Bonbonnieres for a wedding: what are they for, how to make and what to fill?

The brightest and happiest holiday in your life is approaching - a wedding! How much excitement does it take to prepare for this significant event - everything from invitations and rings to large-scale attributes, and even the smallest trifles, should be perfect.

It is not easy to devote time to everything in the pre-wedding bustle, the bride and groom will need the help of loyal friends and girlfriends. Just they can be instructed to take care of the preparation of small, but no less significant accessories. Fashionable and irreplaceable wedding-themed items include cute and touching bonbonnieres.

Young people, planning a wedding celebration, try to surprise and please their guests, to share happiness with them.

The word "bonbonniere" itself goes back to the French bonbon, which means "candy". Thus, it turns out that as a gratitude to their loved ones, the newlyweds give beautifully packaged sweets. Usually these are small packages, bags, boxes.

The tradition of gifting originated in France. According to local customs, it was considered obligatory to present the wedding guests with a bag of sweets and chocolate-covered almonds. This is a symbol of family life: to share together the bitterness of failure and the sweetness of joyful victories. Be sure to put an odd number of sweets in the bonbonniere. Three - as a sign of the family: husband, wife, child. Five - for the wishes of health, happiness, prosperity, long family life, wealth.

In Italy, it is customary to give cute souvenirs not only for a wedding, but also for birthdays, christenings, name days.It is believed that by sharing their happiness with the guests, the heroes of the occasion only increase it. In general, Italian bonbonnieres, as well as in other countries, are designed to please and surprise dear and close guests.

Today, you can move away from tradition and put a small souvenir (instead of sweets and nuts) in a gift wrapper. The form of packaging is also varied, because the imagination of needlewomen truly knows no boundaries. You can order ready-made souvenirs in the wedding salon or from those who are engaged in hand-made.

The filling of the bonbonniere can be edible or not. Let's focus on the tasty options first.

• Candies. It is preferable to take lollipops, caramel or gummy candies, since chocolate will definitely melt in a warm room.
• Chocolate. There is great scope for imagination here: you can order tiles of any original shape or paint the packaging with good wishes. Let us remind you that it is better to store sweetness in a cool place in order to present a pleasant souvenir, and not something spread out.
• Jam. Hostess-brides who want to make a favorable impression on guests can prepare tiny jars of homemade jam. If you don't have time to deal with such a laborious process, you can donate a store jam or a made-to-order jam.

• Honey. Instead of jam, you can put honey inside the jar. A sweet and healthy souvenir.
• Nuts. A small assortment of nuts is a good option. And it is stored for a long time, and does not get dirty. Healthy and tasty.
• Bakery. You can present cupcakes in the form of a heart, macaroon, gingerbread. They retain their taste relatively well regardless of external conditions.

Now the wedding industry has developed so much that you can decorate any sweetness to the taste of the young. Using a certain color scheme, you can make various inscriptions: the names of the spouses, the date of the celebration. The shape can also be different: pigeons, flowers, hearts, ribbons - in general, everything that reminds of a wedding.

• Salt for bath. You just need to choose the color scheme in the general style of the wedding celebration, and the cute souvenir will remind you of this happy day for a long time. You can use salt for its intended purpose or leave it as an interior decoration.
• Handmade soap. The shape can be different: a traditional heart, flowers, animals. Or original, understandable only to a narrow circle of initiates. It all depends on the imagination of the bride and groom, the format of the celebration and the preferences of the guests. After all, the purpose of any gift is to please and surprise.
• Soap petals. Filling a box or jar with weightless fragrant soap petals is a great idea.

• Handmade candles. The shape, color and decoration can also be any, in the general style of the holiday or in contrast. Guests will be happy to remember your wedding, looking at the decorative candle that adorns the shelf in their apartment.
• Keyrings. A memorable souvenir for loved ones can be decorated with a photo of the newlyweds or contain information about the place and time of the celebration.

• Magnets. You can paint them by hand or use them to decorate a photo.
• Sachet. A bag with aromatic herbs is perfect as a small gift for those present at the wedding. Original and cute!

After you decide on the content, you should choose the appropriate packaging option. There are several nuances to consider here.

• The size. Correctly selected size will not be too bulky and voluminous, because it will cause inconvenience during transportation, storage, and not all guests are ready to take away large boxes. At the same time, overly small souvenirs can become a reason for discussing the parsimony of donors. It is very important that the contents do not fall out of the container and do not "dangle" along the bottom of the package.
• Material. There are many options for a beautiful and original presentation of bonbonnieres. Keep in mind that not every package is suitable for edible gifts.
• The form. You can choose original templates for creating intricate boxes or use classic options, focusing on the drawing, ornament, and the filling itself.

It is simple to make packaging from the material: you need to cut a circle out of fabric (you can circle a tea plate on the cardboard and use this blank as a template), singe the edges over a candle, or sheathe the edges with decorative tape. Put nuts, candy, or whatever you have chosen as a gift for guests in the center of the circle. All that remains is to tie the bag beautifully with a contrasting ribbon.

The most popular fabrics for this type of packaging are:

• tulle;
• chiffon;
• organza;
• atlas;
• silk.

These are light, flowing materials, they are festive in themselves. The advantage of using them is that the edges of the product do not require unnecessary processing.

You can also use other types of fabrics: burlap, linen, cotton. Slight negligence is in vogue, so the edges may not be processed at all to save time. A simple pouch trimmed around the edges will look neater. When choosing cotton fabrics, you can focus on the design of the fabric. Burlap and linen are colorful and self-sufficient; you can supplement such a bag, for example, with a jute ribbon.

If your choice fell on cardboard packaging, then making it yourself is also quite possible. Find, print and cut out a suitable diagram, and then assemble the box. You need to act carefully, without haste, and then success will not take long.

A bonbonniere in a glass jar will definitely suit your guests' taste. For your own performance, you can take baby food jars - they are just small in size and look neat. If you want to color your souvenir, apply a pattern or just sign a jar, use acrylic paints.

Decor is important for any packaging option. Even the simplest box can be turned into a small masterpiece if you take the time to decorate it. Bows and flowers made in various techniques look beautiful. Here, kanzashi needlework, quilling, knitting, sewing - everything that the bride can or wants to learn can help.

Every girl, even without special skills, can surprise and delight relatives and beloved guests on the happiest day of her life. We also remind you that, if you wish, professional wedding agencies will make all the necessary paraphernalia according to your sketches, make all your dreams and ideas come true - the only question is the price.

Finally, it remains to say that you can give away souvenirs at the end of the celebration, saying goodbye to the guests after the wedding feast. Or you can combine the function of a boarding card with a bonbonniere by writing the name of the invitee on the box or jar and placing it opposite the desired seat at the table.It is usually customary to give all guests the same gifts or to make a gender division. It will be a good form to separately please the guests of children.

See the next video for a master class on making a beautiful and original wedding bonbonniere.