Italian favours

In Italy, centuries ago, wealthy aristocrats introduced the idea of giving bomboniere to celebrate weddings, anniversaries, christenings, communions and other special occasions.

In their earliest format, bomboniere were made of gold, silver, crystal and porcelain decorated with precious stones and contained five almonds. The significance of 5 sugared almonds is that 5 is a prime number which cannot be divided (just like the bride and groom) and symbolises health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life. In Italy sugared almonds are also known as 'confetti'.

The word bomboniera is defined in the Italian dictionary as sweet dish, bonbonniere, candy dish and more commonly known in the UK as favours, favors, favori, wedding favours, bridal favours or party favours.

In current times bomboniere are attractive gifts of sugared almonds contained in layers of tulle or lace tied together with satin or organza ribbon, decorated with artificial flowers or embellishments of wired pearls and crystal. Modern alternative ideas are attractive favour boxes, organza bags or pouches filled with chocolate dragees, chocolate dragee mini hearts, foiled chocolate hearts or fruitini. They may be given as a gift in their own right or attached to a piece of giftware.

Italian Options is a wholesale distributor (vendita all’ ingrosso di bomboniere) of wedding and party favours, bomboniera. Established in the 1980’s the company has become firmly recognised as one of the leading and most reliable wedding favour wholesalers to trade professionals supplying an extensive product range. The wholesale favors collection consists of flat packed diy favor boxes, rigid boxes, nets, tulle circles, base discs, pouches, artificial flowers, wired jewels, butterflies, pearl and diamante embellishments, sugared almonds & dragees, foil wrapped chocolate hearts, real flower confetti & cones, petals, table decorations, ribbon and favour-maker machines.

As a specialist wholesale wedding favour supplier, we also offer creative workshops on how to use our products. Our creative workshops are offered to suit start-up companies as well as more established businesses. These courses are designed to inspire people working within party shops, florists and craft trades, specialist confectionery and favour store companies, sugarcraft shops and haberdashery departments. Wedding stationery/card designers and calligraphy artists may also gain inspiration from these courses.