Tips and Trends in Wedding Party Favors

When most people talk about wedding favors, they start with the aristocrats of Europe, who had a habit of dishing out expensive bonbonniere — or ornate little boxes or dishes made of porcelain, silver, crystal or other showy things — at weddings and other big shindigs. Inside the boxes would be sugared treats, which cost almost as much as the boxes. Naturally, this was a big way of flaunting your status (in the days before you could charter private jets or cruise down Sunset Avenue in your Phantom).

Of course, the tradition continues today with our own brand of aristocrats. At the wedding of Nicole Kidman to Keith Urban, they handed out silver gift clocks from Tiffany & Co. to each and every guest — not cheap!

Later on, certain types of favors became traditions for the locals. In the Mediterranean, sugared almonds (known as dragées) were popular, and signified fertility as well as the bittersweetness of marriage. Small silver bells grew popular in Ireland as a way of warding off unfriendly spirits. Early English couples handed out love knots of ribbon and lace, hoping to attract both luck and love.

But the notoriously romantic Victorians handed out favors every chance they got. They especially liked surprising or symbolic ones, and their choices ranged from sprigs of rosemary to ornate hand fans, and bejeweled ornaments crafted from eggs to miniature dolls with movable parts.

Favors in America used to lean toward the traditional, drawing strongly on the couple's ethnic heritage. Many weddings skipped them altogether. Later on, you were more likely to see them in the coastal areas — and less in the heartland.

But today, you'll find them everywhere. Sure, wedding gown might be white forever (or maybe not!), with a few brides opting for ivory or champagne. But the cakes, colors and favors are slaves to fashion — and from season to season, all bets are off.

Most people buy their favors online. Today, the choice is simply staggering — the wedding favors market's kept pace with the growth of e-commerce, if not blown it away. Your choices number in the thousands, and range from tin lanterns and "fair trade" chocolate to moss sachets and caramel apples.

There's a tension between "wanting to see" and "wanting a choice." Have the best of both worlds. Order a sample to sniff, shake and fondle before you order a gazillion.

Your choice depends on your tastes and style, but certain themes have long led the pack.

Beach-themed favors are big, as are Asian-influenced favors with a cosmopolitan feel. Brides and guests love practical favors, like wine bottle stoppers, decorative notebooks and luggage tags.

Anything you can eat or drink, like custom-labeled bottles of sparkling wine, remains a big hit. Black & White, always popular, is reaching higher heights as couples reach to integrate stylish, modernized damask and toile into their linens, stationery and favors.

Asian takeout boxes are popular both for favors and candy buffets. Wedding planners are always on the hunt for favor boxes that make a big presentation on the dinner plate: pearlized or satin finishes, silk flowers, and funky ribbons (polka-dotted grograin, for example). Tiffany Blue gets stronger every year.

Brides are often torn about when to buy favors. One factor is the dreaded backorder situation ... which incents them buy early. The other is the final guest account, which brides don't have until near the end of their planning.

Compromise. If there's a particular favor you can't live without, buy extras and order early. If you're more flexible, wait until your guest count comes in.

Hint: Having a winter wedding? Buy early. The surprising demand for winter favors has led major suppliers to come up dry on many popular items around Christmas.

You can put your favors in the foreground or the background, stack them into a centerpiece or punch up a place setting, hand them out personally or simply place them in a basket.

Favors in elegant boxes look gorgeous stacked up like an ersatz cake in the middle of your tables. Some, like ornaments, can dangle from small trees or bare-branch arrangements. An ornate box looks smashing in the center of a plate. If your wedding's not too large and you want to make sure you've chatted with everyone, hand them out personally while thanking your guests for their time and trouble in coming — they'll love it.

Favors also look nice piled in baskets by the door, but they also run the greatest risk of being forgotten.

A rose isn't just a rose, and a favor isn't just a favor. Many brides find a fancy package really sets the scene. Anticipation, after all, is half the fun.

Many brides want to buy edibles, but aren't sure how long they can store them. Here are some guidelines:

Chocolate wedding favors: They'll last about nine months in a cool, dark place of average humidity. Don't refrigerate or freeze - and skip them entirely for a summer wedding on a sweltering microclimate in Mississippi.

Cookie wedding favors: Six months.

Fortune cookies: Individually cello-wrapped cookies: three months. Unwrapped cookies: one month.

Tinned mints: One to two years in a dry spot.

Favors have taken on a life of their own. Like the Victorians, we're starting to hand them out everywhere: anniversaries, birthdays, corporate events. Even save-the-dates are starting to show up in favor form —a practice that predictably started with the wealthy but is branching out to the rest of us.

Want to make sure your favors shine? Follow the advice of pro wedding planners, and choose favors that are either edible or practical.

For example, practical: people love wine bottle openers that fit the event (seashell-theme, or vineyard). Mini-notebooks or coasters you can personalize: hot!

Or edible: popcorn bars, candy buffets, hot sauce jars, anything from truffles to jelly bellies in gorgeous, personalized packaging. Try biscotti you've wrapped in a swatch of gorgeous fabric that matches your colors, and tied off with a ribbon. Or an aqua blue favor box tied off with crisp black grograin.

Bottles or splits of wine are never taken amiss, either -- and mint tins are both practical (great for those job interviews) and edible!