletries for females. Goodie bags containing sweets, games and colouring pencils are also a popular wedding favour idea to keep children entertained.
It is alleged that William and Kate gave each of their wedding guests a pair of cupcakes, boxed up with the couple’s official engagement photo! Ultimately, when determining how much to spend on your wedding favours, you shouldn’t feel obliged to spend half of your budget on presents for your guests. Your friends and family will be attending your marriage to show their love and support for you both and really won’t expect a diamond encrusted gift.
Personalised wedding favour ideas
One of the nicest things about today’s modern favours is the option to tie them in with your wedding theme or even reflect your personal interests. There are even lots of companies who specialise in creating favours to match your wedding stationery. This is a great way of creating a harmonious look and feel for your big day – right from when your guest’s receive their invitation to when they take their seat at the dinner table, and are presented with their ‘thank-you’ gift from you. Couples who are musical could give their guests a CD of their best-loved songs and green fingered bride and grooms could give personalised seed packets; these are lovely and unique gifts, as they are a long lasting reminder of your special day. Whichever route you go down, if you choose wedding favours that are personal to you and a lovely memento of your special day, you won’t go far wrong!
Mooks Design offer a wide range of beautiful stationery as well as matching favours, including seed packets and sweet tins. Fully personalised and matched to your scheme, these are a fabulous choice for any bride looking for a hassle free way to coordinate their day and keep guests happy!
What wedding theme will you be having and how will your favours tie in?
We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
