Finding the right items for wedding favors — neither too cheap nor too grand — can be difficult. With wedding favors, the line between cute and kitsch can be mighty thin. If you either can’t or don’t decide to spend money on favors, then you should forego giving anything at all — it’s not necessary. With a little creativity, however, you can probably find or make the perfect favor.
Some suggestions:
Candied almonds, symbolizing the bitter and the sweet of marriage, but packaged to evoke your wedding style
Dream pillows, a Native American concept, with handwritten notes explaining their use and thanking guests for coming
Full-size plants in terra cotta pots with a note on care and treatment
Herb plants such as basil or sage in terra cotta pots, with a printed recipe card
Flower bulbs (tulip, daffodil, grape hyacinth) with growing instructions.
Whole miniature wedding cakes, large enough to be a dessert portion, packaged in white, glossy boxes and tied with chiffon ribbons
Small boxes of chocolates
Tins of assorted cookies reminiscent of wedding cakes
Two-, four- or six-packs of boutique beers with labels dedicated to the bride and groom
Homemade preserves or chutneys in Mason jars with handwritten labels
Bottles of wine with custom labels from a local vineyard
A framed portrait of each couple or single guest to take home with them
A book of love poems or quotes with a leather bookmark or a metal page-keeper that is embossed with your wedding date
A pair of hand-painted champagne flutes
Small topiary trees in pots
A custom-burned CD of your wedding music
If favors aren’t part of your tabletop décor, the best way to distribute them to guests is as guests are leaving the reception. Put the favors in small shopping bags with pretty tissue paper and have a waiter hand one to each guest.
