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Favors with flavor The cake is ordered, the dress designed, the music perfectly timed to each moment of the Special Day. A tiny tabletop detail remains -- the parting gift you will send home with each guest.
SECOND OF FOUR PARTS
By Betty Shimabukuro
bshimabukuro@starbulletin.comThe wedding-favor tradition goes back hundreds of years, spanning countries and cultures. In England, guests went home with bits of ribbon or lace, in Malaysia painted eggs, in Spain an orange blossom. Almonds, often with chocolate or candy coatings, were big in Italy and the Middle East.
The idea was to say thanks for coming and to pass on a bit of the wedding day's good karma, as well as to ensure luck and fertility to the bridal couple.
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That was today's history lesson. If you're planning a wedding and need a crash course on Why Do We Need Favors Anyway? do some online research -- weddinggazette.com, for example, is full of trivia. The Internet will also sell you favors of infinite design, but why bother when so much is available right here, from fancy imported chocolate to cookies fresh from local bakeries.After a bit of shopping around town, we've identified some highlights ...
On the high end: Top seller in the Neiman Marcus Epicure department is a nine-piece box of Richart du Chocolat, and this really says, "We have class." Each tiny heart-shaped chocolate is decorated with gold scrollwork, each box tied with a ribbon (to match your wedding colors) and marked with a personalized tag. The price is $14, and Epicure manager Cherilyn Shiinoki says the typical order is 30 to 50. They're ideal for smaller weddings, Shiinoki says. Brides planning larger affairs will sometimes order just a few boxes as gifts for their attendants. (At Ala Moana, 951-8887)
Yesterday: Leave it to the experts when accessorizing your wedding gown.
Tomorrow: Crafty brides can adorn their wedding tables with favors of their own making.
Friday: How to host a wedding in a home or garden setting.
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On the low end: Honolulu Chocolate Co. sells chocolate-covered fortune cookies, individually wrapped and customize-able with various bows. They start at $1.50, or $1.60 if you want a personalized fortune ("Thanks for sharing our special day, from Joe and Marge," or such). You print the messages; HCC inserts them when the cookies are dipped. (At Ward Centre, 591-2997)Do it yourself: Honolulu Cookie Co. sells charming little shortbread cookies in the shapes of butterflies and hearts in tropical flavors from pineapple to mango to Kona coffee, baked at the company's site in lower Kalihi. For weddings with a tiki-tacky theme, they also come in pineapple shapes. You can order them dipped in white or milk chocolate, and they're individually wrapped, making them ideal for favors. The cost when you buy at least 100 is as low as 25 cents per cookie.
The bakery has a relationship with Creations By You, which sells frilly bags, boxes, baskets, bows and other favor fixin's. Lots of samples are shown at the bakery -- make your own arrangements with Creations and do the assembly yourself. (At 1717 Home Rule St., 845-1517)
Once you've made a decision about price and style, the critical point about favor ordering is timing. Most flexible in this regard is Honolulu Cookie Co., which can produce an order in less than a week; the cookies stay fresh for several weeks after that.
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The delicate Neiman Marcus chocolates should be served fresh to your guests. They require three weeks notice and are delivered via Federal Express a few days before the wedding. Honolulu Chocolate Co. also requires a three-week lead time.For smaller orders, you can always stop by the shops and choose from what they have on the shelves. Much of the packaging is quite pretty as is.
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