Wedding Favors
Wedding favors are a little token of appreciation to show your wedding guests a little gratitude in them sharing in your special day. It does not have to be much, as it is amazing how fast the cost grows when you multiple its costs by number of wedding guests.
It is best, and easiest to keep all the favors the same for all guests, or at least give them all equal opportunity. You do not want everyone fighting over a limited supply or trying to pick the best favor items.
Wedding favor ideas
Everyone is always trying to think of just the right unique wedding favor for their guests. And that is great, but you do not need to lose sleep over it. There are some really simple and cost effective wedding favors that will bring a smile to your guests' faces.
If you are an outdoorsy type or environmentalist, one idea is to give a tree to plant. The cool idea about this favor is that friends and family can watch the tree mature as does the marriage. For the musical types, you can always put together a CD compilation of your favorite memory songs and songs used in your ceremony or reception.
Along the line of food, you can offer tasty cupcakes to satisfy that midnight snack for those guests who did not get enough wedding cake. Another sugar filled wedding favor idea is to offer bowls of your favorite candy for your guests to snack on. Be sure to leave little baggies and have tongs or spoons to help them dig out their treats and take them home. If you have any wine makers in the family, giving your guests a uniquely labeled bottle of homemade wine commemorating your wedding day is another great idea.
Another gift idea to ensure that your beautiful table decorations do not go to waste, is to offer those as the party favor, but watch out, as there is likely not enough for all your guests and you don't want your guest fighting over them.
If there was a recent death of a family member or somebody that would have been at the wedding, giving a donation in their guest name is a great, thoughtful and often very appreciated idea. Giving them the donation bracelets that are common these days will let everyone know they donated to the cause.
These are just a sampling of ideas to start with. There are probably lots of unique favor ideas that you can come up with. I have heard of a tennis pro couple who gave out containers of tennis balls with their names and wedding date stamped on them. Now, obviously that will not work for everyone, but there is something unique about you and yours guests will be just perfect.
Wedding favor alternatives
Instead of giving out lower-cost gifts, you can buy a few higher ticket generic gift items such a fine wine, iPod Shuffles, mp3 Players, or just about anything and use those for a grand prize. Simply write up a quiz about yourselves as individuals and as a couple for the guests to complete during the break in between the ceremony and reception, during dinner, or whenever. This can be quite fun and will get all the different groups of people talking together and meeting each other. The person, or team that does the best on the quiz, wins the prize.
Distributing the favors
There are a few ways that you can give out your wedding party favors too. Depending on what it is, the simplest way is to put it on the table. But keep in mind this might take away from all the efforts to make the tables look so fantastic. Conversely, adding the party favor to your table decorations could enhance the look of the table. Another option is to place them out on table later in the evening to allow your guests to help themselves. Just be sure that you have enough, as you do not want to disappoint your guests. One thing to consider is to keep some set aside, in case anyone loses theirs or does not get one and you can still personally give it to them. If you are offered a lot of help by friends and family at the wedding and you would like to include them, you can always ask them if they could help give out the wedding favors to your guests. This can be done as the guests enter the reception or leave to make it easy or simple wander around during the evening and give them out to people. It is really up to you, as it is your special day.
Personalized wedding favors
It is really nice to give out a personalized wedding favor to help your guests remember your wedding day. Typical personalized favors should include your names and of course the date.
Buying wedding favors
Once you know what you are planning to give out as your wedding favors, be sure to give plenty of notice when placing your order. Since you are going to be buying one for every guest, couple or family at your wedding, unless you are buying from someone who is used to selling in bulk orders, it might require some time to get enough items for you. You might also need to buy the same items from different stores or locations. Chances are by this time, you are already used to having to run around a lot to get things done.
Keep in mind, that buying from a wholesaler might be a good way to go in this instance as it might save you a lot of money since you are buying something in larger quantities.
Be smart about your favor ideas, for instance, if you are having a destination wedding or a wedding where lots of out of town guests are staying, don't give them something that will die, such as flowers or trees.
Be creative and thoughtful, no need to spend that much, your guests aren't expecting lavish gifts.
