Wedding Favors 101

Most brides provide wedding guests with favors as a token of appreciation and love. While wedding favors aren’t an absolute necessity, they are a nice gesture to thank family and friends for joining you on your big day. Here are few basics of finding the perfect wedding favors…

Budget:

Set a budget for the overall expense of favors and then determine how simple or elaborate they’ll be based on the number of guests in attendance.

You can save major cash by purchasing favors in bulk, especially through an online retailer.

Cut costs by giving one favor to each couple instead of individuals.

Make favors perform double duty as place cards or centerpieces.

Depending on the number of guests, why not try making homemade favors to save cash?

Made-from-scratch sweets or a hand-painted gift can make a fabulous favor without breaking the bank.

Time:

When selecting a favor, be sure to plan for assembly time. If you’re planning to give out boxes or bags of treats, remember they’ll need to be packaged at some point, and if they contain perishable foods, you’ll have to assemble them in the days before the wedding.

Save time by selecting a favor that requires little to no work, like prepackaged gifts that can be laid out at each guest’s seat.

Be sure that everyone receives a favor by selecting a time and place for their distribution.

Set favors on each plate, create a favor station by the exit with an easy-to-read sign, or task waiters or ushers with the responsibility of distributing favors as guests arrive or leave the reception.

Eliminate your job altogether by requiring guests to assemble their own favors. Set up a cutesy candy stand with bags or boxes for guests to grab their own sweet treats.

Presentation:

Like every other aspect of your wedding, presentation is everything. Package favors in cute or interesting ways that complements the wedding theme and décor. Online retailers and craft stores sell everything from colored bags to craft boxes and ribbon to create a fun and stylish wrapped favor.

Choose favors in the same color or theme as your wedding. For a holiday affair, pass out Christmas ornaments or frosted gingerbread men, while a jar of jam or basket of fruit is perfect for a rustic outdoor gathering.

Spruce up any item with a personalized tag tied to the top including your names and wedding date, expressions of your thanks, or a meaningful quote.

The arrangement of favors can be artful in their own right—stack them together to create chic centerpieces, hang them from a fabric-covered corkboard, or add a splash of color to place settings by centering them on dinner plates.