There are many theories about what generated the tradition of giving wedding guests a favor for attending the wedding ceremony between a bride and groom. Some say the tradition originated with the Romans in the 8th century, while others that the Romans started the practice of throwing rice and giving wedding favors to guests around during 400 B.C.
The History of Almonds As Wedding Favors
Almonds have been a traditional symbol of good luck and assurances for successful marriages for centuries. Originally, only high-class families with titles followed this practice and their favor containers were often made of silver, gold, or crystal, called bonbonierre. When the custom filtered down to the other social classes, by the end of the 19th century, almonds were distributed in golden paper boxes.
Middle Eastern weddings often use Jordan almonds at most weddings to continue this ancient symbolic rite. Guests are given five Jordan almonds to represent traditional wedding wishes of fertility, health, wealth and a long life filled with happiness. The candy coating on the almond is said to represent both the bitter and the sweet side of marriage. Today, many brides and grooms in countries all over the world will present guests Jordan almonds wrapped in tulle as a wedding favor.
But almonds are not the only nut with a historical role in weddings. Supposedly, when the groom gave his friends walnuts, he was saying goodbye to his bachelor ways. Walnuts were thrown at the couple during the ceremony and eventually evolved into today's practice of throwing rice at them.
Customary Wedding Favors Around The World
In Malaysia, children are the traditional bearers of the wedding favors, which usually include elaborately decorated trays of food and origami made with currency that represent flowers and cranes. A Korean marriage custom involves each guest receiving a beautifully decorated hard-boiled egg, representing life and fertility.
In Spain, it is not uncommon for guests to leave the wedding carrying a small vase filled with fragrant orange blossoms.
Party crackers were popular as wedding favors during the Victorian Era and are still used today as favors or for other festive occasions, particularly for the British Christmas season, but not exclusively. Party crackers were invented by Tom Smith, a London pastry cook, in the 1840s. On a trip to Paris he was fascinated by a French holiday practice of placing sweets and sugared almonds in a bit of twisted colored paper. He called his creation "Kiss Mottos" and did not have much success with them until he made the paper container pop or crack when it was pulled apart.
Personalized favors have a strong following and guests might receive a set of pens and pencils engraved with the date of the wedding or a shot glass engraved with the details. Another thoughtful personalized wedding favor is a small picture frame with a photo of the bride and groom.
The wedding favor tradition has evolved into a booming industry, providing solutions to the wedding favor quandary and the time-consuming task of choosing the right favor for the style of wedding held by the bride and groom.
Wedding receptions continue the practice of giving wedding favors to guests. Some are traditional, but it has often evolved into themed practices, like wine, hearts or flowers. Beyond the tangible favors, some brides and grooms choose to make a donation to a charity of their choice. Regardless of wedding theme, knowing the history behind the gift for guests, can help inspire brides and grooms to give a personal, thoughtful, and meaningful wedding favor.
Annalise Kaylor - Annalise Kaylor is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant specializing in search engine optimized content for the web. As a writer, ...
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