Give Five Wedding Almonds to Wish a Couple Lasting Love / 🇮🇹 Italy

Italian wedding confetti are sugar-coated almonds. A small group of five can stand for several wishes that people make for the couple. The handful of sweets gives guests a way to wish the couple prosperity, happiness and love. The almonds can leave the wedding with the guests in a little bag. That gives the wish a life beyond the meal: a guest may open the bag later and remember the people who handed it over. The gesture works best when you can see who it is for. Think of the couple and choose what you want to say to them.

1. Use white sugar-coated almonds if you want the familiar wedding form. Check the label and keep the ingredient information available for guests.
2. Count five into each clean, food-safe bag. Put the bags on the table or give one to each person who wants to take part.
3. Add a card if you wish. Write the names of the couple and a short good wish, or note what the five almonds represent in the version you are following.
4. Hand over the bag at the celebration or send it home with guests. For someone who avoids nuts, set aside a written wish they can keep.

The small number makes the preparation easy to share. One person counts, another ties the bags and a third writes the cards. Tie the bag shut once the five almonds are inside.

Sulmona, in Abruzzo, has a long confectionery tradition. In the workshops of the Pelino family, these sweets also became the material for decorative pieces. At weddings, guests can take home a little group of five. The craft looks quite different in a display and in the palm of a guest’s hand. Sugar-coated almonds can be assembled into a decorative object, and they can also fit into a small favour. At a wedding, five plain white pieces give the recipient something to count and something to connect with the wishes offered that day.