Whilst on my honeymoon lying on my sunbed following my wedding that took place last month at Clearwell Castle, I had plenty of time to reflect on what I found most difficult in the planning stages of my wedding. One thing that stuck out was wedding favours. There is so much to choose from and finding favours that are not too expensive yet meaningful can be quite a task!
The giving of wedding favours has developed over many centuries to the modern wedding favours we know today. The first wedding favours were known as ‘bonbonniere’ and were given as glamorous gifts to the wedding guests of French Aristocrats.
The meaning behind a ‘bonbonniere’ is that it is a symbol of good luck embodied by a little trinket box. The wedding guests could look forward to the sweet treats contained inside. In those days these treats were luxury items such as sugar cubes which would illustrate your wealth and were symbolic of royalty.
At this time sugar was such an expensive item that was only available to the rich, and it took a number of centuries before it was affordable enough for everyone. Once this was the case the tradition of giving wedding favours to your guests reached the whole population and was adopted by couple’s getting married all over Europe.
At this point the Bonbonnieres were substituted for almonds which are historically known to be symbols of good wishes for the couple’s new life. Almonds coated with sugar were introduced and these soon became the sugared almonds that we know today. Today, many centuries later sugared almonds are still a popular traditional wedding favour and are given in sets of five to represent fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness.
The range of wedding favours available now is ever-growing and diverse. Here at the Castle we see everything from miniature bottles of spirits to lottery tickets!
I opted for a small box with one rolo inside. Do you love anyone enough?
We have lots of ideas for wedding favours here at the Castle and can help you choose the perfect ones for your special day.
We would love to hear your wedding favour ideas and your reasons behind choosing them.
Katie at Clearwell Castle
