Wedding chocolates or as more commonly known, wedding favours stem from a tradition going back many years as a way of saying “Thank you” to your guests; a small token of your appreciation for their sharing in your special day.
It is believed the tradition originates with the French aristocracy, with a small box made of precious stones, or crystal, filled with sweet treats or sugared almonds. Sugar was considered to be a luxury, and was expensive and pretty difficult to get hold of, which made it an impressive treat to offer your guests. These little boxes were called Bonbonnieres, which is where we take the word Bonbons (sweets) from.
As with most things, traditions are adopted by other cultures and tweaked to make them their own. Wedding favours have included the giving of orange blossoms to signify fulfillment and happiness, candy coated almonds, and even wedding knots made of ribbons and lace. The well known idea of 5 sugared almonds in a small bag or a box were to represent the five blessings of Health, Wealth, Happiness, Long Life and Fertility.
With modern attitudes, favours have evolved into the Bride and Groom choosing all manner of things to put at each place setting and many go to town to use this as an opportunity to have a little fun. Amongst our team we have known of hangover cures, tokens for a mini chocolate shop, paracetamols wrapped in gift wrap, as well as lottery tickets and even mini bottles of spirits wrapped and placed on the place setting.
Thankfully though, chocolate still remains the most popular choice overall, with it taking many forms including mini hearts, cocoa covered almonds, special single origin chocolate bars and very our own newest addition of our lovely boxes of chocolate buttons.
Whatever you choose, it’s not about giving an expensive gift, but a small token of appreciation for your guests sharing your day with you, so there’s no need to go overboard. If you are a guest, do remember to take the favours home and don’t upset your hosts by leaving it at the venue, even if you aren’t keen, you can always give it to someone at home to enjoy!