Hello, dear readers! In the pre-wedding preparations, many of us literally came across various incomprehensible names and “curiosities”. Besides, have you noticed how the attitude towards the wedding has changed? The wedding celebration became a real holiday in the European style.
Events such as bride price, matchmaking and other cultural remnants have disappeared from understanding. Western culture not only brings its charm and sophistication to the celebration, but also pampers us with all sorts of strange things, such as bonbonnieres for a wedding.
It's time to find out what "bonbonnieres" are and what they are eaten with. In this article I will tell you what it actually is, what types there are and how to use them.
What are bonbonnieres and why are they needed?
The bonbonniere first appeared in France in the 15th century. It was a beautifully designed decorative box with patterns and designs. You could store sweets, cookies, dried fruits and other goodies in it.
French craftsmen made it from wood (for the lower strata of the population), glass, crystal or even gold - for those who could afford it. In original boxes of various shapes, the parents of the newlyweds gave edible gifts to the guests in honor of the holiday. In addition, there was a tradition of giving a bonbonniere for a child’s christening.
Newlyweds give such gifts to each guest as a modest thank you for participating in the celebration and accepting the invitation to the wedding. This is, however, what they did in France: they put a few chocolate-coated nuts or small cookies with fruit filling in a bag and gave it to each guest. This tradition exists so that those present feel welcome and can simply take with them not only warm memories, but also interesting gifts.
How to surprise a guest
Recently, macarons have become extremely popular - extremely tasty colored cookies of indecently tiny sizes and high prices. A very good solution would be to put a couple of macarons in a box; they look delicious and stylish. You can also treat your invitees to homemade cupcakes, but this is not entirely convenient: you will have to cook the day before, when there is already a lot to worry about. If you have time, then it’s a good idea to bake cookies of your own wedding design with the names of the newlyweds - this filling of bonbonnieres will be remembered for a long time. If the wedding took place in the summer or early autumn, it is quite possible to add juicy cherries, blueberries, blueberries, and lingonberries. Guests will be happy to enjoy fresh berries; you just need to make sure that the material of the bonbonniere can withstand the juice and not leak.
You can present a bonbonniere to a guest personally, when giving a gift or when saying goodbye. But it will be much better if the bonbonniere for the guest is placed on the table in advance, opposite each place. Sometimes they are given as a gift immediately upon entering the restaurant. Beautiful, tastefully prepared bonbonnieres can be the beginning of a collection. Maybe the guest, having received such a beautiful box, will be delighted and decide to collect similar gifts.
What is a bonbonniere and why is it needed at a wedding? After reading this article, we received answers to these questions. But whether the bonbonnieres are purchased or made with your own hands, sophisticated or simplified, any guest will always be pleased to receive such a sign of attention. This cute gift is a symbol of a new family. It's definitely worth taking a little time to incorporate this wonderful tradition into your wedding.
Types of bonbonnieres
Bonbonnieres come in different styles, both in design and content. Bonbonnieres for guests are currently made in the form of bags or boxes made of cardboard, fabric, plastic, and only sometimes made of wood or glass. The filling of the box can be: confetti, chocolate, heart-shaped dragees and other sweet gifts.
Which bonbonnieres to choose depends on the overall design of the wedding table, the theme of the celebration and, sometimes, the outfits of the bride and groom. It is necessary that the bonbonnieres not only aesthetically fit into the wedding and do not cause an absurd contrast, but also convey the atmosphere of the holiday and become souvenirs for a long memory. And bonbonnieres can be: boxes, boxes, sugar bowl, teapot, envelope, gift bag, pouch, and much more.
Bonbonnieres: envelope
Bonbonnieres can be decorated as envelopes. This type of “vessel” for gifts appeared not so long ago, but is the most practical. You can make envelopes yourself, or you can buy ready-made ones and adapt them a little to your taste. In the envelope we put confetti, flat candies (coins, for example) or a chocolate bar with a picture of the newlyweds and a small insert - a piece of high-quality paper with words of gratitude to the guests.
Don’t forget to sign the envelopes, preferably manually. The newlyweds can come up with a joint signature and add it to the words of gratitude on the insert in the envelope.
Pouch
A tulle bag can be useful for future guests to store valuables, so if we make it with our own hands, then make it as beautiful as possible and “forever.” You can buy bags at any gift store. Don't be surprised if the price for one piece is astronomical. In this case, it is easier to order the production of a batch of bonbonnieres at the nearest sewing department. Here you will pay for fabric suitable for the bags and the work of a craftsman, which will be much cheaper than the cost of finished products at retail.
At the bottom of the finished bag we place a round piece of thick paper signed by the bride and groom. This will be a small message for a big guest. The bag can be filled with high-quality large-leaf tea with flower petals and candied fruits, marshmallows, nuts or marmalade.
Box
The box is a classic of the genre. It’s pointless to describe its properties and qualities, but one thing is worth mentioning: the box is not practical. Unlike an envelope or pouch, which you can put in your pocket or throw in your purse, a box requires a completely different transportation. It will lose its appearance faster, and in principle it is not acceptable for a wedding - surprises are presented in boxes more often than sweets and notes from the newlyweds.
If the box is the most convenient option for your wedding, then it should be strictly pastel colors. The contents of the box can be as follows: Swiss chocolate, handmade sweets, several types of tea packed in beautiful bags, “healthy” marmalade.
The significance of gifts
And yet, what is a bonbonniere (the photo is given in this article) - an expensive gift or a nice little thing? Without a doubt, small gifts are given as thanks, but not without sophistication. The main thing is that the surprise is original and has its own personality. The article offers simple options as an example. If you approach the issue of making a gift more carefully and spend a little more time, it is quite possible to build lovely bonbonnieres in the form of chests, cakes, houses, handbags and pillows. After all, the more complex the bonbonniere, the more painstaking the work.
What is customary to give in a bonbonniere?
Today there are a lot of options for filling a bonbonniere: you can put here pasta, marshmallows, magnets with images of the newlyweds as souvenirs, calendars with the wedding day marked in red, not to mention chocolate and other unusual goodies.
Edible gifts
For a wedding, you can make your own cookies in the shape of hearts, rings, swans, or even the bride and groom. Depending on culinary capabilities and desires. You can also put quality dried fruits, such as figs, in the bag. It looks beautiful and expensive in any form. Candies and chocolate are the most common options, nuts with or without glaze also look great and expensive.
Inedible gifts
Each guest should find something valuable in the bonbonnieres. For example, words of gratitude written by the hands of the future spouses for participating in the wedding.
In addition, you can use flowers as filling. This can be a decorative mini-herbarium if the wedding is held in the fall.
For connoisseurs of Russian culture: we buy a small nesting doll, glue the groom’s face onto the matryoshka’s face, open the nesting doll and on the next one is the bride’s face. If the newlyweds are planning children soon, the nesting doll can continue after the bride’s face with the face of a cute baby with a pacifier in his mouth.
Small scented candles in a glass, wrapped in tulle or lace, will also be appreciated.
Filling
The filling of the bonbonniere can be either edible or not. Let's look at the tasty options first.
- Candies. It is preferable to take lollipops, caramel or chewing candies, since chocolate ones will definitely melt in a warm room.
- Chocolate. There is great scope for imagination: 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 sweets in a cool place in order to present a pleasant souvenir, and not something that has spread.
- Jam. Bridal hostesses who want to make a favorable impression on their guests can prepare tiny jars of homemade jam. If you don’t have time to deal with such a labor-intensive process, you can give store-bought or custom-brewed jam.
- Honey. Instead of jam, you can put honey inside the jar. A sweet and healthy souvenir.
- Nuts. A good option would be a small assortment of nuts. And it is stored for a long time and does not get dirty. Healthy and tasty.
- Bakery. You can present heart-shaped cupcakes, macaroons, and gingerbread cookies. They retain their taste relatively well, regardless of external conditions.
Now the wedding industry has developed so much that you can decorate any sweet to suit the taste of the newlyweds. 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: doves, flowers, hearts, ribbons - in general, everything that reminds of the wedding.
- Bath salt. You just need to choose a color scheme that matches the overall style of the wedding celebration, and a 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 interior decoration.
- Handmade soap. The shape can be different: 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 anything, in the general style of the holiday or contrasting. Guests will be happy to remember your wedding, looking at the decorative candle decorating the shelf in their apartment.
- Key rings. A memorable souvenir for loved ones can be decorated with a photograph of the newlyweds or contain information about the place and time of the celebration.
- Magnets. You can paint them by hand or use them as photo decoration.
- Sachet. A bag of aromatic herbs is quite suitable as a small gift for those present at the wedding. Original and cute!
How to sign wedding bonbonnieres
Each bonbonniere must contain a sheet with the following information:
- Wedding date.
- Words of gratitude.
- Good jokes.
- Signature of the bride and groom.
You can sign the bonbonniere with the following words:
We are sincerely glad to see you on our wedding day. You are our dear guest, and we would like to thank you - take this modest gift, and go ahead and hang out - a wedding happens once in a lifetime! Hooray!
Additional Tips
It is advisable to make the filling for bonbonnieres the same for all guests so that no one feels uncomfortable. You can only make a division into men, women and children in order to present them with the corresponding little things. For example, men won't be too happy with sachets or flowers, and women won't be too happy with tie clips or cigars.
It is not recommended to put too expensive souvenirs in the bonbonniere; this may cause inconvenience for some guests. In itself, such a gift will already be pleasant, since it is not present at all weddings.
How to make a bonbonniere with your own hands
To create an exclusive bonbonniere, sometimes it’s enough to watch one video to understand: I can definitely repeat it and surpass the master. And you don’t have to be a jack of all trades and attend handicraft courses - even if you’re not sure that your hands are growing from the right place - the Internet is full of life hacks for dummies.
Necessary materials for the envelope - bonbonnieres:
- Beautiful tape with patterns or glue - pencil.
- Several (depending on the number of guests) sheets of cardboard or thick paper.
- Satin or lace ribbons.
- Preparation for products (envelope template).
- There are a lot of blanks, so choose the most suitable one for yourself.
For a tulle bag you will need:
- Textile.
- Fabric scissors.
- Satin ribbons.
- Fillings in the form of sweets.
Product made from tulle
The easiest way to create small gifts is a tulle bonbonniere. To make it, you only need tulle, scissors, ribbons and decor, if necessary. Making a bonbonniere is very simple; even a bride who has never done anything with her own hands can handle it. Let's look at an example.
Related article: Crochet booties-sandals for beginners: master class with video
Cut the tulle into small pieces in the shape of a square. You can fold the tulle in several layers. For convenience, place it on a small bowl or cup. Place a treat in the center of the vessel. We tie the bonbonniere together using ribbon. Ready!
If you trim the corners of the prepared squares, the bonbonniere will come out more round. Also, the edges can be decorated with braid, and the bonbonnieres themselves can be decorated with beads, flowers, rhinestones and other decorative elements.
We will present to your attention ideas for making bonbonnieres with templates. The provided bonbonnieres are made of cardboard, but many of the ideas can be applied in practice for sewing.
Scheme and stages of creation
Template - print a photo of the envelope on a sheet of paper, cut it out and attach it to a blank sheet of paper. Mark the lines where you will need to fold the envelope and glue it, then carefully bend the ends and glue it. You can use the idea of a “seal” like in old films: red, with the coat of arms of the future family.
To make the bonbonniere bags neat and identical, you can use a plate as a universal pattern to get identical mugs for future bags. We place the plate on the tulle, make marks with soap on which piece of fabric to cut and cut out circles. Place sweets in the center of the circle, form a bag and tie with a ribbon. There are several variations in the photo on how you can do this.
This article presents the most important and interesting information that every bride should have before celebrating her wedding. May your wedding be unique, and may your bonbonnieres be the most touching and wonderful! Subscribe to our news, share with your friends, and we will continue to delight you with useful and high-quality content!
Let's move on to the fabric
Sewing a small decorative bag does not require a lot of money, effort and time. Let's look at an example.
We will need:
- material for bags;
- thread and needle or sewing machine;
- decor
Let's start sewing. From a piece of fabric we cut out a rectangle 2 times longer in length than the intended bonbonniere.
Fold the cut in half, connecting the top and bottom ends so that the front side is on the inside. Sew on the right and left. Turn it inside out. The bonbonniere is ready.
We decorate the bag at our discretion.
