Lengths of ribbon such as this would have been sold to the public to be made up into wedding ‘favours’. Favours were bows or rosettes worn on the wedding day to show support for the bride and groom. Woven into it are the British national emblems of the rose, thistle and shamrock, with the initials of the bride and groom, V&A, surmounted by a true-lovers-knot and a crown.