Wedding favors are small gifts as a sign of appreciation or gratitude to guests of the bride and groom at a wedding or a wedding banquet.
The tradition of distributing wedding favors is very old. It is believed that the first wedding favor, common amongst European aristocrats, was known as a bonbonniere. A bonbonniere is a small trinket box made of glass, porcelain and / or precious stones. The contents of these precious boxes were generally sugar cubes or delicate sweet, symbolizing wealth and nobility. (At this time, sugar was an expensive and treasured only among the rich. It was believed that sugar contained medical benefits). As the price of sugar decreased throughout centuries, the tradition of providing gifts to guests reached the general population and was embraced by couples of modest means.