Welcome back to Inhabitat’s Green Wedding Guide! So far in this summer series we’ve covered eco-friendly jewelry, locations, invitations and now we’re bringing you our tips and suggestions for eco-friendly gift giving. Favors, gifts and registries are sometimes thought of as the bane of a green wedding. It can get overwhelming to plan details of sustainability into an eco-friendly wedding — let alone find meaningful gifts that aren’t a load of eco-guilt. Some fight the gift giving, but giving and receiving is fun, and there are many easy ways to make wedding gift exchanges more environmentally friendly.

Registries are a delicate topic and difficult for many couples to discuss and decide upon. These days most couples have everything they “need,” not to mention it feels weird to ask your guests for gifts as a requirement of their attendance. But every smart eco couple should definitely create a registry — otherwise you’ll end up with a slew of bowls, platters, and scary expensive blown glass vases that you don’t need or want. This is your chance to get the good Calphalon pans you’ve dreamed about that will last you forever. You can also ask for practical stuff like tools, camping gear, rugs, a composter – just make sure you ask for quality products that will last — and are made from eco-friendly materials. You could also register at green design retailers like Re:Modern, Branch, GreenDepot, even Target has a lot eco-friendly items now. Another popular registry is to ask for donations for a bigger item – like a home or a honeymoon. If you are picking and choosing gifts from all over or are asking for donations, you can also use MyRegistry.

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Wedding favors are small gifts given as a gesture of appreciation or gratitude to guests from the bride and groom during a wedding ceremony or a wedding reception.
The tradition of distributing wedding favors is a very old one. It is believed that the first wedding favor, common amongst European aristocrats, was known as a bonbonniere. A bonbonniere is a small trinket box made of crystal, porcelain, and/or precious stones. The contents of these precious boxes were generally sugar cubes or delicate confections, which symbolize wealth and royalty. (In this era, sugar was an expensive commodity and was treasured only among the wealthy. It was believed that sugar contained medical benefits. As the price of sugar decreased throughout centuries, the tradition of providing gifts to guests reached the general populace and was embraced by couples of modest means. As sugar became more affordable, bonbonnieres were replaced with almonds. For centuries, almonds were commonly distributed to wedding guests to signify well wishes on the bridegroom’s new life. In the thirteenth century, almonds coated with sugar, known as confetti, were introduced. Traditionally, five Jordan almonds are presented in a confection box or wrapped in elegant fabric to represent fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness.

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