What Kind of Favors Should I Have?
You can have a lot of fun picking favors that represent you and your partner's interests, match your wedding colors and theme or reflect your wedding location or season. For example:- For a spring wedding, you could hand out packets of flower seeds or bulbs, Easter candy or compact umbrellas for those spring showers.
- For a fall wedding, possible favors include small bottles of maple syrup, small gifts in fall colors or decorated with fall leaves or recipes for fall dishes like pumpkin or pecan pie.
- For an Asian-inspired wedding, try fortune cookies with personalized messages inside, fans, groupings of lucky bamboo or monogrammed takeout boxes filled with little items like candy or bath salts.
- For a wedding on the Outer Banks, you could give out shells, bottles of sand, sunglasses and tiny tubes of sunscreen.
Your Favors are for Your Guests
As important as it may be to you to have favors that match your wedding's theme, in the end it's your guests who are taking the favors home. You want to make sure that your guests will all enjoy and keep your favors. Choose favors that both men and women will like and include some items for children (chocolate is always a good bet!). And if you're giving out edible favors, keep in mind that some people are allergic to nuts, are lactose-intolerant or are vegan.Also, before plastering your names and the date of your wedding on a favor, consider if your guests really going to want to use that personalized champagne flute in two years? Why not put your names on a removable label?
Traditional Wedding Favors
One of the most traditional wedding favors is bags of Jordan almonds, candy-coated nuts that symbolize a sweet life for the couple. Opinions vary on whether the ubiquitous nuts (which can be ordered in any color) are disgusting or delicious, but any kind of nuts, especially coated in candy or chocolate, are traditional favors.Other popular gifts include dried fruit, chocolate, candles, and personalized items like matchbooks or mugs.
How to Package Your Wedding Favors
Decorated boxes or bags are popular choices for packaging wedding favors; you could also fill a personalized mug, shot glass or champagne flute, or, for a wedding on North Carolina's coast, fill a small sand pail.Favors can also serve double duty as centerpieces or placeholders on the tables in your reception hall. Or, you could set up a "favor table" that your guests can visit to pick a favor, like a popular candy buffet.
How to Save Money on Your Wedding Favors
Here are some ideas for memorable, attractive favors that don't cost a fortune:- Give out one favor package to each couple or family.
- Let favors serve as centerpieces or place cards as well.
- Shop around to find less expensive items, or consider buying in bulk or online.
- Wrap the favors yourself rather than paying a premium.
- Edible favors are less expensive but probably more thoroughly appreciated.
Current Wedding Favor Trends
Some recent favor trends include:- Favors both beautiful and functional. For example, personalized pens and pencils or the dry ingredients for a batch of cookies.
- Eco-friendly favors like seeds or plants or favors made from recycled materials.
- Edible favors: cookies, candy, tea, coffee, chocolate, or recipes with dry ingredients included.
Where Can I Buy Wedding Favors?
You have many options for finding favors; some places you might want to look are craft stores, boutiques and the myriad sellers online -- try Ideal Favors and Beau-Coup Wedding Favors for starters. If you're going to have a lot of guests, it's worth asking if you can order in bulk.Some places to start looking for favors in North Carolina:
Seaside Treats Etc.: North Carolina coast-based company (with online ordering) offers pre-wrapped beach-themed chocolates and other items.
Escape Concepts (Charlotte): With a retail store in Charlotte as well as an online store, Escape Concepts offers all kinds of favors from personalized napkins and magnets to decorated petit fours.
Keepsake Candy (Asheville): Store offering personalized favors like candy wrappers and water bottle wrappers, mint tins and matchbooks.
Are There Alternatives to Wedding Favors?
Instead of passing out favors, you could make a donation to one of your favorite charities; you can print cards to inform your guests. Other options include slices of cake (the Southern tradition of a groom's cake is often used for this purpose) or personal messages.Some Fun Favor Ideas
Here are a few more ideas to get your creative juices flowing.- Handmade soaps in different shapes and colors (you can get what you need at any craft store.)
- Heart-shaped coasters
- A mix CD with you and your partner's favorite songs.
- Special blends of tea in personalized tea bags
- Party recovery kits (aspirin, bottled water, eye mask)
- Custom magnets
- S'mores kit (marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers in a tin)
- Personalized beer/soda cozie
- Lottery tickets