At the Mill Forge we know them as wedding favours... but have you ever wondered where this tradition came from? A lot of people think this is a modern wedding practice, in fact it is a tradition steeped in history.
The custom of giving wedding favours dates back to early European history where they were given to celebrate marriages, birthdays and christenings by the wealthy aristocrats of the period. In those days these treats were luxury items such as sugar cubes which would illustrate your wealth and were symbolic of royalty.
At this time sugar was such an expensive item that was only available to the rich, and it took a number of centuries before it was affordable enough for everyone. Once this was the case, the tradition of giving wedding favours to your guests reached the population and was adopted by couples getting married all over Europe.
Soon however, the sugar was substituted for almonds which are historically known to be symbols of good wishes for the couples' new life. Almonds coated with sugar, also known as confetti, were introduced and these soon became the sugared almonds that we know today.
Many centuries later, sugared almonds are still a popular traditional wedding favour, and are given in sets of five to represent fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness. Their taste is said to represent the bitter-sweet experience of married life - let's hope more sweet than bitter!
