What Are Wedding Favours?
When the wedding is on the horizon and it’s time to start preparing the dress, the venue, catering and even the honeymoon, wedding favours can often slip our mind despite being such a traditional and very important part of a wedding.
Wedding favours are a show of appreciation to all the guests and family members who attend so for many, especially those who are a little older, they will usually be expecting some sort of favour at the end of the ceremony.
Luckily these are easy to prepare and are well worth doing to show the new couples personal thanks for everyone attending and how much they mean to them, but what actually counts as wedding favour?
And what are some examples? Keep reading to learn all you need to know about how wedding favours work.
What Is A Wedding Favour?
In its simplest form, wedding favours are small gifts given out to each of the wedding guests by the bride and groom as a ‘thank you’ and a show of appreciation for attending the ceremony and celebrations.
They are so much more than that though, these small keepsakes also allow you to express your personality and tastes not only to those relatives and friends you are familiar with, but even with those guests you don’t know so well who will get a good first impression of you.
Are Wedding Favours Traditional?
Wedding favours have been a big part of weddings for a few centuries now as far back as 16th century England as a favour to symbolize the love connection between the couples and the guests.
In France, these were given out mainly among French aristocrats who were getting married and were called Bonbonnieres as a symbol of good luck.
In Greece, couples would even gift their guests with five sugared almonds which represents good health, wealth and happiness.
Even though so much time has passed since these favours were at their most popular, the majority of wedding planners still put aside the time and budget to organize some wedding favours.
After all, many guests will often take long trips and a few days off work to attend, so it’s always a thoughtful way to say thank you and never a waste of time.
Types Of Wedding Favours
When brainstorming ideas for a wedding favour, you don’t need to just settle with a few bottles of alcohol or some tiny chocolates, it’s always good to think outside the box and be a bit more creative and vibrant.
Here are some interesting ideas for wedding favours you could choose.
Pressed Flowers
The best way to prepare these decorations is to calligraph your guests names and seating numbers onto the framed flowers to create a one of a kind gift that you can be sure will be hung up on the wall as a beautiful addition to the guests houses in no time and definitely a more subtle way to show your appreciation.
Fruit Carton
Small, cute and incredibly kid friendly, you can’t really go wrong with fruit cartons especially with how easy it is to gather the ingredients and prepare the small miniature cartons.
After a few delicious snacks and nibbles throughout the wedding, there’s nothing as light and refreshing to finish it off as a delicious fruit carton.
Seeds
Gifting a guest a small bag of seeds is more of a symbolic gesture and represents growth and harmony to make for an extremely meaningful gift that you can be sure each and every guest will cherish.
The choice of flower is up to you, but it’s especially touching to gift a type of bloom that was used throughout the wedding as a beautiful gesture.
Rustic Candles
Of course you could use any candles for this option but we chose rustic candles for their slightly smaller appearance and earthy scents that not only smell very natural, but are not too overpowering to the point where it might turn off a few guests.
Instead, you can be sure everyone will be lighting them up in no time and is a great gesture of thanks to everyone involved in the ceremony.
How To Choose The Right Wedding Favours
There’s a few key considerations to keep in mind when it comes to planning and preparing the wedding favours.
It can first be a good idea to determine what kind of gift you want to give your guests, something material that can be used up over time, or something a bit more symbolic that can be displayed or kept around the home without it cluttering up any rooms.
Alcohol, candles and baked goods are good if you want an easy option that everyone is guaranteed to enjoy and can be used by the guests as soon as they get home.
However for a more symbolic gesture it can be a good idea to look out for wedding decorations such as ornaments, engravings and pictures.
These types of gifts will often be more memorable for the guests however they will often take quite a bit more time to plan and prepare and can cost quite a bit more in the long run, so a major factor that comes into play is both how much time you have and how much budget you want to spend on the favours as opposed to the other parts of the ceremony.
If you’re really struggling on deciding, an easy option is to include a usable gift like some chocolate or decorations and then add a personalized card from the married couple for each person, this won’t break the bank and is still a really kind gesture that shows you have taken the time to show your thanks to everyone involved.
Summary
Wedding favours are of course a matter of personal choice from the bride and groom, however they should always be considered since they really do go a long way in making sure every guest is involved in the wedding and enjoys the big day as much as you do.