By Jeanette Shinn
Crafting your own homemade chocolate wedding favors has become, in many circles, an integral part of the wedding planning process. For many this is a wonderful option for bridal shower favors, but homemade chocolate wedding favors are equally great for the wedding itself.
Regardless of when and where you make use of your homemade chocolate favors, the time spent making them is an event that the bride and her bridesmaids can look back on as a fun evening of laughter for years to come. It can be a wonderful time of crafting where the music was playing, the chocolate was plentiful, and the laughter was nearly endless.
But what options do you have if you want to create (or at least collect) your own chocolate wedding favors without giving in to the exhausted standby of Jordan Almonds wrapped in a sheer piece of organza tied closed with a ribbon?
One of the most popular options, though rarely attempted, is homemade truffles. These sinfully delicious treats are bound to please your guests. Nearly everyone loves the sinfully rich indulgence of truffles, but few realize how accessible recipes are - and they are really not that difficult to make for someone who knows their way around a kitchen.
As a result your guests might wonder if they had stumbled into Rachel Ray's wedding when they find they will be ending the wedding dinner with a homemade chocolate truffle. Present it as a wedding favor in any number of favor packaging options to match the decor of your wedding and they will be sure of it.
Another even simpler option, with the help of your local craft store, is the molding of chocolates. With a superior chocolate, some candy colors, a double boiler, candy molds, and a little bit of creativity you can create fun bite size candies that fit your wedding theme. For example, if you are having a Hawaiian themed wedding you could make orchid shaped chocolates in the colors of your wedding. Or perhaps, if you could find a mold, you could create chocolates in the shape of a hula dancer... or sea turtles... or palm trees. The possibilities in molding you own homemade chocolate wedding favors are nearly endless.
Fortunately there are plenty of options within the homemade chocolate wedding favor realm that lend themselves beautifully to such an endeavor. For example, chocolate covered strawberries, raspberries, mango, or any one of a number of other fruits are always a hit and once again easy to do with the help of your local craft store. Or if your circle loves it their coffee, why not try creating chocolate covered coffee beans? Fill a chest favor box with the treats and call it good, or you can intermingle them with an assortment of truffles and decorative molded chocolates in a clear Hexagon Favor Box. Or perhaps even choose some personalized ribbon and use it to adorn your hand crafted gift.
Chocolates and other edibles are not something you can make months in advance like a woodworker would be able to do with trivets or wooden puzzles they planned to present as wedding favors, but neither should you wait until the last moment. Depending on which recipe you use, chocolates will keep for a few days in a refrigerator and in some cases will last for as long as a month in the freezer so plan ahead. The experience of creating homemade chocolate wedding favors at the same time as keeping company with their closest girlfriends is one most brides treasure for a lifetime.
