Years ago when European aristocrats wanted to give thanks to their wedding guests and share their bliss, each guest received 5 pieces of sweets. Thus, the wedding favor was born. The candy symbolized the 5 wedding wishes: health, wealth, fertility, longevity and happiness. The French even had a name for the favor: a bonbonniere. Usually a small ceramic or glass box was filled with sugar treats and given at wedding and birthday celebrations. Italians also kept the tradition by giving guests chocolate or sugar coated almonds. The Dutch followed with sweet edibles but the Spanish tradition is to give a small vase filled with orange blossoms to each guest. 

Fast forward to the present and you will find the time honored custom of giving favors enthusiastically practiced, be they wedding favors, cheap baby shower favors or luxurious birthday favors bestowed on your 2 best friends.

For the young bride, selecting wedding favors can be a well thought out and meaningful endeavor or a last minute slapped together chore that you’ll wish you had paid attention to much earlier.

If you’re having your wedding in your home town, you will probably have your favors delivered to your home. How you plan to distribute them, will determine if you need to do any addressing. The most popular way is to lay them at each table setting and avoid having to make name tags. Some brides-to-be will want to give assorted gifts, different favors for men and women, or something special for your small guests. Individual favors will always need gift tags so make sure to allow time for addressing.

If you’re getting married at a resort or are planning an out of town wedding, think about making arrangements to have the favors shipped to the location ahead of time. Contact the hotel or better yet, if you have a friend or family member in the vicinity, ask them to help.  If you can, arrange to have the order checked for count and to make sure you received the right merchandise.This will help prevent last minute disasters. Shipping ahead will free you of needless clutter when en route to your big day.

Themed wedding favors are the favorite choice but you can also consider hand made mementos, living gifts such as seeds which produce a favorite flower over and over, or small but elegant silver items that carry an engraving or saying for which you want to be remembered. You will find that elegant favors as well as less costly whimsical ones meant to provoke a smile will be equally appreciated by your guests as long as they are given from the heart. They are a small footprint of the most important day of your life.