Great Wedding Favor Ideas
They can't take home leftovers, and only one lucky person usually grabs the centerpiece. But wedding guests can still be treated to a lasting memento of your wedding in the form of a favor, and creative couples are coming up with some real winners these days.
A small packet of rice was the traditional favor for many years, intended to be hurled around the newlyweds as they left the reception. But concern for our feathered friends (not to mention the mess) has once again relegated rice to a side dish at the rehearsal dinner. When seated at the reception, though, guests are still likely to find a tulle or satin sachet by their placecard.
Nowadays, they are likely to be filled with a potpourri mix of the bride's choice of bouquet flowers, or flowers and sandalwood to represent man and wife. Tulle packets, tied with ribbons in the wedding colors, are also stuffed full of white chocolate almonds, jellybeans and chocolate-covered espresso beans.
Candy, in fact, has become a favorite favor to leave for wedding guests. Small, beribboned boxes containing a couple of scrumptious chocolate truffles are a big hit, as are candy roses. Many confectioners will make these sweets incorporating the wedding colors, at prices that will not fatten the wedding budget too much.
Candles, from tapers to votives, are another hot item lighting up the favor department. They're easy to find in the right colors, and very cost-effective. The addition of a small base or holder makes them even more special, as does wrapping them with a ribbon with the couple's name and wedding date.
If you're sure no one will take offense, small, airline-sized wine bottles or a miniature bottle of a romantic liqueur like Amaretto are delightful and look terrific on reception tables. Naturally, these are more appropriate for adults-only receptions, but small bottles of sparkling cider are also available for a mixed-age crowd.
As weddings represent the beginning of a new life for the bride and groom, seeds and even live seedlings are showing up on guest tables. Packets of flower seeds are inexpensive and pretty, and can be personalized with homemade labels. It's still a custom in many families to plant a tree to grow old with the newlyweds, and small saplings of oak or pine are a beautiful symbol to pass out to guests. Ask them to plant it in a special place where they're sure to see it grow.
Small booklets of the couple's favorite poems, songs, or inspirational passages are enchanting to find as a wedding favor. Available at most bookstores, they can give your guests an insight into your emotional and spiritual nature. But with desktop publishing so easy these days, a couple can custom-make their own miniature tomes, complete with family memories and photos.
Many just-marrieds like to use their personal faith as a favor theme, and a well-stocked religious supply store will likely have an abundance of inexpensive but thoughtful gifts. Rosaries, devotional cards, and even bookmarks with Biblical passages are good choices.
If you have people flying in from all over to attend your nuptials, you may opt for a favor with a regional twist. For instance, small cacti or bottles of hot sauce are appropriate for weddings in the Southwest, maple syrup or maple candies are a match for New England ceremonies, and a pine sapling is a sure symbol of the Northwest.
Rounding out the list of popular favors, we find refrigerator magnets, miniature picture frames, small bud vases, and bottles of bubbles. Watch out for that last one, though, as too many bubbles at the reception can mean a treacherous dance floor.
