Wedding Favours, a Worldwide Italian Tradition

The tradition of giving small gifts, or "favours" to guests at weddings dates back 300 or 400 years. It seems that the European aristocracy gave away the first wedding favours, known as a ‘bonboniere’- a small trinket box made of porcelain or crystal, often decorated with precious stones and usually containing sugar which was an extremely expensive delicacy at that time and was also thought to have medicinal properties.

The sugar inside the boxes was soon replaced by sugar-coated almonds in Italy, and the world-renowned “confetti” or  Jordan almonds were born, as they are still known today. 5 of these confetti were given to guests at weddings, to represent 5 good wishes for the newly-married couple: Health, Wealth, Happiness, Fertility and Long Life.

Not much has changed today, in Italy. Five (on occasion only 1 or 3, but always an odd number) sugar-coated almonds are still handed out at weddings and other celebrations too, but in recent years, the bomboniere or wedding favours, as they are known in English, have become popular worldwide. 

However, as times have progressed in Italy, an amazing number of new flavours of confetti have been developed, all absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious: chocolate, strawberry, orange, coconut, peach, pineapple, pistachio, limoncello, coffee, truffle.... the choice is endless. The dessert table, so popular at the moment at British weddings, is often replaced by the “Confettata” at Italian weddings, a beautifully decorated table full of glass or silver bowls, or fabric bags containing several different flavours of confetti. Whenever I’m attending an Italian wedding, I can usually be found near the Confettata table, just checking (honest!) that they “taste right”... if anybody comments about me lurking in that area of the room, I like to explain that I’m carrying out “quality control”!!! 

Confetti are also given to guests to take home, in wedding favours, which come in so many shapes and forms: beautiful little boxes, organza, silk or linen bags, arranged inside special confetti holding “petals” made from tulle, artfully arranged into little bouquets , or simply wrapped in tulle and tied with a silk ribbon. There are special shops in Italy dedicated purely to creating, making and selling wedding favours, but in the land where confetti were first made, it is maybe no wonder.

Confettiflowers.com

Wedding favours with almonds, chocolates or other confectionery are a lovely, thoughtful idea at any wedding, but in Italy, home to the original Confetti, they are a total MUST!! Anybody coming to Italy to get married can ask Country Weddings Italy for advice on choosing their wedding favours for their guests. I'll even offer to carry out a little "quality control" on the confetti too, if you insist ;-).

inventeventi.com

Martha Stewart Weddings

mezzalunabomboniere

Handpainted (edible!) confetti

Just "L.O.V.E" these Crystal Bouquets!!

A beautiful, sunny January morning to you! Yes, the sun is shining here in the north of Latium and that always puts me in a good mood. What better way to start the day than with beautiful photographs?

I came across these beautiful crystal bouquets while I was looking around on the internet for ideas and items for Country Weddings Italy to promote. We only like to promote things that we truly believe are beautiful, and which we would recommend to our brides and grooms. I must admit, though, having lived in Italy for many years, that the trend of crystal bouquets had not yet registered with me, as I had never seen one here in Italy.

The lovely ladies behind these creations are a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law team from Bury in the Northwest of the UK, Sheila and Natalie. The idea for their hugely successful business came from Natalie’s own wedding, when she decided to make her own bouquet. The business literally took over like a rocket and they now have a full diary for 12 months at a time. The bouquets that L.O.V.E bouquets now make for the business are created in constant close consultation with their brides, and the brooches, crystals and jewellery incorporated into these works of art are all sourced by the owners during their regular treasure-hunt outings in the local area.

Looking at their Facebook page, I noticed how “in touch” they are with their customers, constantly talking to each other and even altering bouquets  to suit changes in preferences when they are already in the process of being made.

It is also possible to purchase bouquets for bridesmaids and flower girls (some lovely ideas here, including a crystal wand for a little girl), buttonholes for the groom and other members of the male wedding party, and corsages for the ladies.

Flower girl's wand with butterfly embellishment

Blue buttonhole for a handsome groom!

3 matching bridesmaids' bouquets

Any bride travelling to Italy for their wedding could decide to have a gorgeous crystal bouquet made to bring with her for her special day and then keep it to display at home. Just take a look at these pictures and notice the handiwork!

My favourite, there are butterfly brooches in this one!

Photo by Jon Lyons