By: Crystal and Jason Melendez
An often-overlooked detail of your wedding reception is the favors you give out to your guests. Wedding favors have a triple purpose, really: they serve as thank-you gifts for your guests’ attendance and support, memoirs of your special day, and also as decoration accents for your tables. Simple or extravagant, the style of your favors will be a reflection of the rest of your wedding’s formality and theme as well as your own very unique personalities. Don’t hesitate to think outside the box here.
While many couples like the tradition of mints or Jordan almonds in tulle,
others strive for creativity and uniqueness, and your guests will love a break from the expected norm in the goodies they get.
Things to Consider
We’ll start with cost, although this should by no means be the sole guide to your choice of favors. Take the total amount you’ve budgeted for your favors and divide by the number of expected guests to get your target cost-per-favor.
You’ll want to have about 25 extra favors too, just to be safe.
How personalized do you want the favors? Will you be able to include your names, wedding date, and any special message? Ribbons, inscriptions, and calligraphy are all possibilities for personalization.
Think about assembly. How demanding and time-consuming will it be to create or bundle together the favor you have in mind? Can you enlist any help from friends or family?
How’s the decorative potential? Will the favors boost the atmosphere of your reception? Does the favor’s style match your wedding formality and theme?
Is the favor practical? In other words, does it have a potential use for your guests (eating is an excellent use, by the way!)…or will it be something they’ll toss or put away to collect dust? Some favors look gorgeous and cute when they’re arranged together on a table, but quickly lose their appeal when brought home separately by each guest.
Will you have a place to store the favors after they’re assembled or purchased? How will you transport them to the reception location, and how will they be distributed? You might choose to have favors present at the tables; they could
even take on yet another role as placeholders (lavender soaps wrapped in decorative paper with guests’ names, for example). You could also lay favors out on a separate table or have them handed out personally.
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Online Wedding Favor Ideas
Online shops like www.hansonellis.com are full of ideas, catalogs, and articles for all kinds of fun favor possibilities. Get your inspiration and how-to’s as well as search for online discounts. These online shops cover the latest trends and recommended picks. Even if you’re thinking of handcrafting your own gifts, you’ll find such websites to be a useful source of ideas.
For ecological favor ideas, such as tree saplings or forget-me-not seed packages, check out Evergreen Memories (www.evergreenmemories corn)
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Ideas
Above all, let the theme and style of your wedding guide your choice of favors.
Here’s a few ideas:
Edible
• Chocolates or truffles. Buy or handcraft decorative boxes to enclose them
• Frosted cookies
• Little jars of honey or jam
• Fortune cookies with a special message inside
• Sparkling cider mini-bottles
• Custom-labeled bottles of wine
Handcrafted
• Decoupage flowerpots
• Miniature wreaths made of herbs with a symbolic representation, like rosemary for remembrance
• Potpourri or rose petal-filled lace sachets
• Handcrafted or hand-decorated boxes filled with candies or other goodies
• Homemade candles or soaps
• Custom-created CD with your favorite music, labeled with your names and wedding date
Practical
• Letter openers
• Lottery tickets
Ecological
• Packets of seeds or little saplings to be planted
• Natural objects native to the area or relative to your theme: seashells, miniature pine cones, etc. Affix ribbons with your names and wedding date.
• Break-away centerpieces like several small pots of miniature rosebushes that can be distributed among the guests at each table.
• Miniature lucky bamboo plants.
• Donation to your favorite charity in the name of each guest. Distribute cards
on ornate paper describing the charity and the donation.
Traditional
• Jordan almond or mints wrapped in tulle and white ribbon
• Votives with scented candles
• Hershey’s kisses
• Slice of the groom’s cake in a decorated box
• Wedding bubbles or bells
• Placecard frames
Gift Baskets for Out-of-Town Guests
Welcome baskets are an optional touch of thoughtfulness that will be well appreciated by those guests who travel a distance to be with you on your special day. Have it waiting for them as they arrive at their lodging, whether it is at a hotel or the home of a relative. You can arrange for this ahead of time with the management of the hotel where your guests will be staying. Ask about it early on so that they’ll be prepared to distribute your baskets to the appropriate rooms.
The welcome basket can contain anything you like: wine and truffles, gourmet cheeses, crackers and fruit, a city guide and disposable camera, or a certificate for a massage or other amenity at the hotel.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Crystal and Jason Melendez are the authors of e-Plan Your Wedding:
How to Save Time and Money with Today’s Best Online Resources
For more information, please visit
http://www.eplanyourwedding.com
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