Choosing The Perfect Bomboniere For Your Guests

Ready to choose your bomboniere but feeling a little overwhelmed? You’re not alone. Bomboniere might seem like the easiest part of planning an event, but when you start trying to match a theme, make it personal, useful and affordable, well, it can quickly become one of the trickier decisions.

After organising my own wedding, my daughter Elisa’s first communion and my daughter Nicolette’s celebration, I’ve learnt that the best bomboniere are the ones your guests genuinely enjoy. The ones they take home and actually use, eat, or display. Here are my tips for choosing bomboniere your guests will love.

What Are Bomboniere?

Bomboniere are a small thank you gifts traditionally given to guests at weddings, christenings, communions, baptisms and other meaningful celebrations. The tradition has deep roots in Italian, Greek and Middle Eastern culture, where they symbolise love, prosperity and good wishes for the recipient.

While the tradition is centuries old, modern bomboniere have moved beyond the standard hard sugared almond today they’re thoughtfully designed, personalised and made to suit your event’s theme and your guests’ tastes.

My First Bomboniere…Our Wedding

When my husband and I got married, we gave each family a Swarovski bottle opener with five traditional sugared almonds attached. To this day, our guests still tell me they use it which is exactly what I was hoping for. (This was before I discovered the magic of flavoured sugared almonds. If only!)

That experience taught me my first rule of choosing bomboniere: give your guests something they’ll keep.

Bomboniere For My Daughter Elisa

For my eldest daughter Elisa, I went with a vintage theme. We used our 150g bag of Max Mix Coloured Sugared Almonds placed inside a Hessian tote with a little thank you note. It suited the vintage feel perfectly, and I knew everyone would enjoy what was inside.

The lesson? Edible bomboniere never go to waste.

Bomboniere For My Daughter Nicolette

For Nicolette, I leaned into the vintage theme again, but with different details. The bomboniere were baby pink fondant heart-shaped almond cookies created by my dear friend Coda Cakes, paired with a handful of 4 Shades of Pink Sugared Almonds. I placed them in a craft box with a cute sticker, and the bomboniere was complete.

What I love about this combination it had personal meaning, looked beautiful, and the cookies were too good not to eat on the spot.

Why Five Sugared Almonds? The Tradition

If you’re going traditional, the rule is five sugared almonds per bomboniere. Each almond carries its own meaning: health, wealth, love, prosperity and happiness.

If you don’t use five, always choose an odd number. The reason is sweet and a little superstitious odd numbers cannot be divided, and we like to think of that as good luck for the recipient.

You can read more about the history of bomboniere on Wikipedia if you’d like to explore the tradition further.

Tips For Choosing Bomboniere Your Guests Will Love

Here’s what I’ve learnt from years of creating bomboniere both my own and for our customers:

• Match the theme. Your bomboniere should feel like it belongs at your event, whether that’s modern minimal, traditional, vintage, or something completely your own.
• Make it useful. Choose something your guests will eat, enjoy or display. Bomboniere that get tucked into a drawer never to be seen again are a missed opportunity.
• Personalise where you can. A custom tag, the right ribbon colour, or coloured sugared almonds chosen to suit your palette can lift even the simplest bomboniere into something memorable.
• Think about your audience. Consider who your guests are. Are they coffee lovers? Sweet tooths? Foodies? Choose something that fits.
• Start early. Whether you’re creating bomboniere yourself or having someone make them for you, allow plenty of time. Quality bomboniere are worth the wait.

Where To Find Bomboniere Inspiration

If you’re stuck for ideas, head to Pinterest and Instagram first. Search for your event type wedding bomboniere, christening bomboniere, communion bomboniere and you’ll find endless inspiration. Most bomboniere businesses are active on social media too, so you can browse their pages and the suppliers they follow for fresh ideas.

You can also browse our bomboniere creations for inspiration on designs we’ve created for real celebrations.

And of course ask your friends. Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to find suppliers and ideas that suit your event.

Download Your Free Bomboniere Guide

To help you put it all together, we’ve created a Step by Step Bomboniere Guide everything you need to know about choosing, ordering and creating bomboniere your guests will love. It’s free and downloadable.

Download your Step by Step Bomboniere Guide

Let Us Help You Choose The Perfect Bomboniere

If you’d love help choosing or creating something tailored to your event, we’d love to hear from you. Browse our bomboniere creations for inspiration, or get in touch and we’ll work with you to bring your vision to life.

Because the best bomboniere aren’t the ones that get tucked away. They’re the ones your guests love, use and remember long after the celebration has ended.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How many sugared almonds go in bomboniere?

A. Traditionally, five sugared almonds are used in each bomboniere, with each almond symbolising health, wealth, love, prosperity and happiness. If you don’t use five, always choose an odd number — they cannot be divided, which is considered good luck.

Q. What makes a great bomboniere?

A. The best bomboniere are thoughtful, useful and reflect your event’s theme. Something your guests will genuinely enjoy — whether that’s eating it, using it, or displaying it — leaves the strongest impression.

Q. Can bomboniere be personalised?

A. Absolutely. Custom tags, ribbon colours, packaging and almond colours all give you ways to make bomboniere feel uniquely tied to your celebration. Personalisation is more popular than ever.

Q. How early should I start planning my bomboniere?

A. We recommend starting at least 8-12 weeks before your event, especially if you’re sourcing items from multiple suppliers or creating something custom. The earlier you start, the more options you’ll have and the less stressful the process will feel.

Q. Do bomboniere need to include sugared almonds?

A. While sugared almonds are the traditional choice, modern bomboniere can include anything from chocolates and cookies to candles, mini bottles of spirits, or olive oil. Sugared almonds remain the most meaningful choice for celebrations because of their symbolism, but the contents are entirely up to you.

With sweet love,
SAB xx