When did this practice start?

[BlueScorpion]

I've been to a couple of weddings in the last year (the first for about 8 years) and in both cases small gifts were placed on the tables for the guests. I don't recall this happening before, does anyone know where this practice came from or when it started.

[Mamyalynne]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_favors

[ojread2]

I was at a wedding on Fri and we had small gifts each - it's traditional.
Ladys favours and Mens favours

[hc4361]

Wedding favours. In the 60s it used to be a little pretty bag of sugared almonds.
Now anything goes.

[ojread2]

oh, and I've had them at every wedding I've ever been too =)

[ojread2]

http://www.diyfavourb...?main_page=page&id=17

Bit more of the history - sugared almonds began in the 13 century!

[BlueScorpion]

Thanks for that I'd never come across them before.

[Old_Geezer]

Me neither. Maybe it was common practice in families other than my own.

[EcclesCake]

I went to a wedding where the bride was English and the groom Scottish. All the ladies received a miniature of gin and the men received a malt miniature.

My kind of wedding...hic!

[jamesnan]

My English brother married a Scottish lady, and all the guests were given hip flasks, filled with either brandy or whisky. Very useful idea !!!

[BlueScorpion]

The last one I went was an English/Scottish one as well, unfortunately they didn't go with the alcohol option lol

[jake-the-peg]

It certainly happened 21 years ago when I was at a friends wedding - all the women were given little battery operated fans.

We gathered together enough Helium baloons to get one jus neutrally bouyant and sent the miniture airship flying around the hall - it stayed there for about 20 minutes uniti it annoyed a band member who burst it.

:c)

[HowardKennitby]

I have never heard of that. Certainly never happened at any wedding I went to.

[joko]

it used to just be little novelties - sweets, bubbles, hairclips, keyrings etc etc - kind of like the sorts of things you get in quality crackers etc

but now there sometimes seems to be a bit of one upmanship with some people thinking they have to give proper costly gifts - like jewellery, miniatures, aftershave, makeup etc

i think its a bit sad when things like that happen as it can create unnecessary pressure on the bride and groom, to at least match what their sister, cousin, friend etc did.

i know someone who placed lottery ticket under every seat, which is nice but its an extra £100-odd to their expenses... i think thats probably the best idea, because its not overly expensive, but offers a nice little extra for a few of the guests hopefully.

i also heard a girl complain about the favours at wedding - i was amazed that anyone cared as, to me, they are a little 'extra', rather than an expectation of getting something for myself... apparently she thought the photo keyrings and packets of sweets to be cheap and unfair and she had expected 'something decent' like a goody bag!
i was gobsmacked - ungrateful and cheeky wretch...

[Canary42]

Never happened at any wedding I've been to.

[mightyWBA]

I've been to quite a few weddings and I've never heard of gifts for the guests either.

[boxtops]

It's happened at all of them I've been to in the last few years, and we did it at ours - we gave little bookmarks and keyrings to the guests.

[HowardKennitby]

Must be a geographical thing. All the weddings I have been at were in Scotland.

[FredPuli43]

I've never come across this practice; must have got cheapskate friends; but I've never heard of it, either.

The only gifts like that that I've seen given were at balls, where the women were given a corsage each, but that practice has died out.

[boxtops]

The wedding we attended recently, the guests were given little perfume and men's scent samples - that was different.

[HowardKennitby]

Maybe the Eds could organise a sticky poll to see how prevalent this practice is.