History of Wedding Favor

The wedding in a person’s life is a unique part. Along with beginning and end of a human life, wedding is considered to be one of the great public occasions in a person's life, and the only one at which the principals can fully appreciate the glory of their central role. For the bride, more than the groom, it is Her Big Day. And at this very occasion the wedding couples express their feeling of happiness by providing small token of thanks to their guests for their love and support in terms of wedding favor.

Wedding favors are small gifts given as a gesture of appreciation or gratitude to guests from the bride and groom during a wedding ceremony. By passing favors and other treats onto wedding guests, the Happy Couple is like bestowing their good luck upon their family and friends. In most cases, these lucky gifts considered represents fertility, health, wealth, happiness and longevity.

The tradition of wedding favor is very old and is coming since long back. History reveals that the originations of the wedding favors are from European Aristocrats. It was known as a Bonbonniere in that era, which was 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 considered to be the most expensive commodity and was only meant for wealthy persons. As the price of sugar decreased throughout centuries, the tradition of providing wedding favors to guests reached the general populace and was embraced by couples of modest means.

As sugar became inexpensive, Bonbonniere was replaced among the modest with Almonds. And for centuries, almonds were commonly gifted as a wedding favor to wedding guests, as a sign of wishes on the bridegroom’s new life.

With the passage of time, in the thirteenth century, almonds coated with sugar, known as Confetti, were introduced as a wedding favor. Confetti soon transformed to Jordan Almonds, which later evolved into the signature wedding favor for modern day weddings. Traditionally, five Jordan almonds are presented in a confection box or wrapped in elegant cloths 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.

Today, wedding favor is shared as culture worldwide and has become a necessary part of wedding ceremony. This traditional practice has evolved into the creative and themed wedding favors that most brides enjoy today. Some great wedding theme examples are Asian wedding theme, Wine theme, Heart theme, Tea theme, Sports theme, and Viva Las Vegas theme etc. The couples too wish to share commemorating gifts that are personalized with the couples names and dates so the guests can remember the very special occasion. Well, some of these favors include personalized pens, wedding flowers, trinket boxes, goblets, candles, vases, and even personalized wedding cameras etc

Today, the importance and demand for wedding favors have created new business in the wedding industry. Wedding favors have surpassed the term ‘trend’ and have become commonplace among today’s weddings.