what would you want to see as a wedding favor

foxyforce
foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
so i am planning my wedding and am thinking about the wedding favors

i was hoping to get some ideas from creative people like yourselves!

i want it to be something that people can use....or from the heart. i would love to do a charitable donation, like $5 on behalf of each guest. but then to attach it to something they can keep, cause we all love favors!

i saw playing cards that can be personalized...but im not really sure

any ideas?
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Replies

  • ShmoozyQ
    ShmoozyQ Posts: 390 Member
    I like the idea of a charity donation.

    Honestly, I've never taken away a wedding favor I wanted to keep - no matter how special the bride and groom were to me.

    I think the best ones are edible, as long as it's something good/not cheap tasting. A good piece of chocolate at each place setting, a good cookie, a bag of candy or a candy buffet where your guests can choose their favs are all winners in my book.

    ps Congrats on your upcoming wedding!
  • Some great ideas:

    1. candy buffet

    2. cupcakes in a container

    3. cake pops

    4. bottle openers
  • xxbookwormbabexx
    xxbookwormbabexx Posts: 92 Member
    My brother and sister in law did the donation thing.
    They did have other favors though. A small glass jar full of personalized m&ms in their wedding colors. There was also a card attached with some pretty ribbon explaining the charity.

    The jar was cute to keep and put small flowers in.
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
    I've just been to a wedding and they had a photo booth. It was brilliant. Everyone got a copy of their own pictures and the bride and groom got ones too...bit like a wedding book. They provided plenty of wigs and stuff too. great
  • ChasingKatie
    ChasingKatie Posts: 331 Member
    I recently went to a wedding where the favor was a charity donation, nothing to take home, just a card at the table letting everyone know. I LOVE that.
    No one needs junk to take home and throw in a drawer :)
  • TinaBaily
    TinaBaily Posts: 792 Member
    My brother got married about a decade ago (divorced since then, sadly) and they had over wrappers printed to put on Hershey bars that had their names and the wedding date on it. It was nice to have to stick in a scrap book.

    My son got married last December on a shoestring budget (college students), and they had glass heart shaped ornaments on which they hand painted their names and the date of the wedding, and strung them with pretty ribbon in their wedding color, which was deep purple. They also had tiny bubble bottles at the tables. It was tastefully done and the whole thing cost them (well, the parents pitched in, too) less than $1K.

    Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!! I wish you many, many years of wedded bliss!
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    Our wedding was semi casual (sit down meal inside, then moved outside to mingle, play games, and such), so we gave our guest high quality foam can koozies to use for their drinks and to take home. We had them custom printed with our names and wedding date. Every one of our guests absolutely loved them and took home several. It's fun to go to family reunions and friend's houses and still see them in use 10 years later.
  • i did ivy plants.. very little ones that i grew and painted up the cheap pots to match the decor... they were really cute.

    had a large ivy plant display in the middle.
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    Photo Booth idea is EPIC! along with allowing people to donate 5 dollars to a charity perhaps of the bride and grooms choice
  • I saw on this one show I think called Four Weddings, this girl had 'candy buffet' and they handed out bags, and the guests could choose whatever and how much candy they wanted and put it in their bag and take it home. It was so cool.
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
    My mom saw something in a magazine that she thought was cute. We used it for our wedding favors and had a few compliments from people that it was creative and unique. You can also make it cheap depending on what you want to do.

    The premise is that you pick something that relates to each of your heritage. In the magazine, the individuals were Italian and Canadian. They gave everyone a small bottle of Olive Oil and a small bottle of Maple Syrup, each to represent their roots.

    Since we are both from the US, we used the states that we are from as our heritage. He is from Montana and I am from Washington. We gave everybody Huckleberry candy (Montana) and Coffee Beans (Washington). They were things that people could take home, use, and represented both of us. We didn't go too far out, just a few pieces of candy in each bag and a few tablespoons of coffee beans...enough to make a pot. We put them all in the little gift bags and tied each "pair" together.

    If you have any ?'s feel free to send me a message.
  • Personalized teaspoons. I think they are awesome.
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
    i did ivy plants.. very little ones that i grew and painted up the cheap pots to match the decor... they were really cute.

    had a large ivy plant display in the middle.

    this is really cute...and our colors are green and black so it could work
  • 126siany
    126siany Posts: 1,386 Member
    A relative of mine gave everyone CDs of the couple's favorite songs. The liner had all the info about the wedding.
  • Laddiegirl
    Laddiegirl Posts: 382 Member
    I think the charitable donation is a good idea, maybe design a card explaining the donation. I went to a wedding where the bride's father had MS and a donation was made to the National MS Society and I thought that was wonderful.

    If you really want to combine it with something, I'd go for a chocolate or other yummy treat thats very portable. I've been to many weddings with a physical gift like a wine cork, jigger, wine opener, coasters, ect and the brides complained about how many were left behind and the wasted cost. My best friend did wine bottles with a personalized label and had at least 1/3 of them left behind as well. You could also do a candy bar so guests could pick and chose their favor. My best friend's sister had a beach themed wedding and had a saltwater taffy bar for people to fill little boxes from and it was a huge hit. My sister is having a fall themed wedding in about 6 weeks and hers is 3 leaf shaped chocolates wrapped in foil in a little bag.
  • foxyforce
    foxyforce Posts: 3,078 Member
    A relative of mine gave everyone CDs of the couple's favorite songs. The liner had all the info about the wedding.

    omg...this would be perfect, i know my fiance will absolutely love this idea as well!!!
  • Candy
  • Nikki31104
    Nikki31104 Posts: 816 Member
    Our wedding was semi casual (sit down meal inside, then moved outside to mingle, play games, and such), so we gave our guest high quality foam can koozies to use for their drinks and to take home. We had them custom printed with our names and wedding date. Every one of our guests absolutely loved them and took home several. It's fun to go to family reunions and friend's houses and still see them in use 10 years later.
    Very cute idea. I love it.
  • I've just been to a wedding and they had a photo booth. It was brilliant. Everyone got a copy of their own pictures and the bride and groom got ones too...bit like a wedding book. They provided plenty of wigs and stuff too. great
    I went to a wedding last fall that had a photo booth and did donations. It was great! The photo booth gave out two sets of pictures- one to keep and one to put in a scrapbook that the guests can put together. you can add notes, drawings, etc to your photo. It makes for a great keepsake for the two of you, and guests get photos they get to keep. Then, instead of favors, the bride and groom made a donation to a cause that was important to them.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Cake pops, or those candy coated rice krispy treats...you can decorate either with candy rings, or small bunches of fake flowers to match the bridal stuff, easy to make and not super pricy, plus it's just cooler when the couple getting married takes the time to make the wedding favors...no one keeps wedding favors except the bride/groom, but if it's edible and good it will be remembered for a very long time...plus it would be easy to just add a tag to each one regarding the donation.
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
    I 'know' someone that recently got married and used wild meadow flower seeds as the favours. I think the fact that they're very green country dwellers made them a hit. The meadow she bought the seeds from is especially beautiful and not often seen so I personally would have loved them, having a bit of that meadow in my own back garden would be a real pleasure...the wild life would enjoy it too.

    The usual in the UK tends to be sugared almonds, they're great for keeping the hunger pangs at bay while you sit through the speeches but not the most original. A charity donation is great but what if they wouldn't have chosen that charity. Maybe make the invitations RSVP with a list of 5 or 10 charities to choose from. That way they have some choice in the matter but then thats adding to this....

    I actually dislike the fact that favours are expected, much like goody bags at kids parties. Places extra, unneeded, financial and thought pressure on the hosts. You're there for the event, thats the "treat", not to see what you can come away with.
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
    Those who love you will appreciate the opportunity to share your joy. I gave bulbs with sea glass and pebbles in a little glass votive wrapped with cream tulle, a ribbon, and a live flower. I'm sure no one remembers, and honestly I can't think of the name of the flower myself. Don't spend much of your energy here; spend it on heartfelt, handwritten thank you notes.
  • Gidzmo
    Gidzmo Posts: 905 Member
    My brother and sister in law did the donation thing.
    They did have other favors though. A small glass jar full of personalized m&ms in their wedding colors. There was also a card attached with some pretty ribbon explaining the charity.

    The jar was cute to keep and put small flowers in.

    You can get single-color M&Ms at some candy shops or order them online.
  • Screw donations. If you want to donate to some charity, then do it, but it's not a wedding favor. Give them something they can eat like candy or whatever, otherwise anything else is just junk. (Except for the plant idea)
  • CuteAndCurvy83
    CuteAndCurvy83 Posts: 570 Member
    I loved the idea of doing the plantable seed packets or bird seed things that they could put outside when they got home but I didnt have money for them at the time..You could also do a candy or popcorn bar and let them pick and choose the candy and things and the amount they want to bring.Really all depends on your budget.
  • KLo924
    KLo924 Posts: 379 Member
    Love the charity idea!

    The last wedding I went to, the bride and groom got several crates of strawberries from a local farmer and made homemade strawberry jam that was amazing! They had their wedding on an old family farm type location, reception in the barn, lots of paper lanterns and hand-made origami birds, etc. and it seemed fitting.

    I've seen a similarly themed wedding give little jars of barbecue spice rub (which they'd used in the food served).
  • Syreeta6
    Syreeta6 Posts: 377 Member
    We put personalized mini hershey's on the table and did mini photo frames which doubled as a seating card.
  • The favors from friends/family weddings I've ended up enjoying/using the most were:

    - Personalized Chico Bag with a logo of their initials ("M&L"). Super handy and doesn't look like a wedding favor.
    - Personalized Spice mix in a jar
    - Chai tea in a little tin (I liked it so much I asked the bride where to order more)

    The key is for the favor to be sufficiently useful that some people are willing to take more than one home to offset any folks who left theirs behind. I have three M&L bags, for example :-)
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
    The photo booth is an awesome idea because the bride and groom get copies of everyone's photo's... My sister had that at her wedding in August.