Valentine's Day always brings certain things to
mind, like champagne and chocolate.
And having your wedding during the "love" month of February
means you can get as romantic as you want. Here are some favor ideas worthy of the gods and goddesses of love.
Chocolate — of Course
If you're the crafty type, you can tart up this royal treat on your own. Buy Hershey
bars, and create your own customized wrappers.
Or if you're
even more ambitious: buy chocolate molds in romantic shapes from
stores, and make tasty little morsels in a shape that suits your theme. Wrap the results
in cellophane and tie with a ribbon.
If you'd rather buy than make, try sweet chocolate lollies, found in wedding-friendly shapes like bells, hearts, roses
and liles. Or go for the glitter and buy truffles from
Godiva, complete with gorgeous gold foil boxes and ribbons and
flowers (about $4 apiece).
If you want more novelty, you're in luck. Try chocolate puzzle boxes, for example.
Or how about personalized chocolate placecards for each and every guest?
Champagne Favors
Small bottles of
sparkling wine make elegant favors without
blowing the budget (get case discounts from your local vendor).
Ambitious brides can create their own labels.
Black-belt shoppers sometimes hit on champagne flutes
(the real thing!) on clearance at the big bricks-and-mortar shops,
such as Ikea, for next to nothing. Can you handle one or two quarters a glass?
Armed with boxes of shiny flutes, the sky's your limit. Fill
them with candies and tie them off with tulle, tuck in a
votive, have them engraved, glue on tiny seashells (or glitter),
or show off your artistry with glass paint.
If you like ceremonial favors (the kind guests use to see you off
at the party's end), "champagne bottle" bubbles are just about perfect.
Sensual Red Fruit
Nothing's more dramatic than shiny fruit
in an ornamental pouch. Try perfectly-ripe cherries in
elegant glassine envelopes. Cupid would approve.
If you like, include a decadent
cookie. Attach a recipe and
a
cute saying:
"We Were Cut Out For Each Other."
These
old-fashioned
hearts, reminiscent of second-grade passions but made large and elegant for weddings, are
irresistible.
Rose Petal Soaps
If you've never seen rose petal soaps,you're in for a treat. The
good
ones have a translucent quality that make you literally itch to
touch them (they're painstakingly made, with real
rose petals
serving as molds for the veined and fluted edges).
Place several 'petals' in a sheer bag that doesn't
hide their fragrance or fragile beauty. A really ambitious bride
(preferably with some soapmaking experience) could make these herself.
If you think that might describe you, read some practical tips on
soap petal-making: here 's a quick,
easy article on making
your own rose petal soaps.
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