TO BONBONNIERE OR, NOT TO BONBONNIERE
By Jessica Alderton, Jessica Alderton Events
One tradition that many couples can be stuck deciding on is the bonbonniere or wedding favour. As a wedding stylist I have seen some of the best and worst there can be.
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Bonbonnieres while seemingly inexpensive can very quickly add up when multiplied by the number of guests, and removing this item that a lot of your guests may forget to take home is a way to save money with your budget.
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The truth is, I have seen some bonbonnieres that I absolutely adore, and these are often ones that are unique to the couple (and no I’m not talking about personalised stubbie holders). I’m talking about cute little items that represent the couple, either items they love or items that showcase their backgrounds. I once had a beautiful couple whose bride’s background was Russian. They chose for their guests these adorable little babushka keychains in colours to compliment the flowers. Another couple gave tiny boxes of worry dolls as the groom’s family was from Guatemala.
I have a couple coming up whose bride is from Latvia and wanted something wooden as a gift as her groom’s last name is Wood. After a bit of searching, I found some beautiful Latvian folklore symbols that we will be having made into wooden keychains, they will come with little cards telling each guest what their symbol represents. This gift is true not only the couple, but are items their guests will remember and cherish forever.
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Don’t have a fancy heritage? No worries! Your bonbonniere can be your favorite midnight snack such as Barbeque Shapes for guests to grab on their way out the door. Maybe it’s a tiny jar of your grandma’s homemade jam made from berries grown in her garden.
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Remember this a tradition that has come along way from the tulle bag of almonds, and no-one is going to be disappointed if there isn’t a gift sitting on their place setting or waiting from them as they leave. You have paid from their meal, drinks, and entertainment, which is more than enough.
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My final advice when it comes to choosing a bonbonniere is; if it is not uniquely you, if it is not something your guests are going to remember, and if it is not something you want a photo of in your album, then save that money for something else in your budget.