Savor the Favor

The tradition of giving wedding favors dates back centuries. Sources reveal in early English aristocratic weddings, guests were given small boxes filled with sweet delicacies such as sugar cubes or almonds. Hence, the tradition of the bride and groom showing thanks to guests by giving gifts at the wedding or reception was born.

If only choosing gifts for a modern wedding was as easy as gathering 100 tiny boxes and filling them with almonds. It is wonderful that nuptials afford thousands of different wedding favor options. However, maneuvering the plethora of choices, colors and websites of favors can be overwhelming.

As if all the options weren't daunting enough, there are wedding websites that allow people to post their worst wedding favors! So, to ensure your wedding favors do not end up as a “worst wedding favor” BSCENE has called in the experts: Wedding coordinator for Villa di Felicitá, Ronda James; and Catering and Event Coordinator for Hollytree Tree Country Club, Randi Mahomes; to offer some expert tips on how to pick the best gifts that will be memorable and ideas for favors that will add personality to any wedding. Let theses tips steer you toward knock-out favors that guests will truly savor and remember for the right reasons.

First, perhaps you are planning a wedding on a strict budget and are wondering if etiquette requires wedding favors for guests at all. Both Mahomes and James recount that the days of elaborate sit-down meals at most weddings are gone. “No, it is not necessary to provide favors for guests. If you are providing a nice meal and drinks, most guests are impressed enough by that alone. It is a nice gesture to have favors for guests, but certainly not required. I don't see favors as much as I used to.” Mahomes also expounded that because the food and entertainment at the receptions are for the guests enjoyment, those elements can let guests know how much their presence is appreciated.

Assuming favors are to be included in your wedding day experience, the next step is deciding how much to spend on favors, then narrowing down the choices. Favors can range anywhere from under $1 to $20 or more. Mahomes suggests using the Internet as a starting resource for wedding favor ideas. “There are endless places here to find the perfect favor and stick within every bride's budget.” The internet is an endless source to browse an abundance of sites and shop for the best favors and prices.

Themes are a fun way to incorporate favors into the wedding. Color-themed and seasonal gifts are also great ways to integrate theme and colors into the wedding seamlessly. While Mahomes points out that that the perfect favors don't necessarily have to match the wedding theme, they can definitely add to the décor on the big day. Colorful candy buffets by the venue's entrance or elegant candles wrapped in tulle at each guests' place setting can definitely make for visually appealing favors.

Gifts bearing the bride and grooms' names, the wedding date and even a photo of the couple are great ways to make the occasion special and distinctive. Items such as custom-printed M&Ms and personalized wine labels can be ordered online with the click of a button and delivered to your door. Personalizing favors can also help make them more elegant and ensure they will mesh with other wedding décor. What is the value of customized or monogramed favors? Guests appreciate someone made an extra effort to have the favors personalized. “Most brides like to have either their date or a picture of the bride and groom incorporated on the favors,” James said. “It becomes more personal and a more memorable gift for guests.”

Creative favors can often be the most memorable. Wildflower seeds with a note “Grow with love and care,” is not only a creative but a very affordable option that can be executed in many different ways. The seeds could even be put in personalized envelopes with a bow for an elegant touch or in recycled organic bags with twine for a rustic touch. A small, leafy plant or bulb adorned with a bow for each guest is another creative and decorative option that looks beautiful displayed as a centerpiece and can be taken home after the reception.

Perhaps you want wedding favors that are slightly more unique and not so common. Here are some other creative ideas we found online. Folding fans or hand fans in wedding colors for outdoor summer weddings can be used during and after the ceremony and reception to cool down guests. Glass coasters with a picture of the bride and groom can be used at each place setting during the reception. Guests can replace the photo after the wedding with one of their own. Other items that are easy to find: mini salt and pepper shakers and personalized playing cards.

If you want to interject some true personality into your wedding a great way to broaden the scope of your favor search is to enter the realm of the big dogs: business promotion products. Promo products for businesses open the window of creativity because they offer practically any product under the sun, custom-printed at competitive prices, for bulk purchases. You may also be able to find the same item at a better price than listed on a wedding site. A peak into the window of products available: personalized chocolate coins sets, glow sticks with your logo, chocolate covered fortune cookies with individualized messages, fleece logo-embroidered earmuffs, logo golf balls, pocket sized hand sanitizers, sunblock, aluminum water bottles – the list is nev er ending.

And with creativity in mind, why not incorporate your wedding location with the favors? Personalized sunblock or rubberized shades (shades can be found online for .94 cents with the logo included), are the perfect favor for a Cancun destination wedding. Earmuffs or fleece blankets with your wedding date and destination printed on them would be perfect for mountain-side weddings in cool climates. These sites offer so many products any theme or color can be matched or found. Guests will never know it came from a business site instead of a wedding site – and they won't care when they see the creative and fun favors at the reception!

An additional idea that is truly unique and fun is renting an old fashioned photo booth for the wedding. Guests can keep the photo printouts as favors. Mahomes recalled a wedding she attended and what a hit the booth was with the guests. She says the pictures are great souvenirs for the guests to take home, share online and the bride can get copies for her scrapbook.

When it comes to wedding favors, another question often comes up: how and where do you display and distribute them? James suggests if the favors are small and coordinate with the décor/color scheme placing them on the table at each place setting is a perfect way to ensure each guest receives their favor. If the favors are bigger, like a bottle of wine, James recommends displaying them on a separate table – perhaps by the entrance or exit. “If you are having a bar and have koozies for favors placing them at a bar is a fun way to display them!”