Why are favours given at weddings?

The wedding favour, ah yes. One part thoughtful gesture, one part trinket your guests might feel bad about discarding in a few years' time. Spending a lot of money on souvenirs that your guests may not even want is frustrating, but it doesn't need to be way. Is it obligatory to hand out wedding mementoes? The opinions of our most knowledgeable contributors.

Wedding favours are not obligatory, but they are a thoughtful way to show appreciation to your guests for attending the big day. After all, they just ate a fantastic meal and spent the evening dancing and drinking with you, so a more extensive gesture of gratitude is unnecessary. Your guests probably won't care that there isn't a personalised wine glass table or individually wrapped treats at the door. Even though you'll save hundreds, if not more, by not giving out favours, you can use that money to do things like hire a photo booth or have the live band for an extra hour, giving your guests experiences they'll remember forever.

If you're in the midst of organising your wedding, you've probably already read a number of guides detailing the absolute necessities for the big day. What is the one non-essential item? Guests are given wedding favours. It's not like you have to have one, so if you're trying to save money, don't feel obligated to buy a useless trinket just because everyone else has one. If you must choose between a wedding favour and an activity that will truly enrich your guests' experience, we advise going with the former.

These are the dos and don'ts to keep in mind if you're dead set on giving a small token of someone appreciation to the guests who came from far and wide to celebrate with you. The following are some recommendations from wedding professionals who have seen both the best and worst of wedding favours and lived to tell the tale.

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Wedding favours History

An early record of a marriage favour traces back to 16th-century England. As a token of their love and appreciation for their guests, many couples today opt to present their loved ones with love knots made of lace and ribbon. Favours have become a worldwide custom over the course of history.

The practise of presenting guests with small tokens of appreciation as a sign of gratitude for their participation in one's wedding dates back centuries. While the tradition is still followed today, wedding favours have evolved considerably from the ones given out a century ago. The article discusses the significance of wedding favours and their development over time.

European aristocrats, especially those from France and Italy used to present a sugary treat in a trinket box to all of the guests at their wedding. Sugar was an extremely valuable commodity because of its association with wealth and affluence and with royalty. The ceramic or metal trinket boxes were adorned with gems.

These sweets, known as bonbonnieres, were encased in elaborate sugary confectionery. The price of sugar dropped over time, making it more accessible to the masses. Thus, the custom of providing wedding favours spread from the wealthy to the middle class and beyond.

Almonds eventually replaced Bonbonnieres as the confectionery of choice for gifting. Almonds were first sugar-coated and marketed as Jordan almonds in the 13th century. These wedding favours are still frequently handed out at modern celebrations.

Bonbonnieres

A small wedding favour called a bonbonniere (or Bomboniere in Italian) was customarily given to guests by European aristocrats several centuries ago. These weren't just a standard at weddings; they were also handed out at parties of all kinds.

A porcelain, crystal, precious stone, or metal box was the true bonbonniere. Sweet treats made of sugar can be found inside. Modern wedding favours evolved from these individually packaged sweets.

Good Luck

In the past, weddings were seen as a particularly auspicious event. The couple felt that by not giving out bonbonnieres and many other treats at their wedding, they were actually sharing their good fortune with their guests. It was common practise to give five almonds or candies as good luck tokens, with each almond or candy representing fertility, health, wealth, happiness, and longevity.

Jordan Almonds

Confectioners dipping almonds in sugar or another sweet coating gave rise to bonbonnieres. Jordan almonds, which come in a variety of vibrant colours, are often distributed as a nod to this tradition at modern celebrations. These tulle-wrapped treats may still, if you do the math, stand in for the traditional five wedding wishes.

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The Do's and Don'ts of Wedding favours

DON'T: Have favours out of Obligation

Looking for wedding favour suggestions solely out of obligation is a bad reason to get creative. Dinner, drinks, as well as dancing are on the house, so guests won't be expecting a take-home present from the evening.

Don't beat yourself up if you can't find the time (or money) to make the perfect favour. Do you think it would be a good addition to the ceremony? Absolutely. What will happen if people don't take a favour with them when they leave? And I mean emphatically not.

In any case, there are a plethora of low-cost wedding favour options to think about if you'd like to show your appreciation to your guests. You might want to give them a small snack, like candy or cookies. Just a little something to show your affection would be greatly appreciated.

DO: Choose Something Meaningful

Do favours for people only if they mean something to you. The time when visitors took something with them when they left is over. One way to thank your guests for attending your wedding is to give them a memento of the occasion in the form of a favour. I propose that giving the gift of an experience, rather than a meaningless material item, is the better choice.

Don't waste money on wedding favours if you can't come up with something that speaks to what you share as a couple or that has some other special meaning to you. "How can you make the guests feel more at ease, or how can you increase the amount of fun they have? Get a Photo Booth, hire a caricature artist or a poet, or pay the band to play your school's fight song instead."

To know more tips and ideas about your wedding, check out our post on Wedding Decoration Ideas & Tips.

DO: Consider a Donation to Charity

If you're feeling unfavourable about the wastefulness of the situation, maybe you could make a contribution in someone else's honour to a cause or organisation that means a lot to you. A gift to charity checks that box, specifically if you give to an organisation whose mission resonates with you.

The couple didn't want to waste money on a favour which their visitors wouldn't use. So, the couple split the total amount of money they had allotted for wedding gifts between two charities that meant a lot to the bride and groom. However, there was a catch: the attendees got to decide how much of the total budget went to each organisation. The guests cast their votes for their favourite charity using receptacles placed on a table near the sweetheart table.

DO: Choose Something Useful

If you're on the side that believes guests should receive a wedding favour, think about what they can use long after the big day is over.

Candles are a great choice for wedding favours because they can be customised for each guest and are useful as decorations long after the big day has passed. Sending guests home with candles instead of a one-time-use favour ensures that they will think of your wedding each time they light one.

If you're planning to give candles as wedding favours, opt for ones with milder scents. "Different people react differently to odours, and some might be allergic to certain scents. Candles made from eco-friendly materials like soy or beeswax are currently on-trend and may be worth considering as well."

You can make your candle favours even more unique by including a personalised matchbook in each box. Wrap everything up with some twine or a pretty ribbon in the wedding colours; your guests will appreciate the extra effort.

DON'T: Make Your Own Edible favours

Couples frequently fail to account for how hectic the week before their wedding will be when planning edible wedding favours. Due to the perishable nature of the food you will be serving your guests, this labor-intensive task cannot be completed in advance. Most edible favours need to be prepared and packaged in advance of the wedding, if not on the actual day of the ceremony.

You probably won't have time to personally prepare and package wedding favours on the day of the wedding. Friends and family are likely to be preoccupied with their own wedding preparations, adding to the difficulty of enlisting their help. For the sake of your sanity and also the sanity of other closest to you, think about hiring someone else to make the edible wedding favours you've always dreamed of.

You can save money by buying the supplies yourself and then delegating this responsibility to your day-of coordinator or full-service planner. If you insist on going this route, we advise keeping things as simple as possible.

DO: Consider Presentation and Distribution of Your favours

Think about when and how you'll hand out the favours to your guests. The easiest way to guarantee that everyone has enough is to set them out on guest tables. If you plan on having open seating, you should buy 20% more than necessary to ensure that there is one for each guest.

Depending on the type of favours you give out, a creative display of them can serve as a beautiful focal point & detail at your wedding. Before your guests start snatching up the favours from the table, have your photographer snap a few photos of the display.

If you decide to give out favours when your guests leave, you might want to hire someone to make sure they don't take too many, or you could just buy extras.

DO: Think About the Environment

Couples who are concerned about the environmental impact of their wedding may be dissuaded from receiving wedding favours; therefore, creative and waste-free alternatives should be explored. Think about a succulent or some growable papers from Botanical Paperworks on which to write a short note. After the celebration, your guests can enjoy watching the flowers bloom from the seeds they planted with your favour.

In a similar vein, it's important to steer clear of items that won't decompose quickly or efficiently. We also advise against using glitter in wedding favours since it can easily end up all over the place and be annoying to clean up.

When we say "environment," we don't just mean the natural surroundings in which your wedding favours will be displayed and handed out. Make sure the favours are not easily damaged by heat if your reception will be held outside. You don't want the gifts you give your guests to melt, and this is especially true for food.

DO: Include a Sweet Note

Whether or not you give your guests a favour, you should discover a way to express your gratitude to them in some way. Make it a point to tell them how much their presence at the party means to you, and how appreciative you are of their support and love. Even a small amount of sincerity can have a huge impact.

Confused about what to put on the wedding favours? Look at these unique phrases for wedding favours to spark some ideas. Keep your thank you note or wedding favour note short and sweet and to the point; there's no need to write an epic novel. Your visitors will be grateful for the extra work and attention.

The wedding favour was something that guests could take home with them to remember the special occasion. Wedding favours come in a wide variety of forms in today's modern world, but they're still a tradition practised in many communities across the globe.

Today, there is no set rule as to what kind of favours guests can expect to receive at a wedding; they can relate to the wedding's theme or the lifestyles of the bride and groom. The wedding favours can serve multiple purposes: they can be used as table decorations, they can be fun for guests, and they can even spark conversation.

Other events also featured favours for the attendees. Guests were also presented with mementoes commemorating the occasion on the occasion of other important events and birthdays. Favors were a big deal at wedding parties and other special occasions because they were a way to show appreciation to guests.

These days, the options for favours are practically endless. Although thank-you gifts for guests are still customary, there are no hard and fast rules about what should be given. Both homemade and store-bought wedding favours can be easily customised to reflect the couple's personalities and the event itself.

Conclusion

Do you have to give out wedding favours? Thanking your guests with thoughtful favours is a nice gesture. You shouldn't feel pressured into purchasing meaningless trinkets because your friends already have them. Spend the money on things that will truly delight your guests. European nobility traditionally presented wedding guests with a trinket box filled with sweet treats.

Over time, the price of sugar decreased, making it more affordable for the general public. In the 13th century, almonds were first sugar-coated and sold as Jordan almonds. Dinner, drinks and dancing are on the house so guests won't be expecting a take-home present from the evening. One way to show appreciation is to present each guest with a small token to remind them of the special day. Numerous ideas exist for inexpensive wedding favours.

Because candles can be personalised for each guest and used as decor long after the wedding is over, they make wonderful keepsake gifts. Many wedding favours, especially those that guests can eat, need to be made and packaged well in advance of the ceremony. Whether you decide to buy them on your own or hire someone to do it for you, you can save money either way. You should plan ahead for the wedding reception and think about when and how you will distribute the favours. As a gesture of thanks, favours played a significant role at formal events such as wedding receptions and other celebrations. Today, there is no set rule as to what kind of wedding favours guests receive.

Content Summary

• Wedding favours are not obligatory, but they are a thoughtful way to show appreciation to your guests for attending the big day.
• If you must choose between a wedding favour and an activity that will truly enrich your guests' experience, we advise going with the former.
• The practise of presenting guests with small tokens of appreciation as a sign of gratitude for their participation in one's wedding dates back centuries.
• The article discusses the significance of wedding favours and their development over time.
• European aristocrats, especially those from France and Italy used to present a sugary treat in a trinket box to all of the guests at their wedding.
• Thus, the custom of providing wedding favours spread from the wealthy to the middle class and beyond.
• Almonds were first sugar-coated and marketed as Jordan almonds in the 13th century.
• A small wedding favour called a bonbonniere (or Bomboniere in Italian) was customarily given to guests by European aristocrats several centuries ago.
• In any case, there are a plethora of low-cost wedding favour options to think about if you'd like to show your appreciation to your guests.
• One way to thank your guests for attending your wedding is to give them a memento of the occasion in the form of a favour.
• So, the couple split the total amount of money they had allotted for wedding gifts between two charities that meant a lot to the bride and groom.
• The guests cast their votes for their favourite charity using receptacles placed on a table near the sweetheart table.
• Most edible favours need to be prepared and packaged in advance of the wedding, if not on the actual day of the ceremony.
• Look at these unique phrases for wedding favours to spark some ideas.