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Wedding Favours;
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On this previous page I started providing a list of issues to consider when selecting wedding favours.
Here's the rest of the list of ten things to consider.
4) If the wedding embraces different cultures, wedding favours that do the same would be lovely. For example, John is from Canada and his bride, Lucia, is from Italy. There are Canadians and Italians at this wedding. All Canadian guests are given a bottle of Italian wine with a Tower of Pisa-shaped wine stopper, and all the Italian guests are given Canadian wine with a maple leaf wine stopper as favours.
5) A favour that is homemade adds a personal touch that may be harder to find in a "store boughten" one. It says to your guests, "I was so glad you came to my wedding that I spent some extra, precious time making something just for you." Of course, if you absolutely suck at making anything of the sort, there are stores - even specialty shops - that will happily take your money and do it for you! When there's lots to do, don't ever thumb your nose at "easy" wedding favours.
6) Stay away from wedding favours that your guests need to care for, like lovely little bowls with tropical fish swimming in them. That ranks right up there with giving your 5-year-old nephew a kitten for Christmas. Your nephew might think you're the cat's meow - for 5 minutes. His parents might never speak to you again.
7) Some like to give personalized favours, like anything with the bride and groom's name and the date of the wedding inscribed on it.
8) A classic, traditional bonbonniere is a pouch of candied almonds, called confetti. These are sometimes tucked inside a wine glass, box or other decorative container.
9) Some people start with a decorated box, bag or other container like a pottery bowl, and fill these things up with small trinkets or confections.
10) Match your favour with a cute poem or phrase, for example, a fancy bag of Hershey's hugs and kisses chocolates with an attached poem that reads, "Some hugs and kisses from the new Mister and Missus!"
Also, if these wedding favours mean something in particular to the bride and groom, impart that information to your guests somehow.
At one wedding I attended, the bride and groom gave out bags of peanut butter cookies that they baked because he "popped the question" the year before while they were baking peanut butter cookies. Now think about this. Getting a bag of peanut butter cookies would be lovely any time, but after the master of ceremonies announced the reason why I was getting these cookies, it made sense and the reason put a smile on my face.
The gift has meaning and it's nice to know that meaning through an announcement by the MC, on the reception program at each place setting, or in a written explanation that comes with the favour.
Another wedding favour idea: Kill two birds with one stone and make your wedding favours your table centrepieces too, by decoratively placing enough favours for each guest at each table, in the centre of the table or at the top of each place setting.
Then let all the guests know that part of the centrepiece is theirs to take home after the celebration.
Here are a few examples that might suggest an idea for your wedding favours. Keep in mind that these are very general examples. Use your imagination and customize them to your heart's content:
- cookies, chocolates or other sweets in a container
- seedlings or seeds complete with planting instructions
- bud vase with flowers
- picture frames
- wine with stoppers
- mugs with tea, coffee, hot chocolate mix inside
- bookmarks
- live herbs in a pot
- candles or tea light holders or small garden lanterns
- heart-shaped soap
- pot pourri
- magnets
- incense and incense holders
- salt and pepper shakers
- garden decoration
- crystals to hang in a window
- CD of love songs
- an edible miniature wedding cake
- windchimes
- cloth napkins / tableclothes / table runners embroidered with the couple's name and wedding date
- sachets
- "Mark & Sarahs" favourite recipes book
For more elaborate budgets, more elaborate favours can be bought or made.
Do keep in mind, however, that just because one favour is more expensive than another, doesn't make it more meaningful or memorable to your guests.
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