We're having ours at a botanical garden, and this actually sounds like a great idea, thanks! I wasn't going to do favors because I have personally never kept favors from any wedding I've been to and don't want waste. No one is going to keep a coozie with someone else's name on it and we're already feeding everyone so wtf good would a snack do.
Our friends did this and it was so sweet, I was devastated when my boyfriend accidentally killed ours while I was visiting family 😢 Luckily the couple had a ton of extras, so I get to try again haha
My dad is a bee keeper as a hobby. My now husband and I did small glasses of honey from his bees as the favors. Each glass had a sticker with our initials on it and we tied a tag with the guests name around the glass as the seating/name card. Our guests loved the honey and it was practically free for us!
I haven’t been to that many weddings but the last one I went to, just before the pandemic everyone got a lovely brownie and the and I still marvel that the actually did this; the bride, her mum and the grooms sister bought every guest a vintage napkin from charity shops around the city, then on each one they embroidered our name and a little flower or a sun or a bird. I still have mine. It’s amazing! I think they had something like 60/70 guests at the ceremony and wedding breakfast. 🥰
my fiance and i have been thrifting cute champagne/wine glasses, they’re all different and it plays into the very cute eclectic theme we’re going for. guests will be able to choose their favorite and keep it afterwards!
@@taylor9547 Luckily we didn't have that happen lol! But one of the guests DID take the one that was supposed to be set aside as mine, and two guests tried to take the one set aside for my wife 😂 I just used a different glass until i had a chance to talk to the perpetrator
We did this too! And the glasses that didn't get taken got donated again cheaper than renting glasses. We did put out gift bags and newsprint so people could wrap their glasses up at the end of the night
I had the idea for my sisters wedding to have a big group shot taken of all the guests and then mailed out after the wedding with or as the thank you card. It’s something small and inexpensive which is easy to either display or put in an album as a cute memory of the day. And guests don’t have to feel guilty about not keeping it if that’s what they choose. Can also be pics of the smaller group if the couple chooses
My favorite is local wild flowers in seed packets that double as their seating information! They can scatter the seeds after and think of you when they bloom
The traditionnal French wedding favor are ''dragées'' =sugar-coated almonds. Not everybody likes these so we're doing a candy bar (including dragées but also modern sweets) with little boxes you can fill with wathever you personnally like! And yes, the boxes have our names on it 🤣 and they're in our wedding colours! But they're litteraly cute take-out cardboard boxes meant to be recycled after finishing your candies. So not a ''forever'' memento of our wedding with our names/faces/date on it.
We have these in the US, but we call them "Jordan Almonds." They aren't very fashionable at weddings now, but I remember people having them in the 80s and 90s.
Same thing in Italy. They're called confetti (which in English means a completely different thing). You give out confetti for any big occasion - wedding, baptism, university graduation, confirmation, etc. I'm graduating on Monday and I got a bunch of flower-shaped little assembles of confetti in the traditional color, which for graduations is red.
My fiancée and I are collected mugs from thrift stores and are going to have an early morning wedding. So people can grab a cup of coffee before the ceremony and take their cup home after
I don't even have a boyfriend much less am getting married, but I love your page. I wanted your thoughts on this. In the wedding invitations, have a google form link to organize everyone's responses to questions like if they're bringing a guest or have dietary restrictions.
We did small potted succulents with a heart tag that said "thank you." It was a fun project with our bridal party, as well as a nice addition to our decor at the reception.
Went to a wedding where they had written a note to each family in attendance and had them out to grab in beautiful envelopes. Was such a sweet favor that cost very little to them except their time and love
I think sending a photo when you get your photos back of you and the guest is all that's needed, and is something they'd actually like- a photo of themselves dressed up in a happy moment. With a thank you. Maybe a cookie or cupcake in a box that's their "piece" of wedding cake to take home at the end. Nothing more.
My best friends sister had name cards for the seats at the tables but every card had a note inside either thanking them for coming or welcoming them to the family 🥹
My sister's wedding was a couple months ago in August and the ceremony was outdoors. Here it's pretty hot in August so the sedding favors were hand fans that matched the wedding color scheme. Something you could definitely keep but also weren't branded with names. We also passed out cookies at the end by the door to encourage people to leave at the end lol. I highly recommend that.
My mom and I hand made little chocolates for each place setting. It was a Bride, Groom, heart and dove. The bride was white chocolate with a pink swirl in the skirt, my dress had pink. The dove was solid white. The groom was solid dark. And the heart was random blue, white, pink and dark swirls. Then the tag on the little gold bag just said “Thanks for making this day so sweet, here’s a treat from the new Mr. and Mrs. Miller” 😂❤
We got married near Halloween and had a Halloween as a big theme in our wedding. I got everyone orange glow sticks. Bought a bunch of glass jars with cork stoppers that could stand up right and fit glow sticks. Put some pretty paper on the outside of the outside of the jar, painted the outside of the jar with a pearlescent paint. Essentially making a little lantern, for each guest. (I had a small wedding so only made about 15 of these) Had a card telling each guest how they’d brightened our lives thus far. (Again small wedding with only nearest and dearest). It was fun and went over well!
For my sisters wedding favors she and her husband made vanilla extract with vanilla beans and vodka and it’s so good I use it all the time, and it came with a tiny rubber spatula
I did handmade hand soaps in a leaf shape (I had an autumn-themed wedding). I got so many compliments on choosing something useful! I also had favors for 120 people for $60 😊
I went to one wedding that had small things of bubble solution that were great for keeping the younger children entertained. Maybe not something for your adult guests (or maybe! Bubbles are fun!), but having something to amuse the kids was a great idea!
I went to one wedding where they gave out some fancy tea samples (the flowering tea). My dad thought it was too light, but its very pretty. At another, the bride and groom handmade these small glass jars filled with beads and a little rolled message. I still have mines, it was really cute of them to do that.
My friend & her husband brought a box of pins from charities they each support (Alzheimer's Society forget me not & the Cancer Research UK ribbon) & each guest could take one. Which was a nice way to commemorate family who couldn't do something and give a donation to a charity, plus I still have the pin on my noticeboard
At my uncles wedding, the favors were succulents in random containers they’d found at thrift stores which were also the decor. Something like this where it doubled as the decor honestly just seems genius to me. I wouldn’t recommend this if you have a ton of guests flying in since my family did have to take plants through TSA, but we do still have them almost 6 years later. Personally, if I ever get married, I’d love to do custom ordered candles in bridesmaid dress colors, since that’s both decor and favors :)
My wife and I had a tea exchange as part of our wedding ceremony, so we bought several varieties of tea and herbal ingredients and guests could make their own tea blend! I think it was a hit with guests, and we had a fully stocked tea cabinet with any leftovers afterwards 😄
At my wedding we had a woman making personalized floral accessories for all the guests when they entered. Not only did it add to the atmosphere, guests loved choosing boutonnières, headbands, and floral bracelets. And everyone looked lovely with their fresh flowers and helped to add to the energy of the event
My husband and I are big readers, very into books. We had a library themed wedding. Every table was a library section : historical fiction, science and technology, kid lit, etc. We collected secondhand books and put nameplates in the front covers with our wedding date, and left little notes about why we loved these books and dedicating them to our guests. The books were the table centerpieces, and also the favors. The place cards were personalized bookmarks to stick in the books. Everyone loved it, and for a very small wedding like ours, it was affordable.
I didn’t do favours but I did do a sweet cart with all the sweets matching the colour scheme. Most people took a bag of sweets home and it cost the fraction of favours. We did include sugared almonds for traditions sake. For my second go round I’m planning for no favours again but I have a secret plan for surprises/prizes if I can pull it off!
We did mugs! Each had the guest's name on it, as well as our stylised wedding banner with the date. They doubled as place names since each was placed on the table at the guest's spot for the reception. They were cheap to have made, useful for the guest, and created a memory for us. We still have ours!
I decorated tables with small houseplants (think like 3-4” pots), and everyone took one home after! Easy, delightful, memorable, people still love having them. Plus it knocks out part of your decor!
My brother and his first wife did mini succulents that everyone could plant. I planted mine. It has lasted longer than his marriage and is a beautiful thriving plant.
I work at a wedding venue and some cheap favors I've spent have been things like, a bag of Hershey kisses, or bag of pop corn, or one wedding did little plant propagation which I thought was so cute!❤
We had 4 favors at our wedding notebooks/journals , gummy/candy salads in mason jars (mainly for the kiddos), mini shots and bottle openers, and mints. Everything got gone.😂
A great one that I saw once was a professional portrait photographer to take photos of all the guests. Not only did the bride and groom get nice photos of everyone at their wedding, the guests were given a great portrait of themselves and got to make full use of the time and money spent on getting dressed up for the wedding.
As someone who worked weddings… I loved it when they got creative with the wedding favors. Cause I stole them. At the end of the night there is almost always a bunch of left overs that will go in the trash. So I took them. I have so much stuff with random peoples names on it it’s awesome
I went to an outdoor wedding in the winter. Every guest was given a blanket. I still have mine, and it is one of the best gifts I've gotten, period. Plus, every time I hold it, I think about my cousin.
We had an outdoor wedding in the hill country and gave out blankets embroidered with our monogram and wedding date. Many guests used them when it got dark and a little chillier ( even though there were indoor spaces including a giant fireplace and coffee bar) and a lot of my guests still have/ use their blankets.
I got a pack of playing cards w/the bride and groom’s name on it with the wedding date. The two of them love board games and card games, so it was super cute, functional, and very apropos.
At my wedding we had a tea and coffee station alongside a cabinet filled with mugs that my husband and I bought at various thrift stores. We had a sign that basically said to choose a mug, enjoy some tea and coffee, and keep the mug at the end of the night. It was a big hit and i love going over to friends houses and seeing mugs we chose together being used. We maybe spent $2 on average per mug and had a smaller wedding, so it was a pretty inexpensive way to go. My MIL also picked up fancy donuts from a local shop individually boxed up for people to take home. Coffee and donuts! Cant go wrong with that.
A my cousin's wedding, we had little acrylic name plates with our name on in cursive and a cute simple pattern in the wedding theme colour. V cute, doubled as a favour and a name plate. Still have them.
Not a wedding favor, but my uncle’s parents had a 50th Anniversary party and handed out PILES of “A Match Made in Heaven” matchbooks. We’re STILL working through those over a decade later. ❤😆
I found my cousins idea great. They had small test tubes with salt and peppery decorated like a bride and groom. And I know that at least he loves to cook so it was on brand.
At my friend's wedding she had a bunch of different goblets at each table, and you got to use it the entire time you were there and then take it home with you. Her family does stained glass, and all the goblets were different patterns and colors of glass. It was really sweet and I think a really good favor
Was super blessed that my mom's best friend is a master gardener. I bought a hundred little double shot glasses for $0.50/ea, my mom and her best friend lovingly dipped the edges in a gold paint to match the theme, and then she cultivated and planted a hundred little succulents that I was able to give to my guests. Some of my friends still have theirs and they're all grown up. I'm not much of a gardener, but I got married still with covid lingering, so a lot of people were really into bringing greenery into their home.
I recently attended a wedding where, during the reception everyone got a mug or a tea cup to put their drink in and then they could take it home at the end. It was really cute! The reception was set up under the trees with string lights and lots of tables and all the mugs and tea cups were mismatched and thrifted. I think it was the coolest reception and party favors I've ever seen!
So glad someone finally says how weird some of the favours are!! Like "Hi, I know we had a class together eight years ago and haven't spoken since, but I think what your house is missing is a glorified Christmas tree decoration with mine and my partner's names on it!"
I love to bake and all of my friends and family know it. My husband doesn’t bake but he didn’t care about the favors (he cared more about the DJ). So my mom and I made a cookie mix of all the dry goods and layered them into mason jars. We added a sticker with our names and wedding date on top so people could easily remove it and use the mason jar again. And we added a ribbon with a recipe card. So many people made the cookies and said they came out delicious! They were also pretty cheap to make cause we bought everything at BJs.
My husband + I made our own candles in glass jars with a sticker of our last name and wedding date on the lid. It’s sentimental when we still see our wedding candles in our friends homes being used a few years later!
I told people to take our decor. I made or bought all the table decor, it was tea light candle holders, picture frames, mirrors, and modest silk floral arrangenments. People practically fought over them and i didnt end up with 100 gold votive holders
My friends just had their wedding, which was dnd/star wars themed, and the little favors had D20s and pieces of candy in them! Super cute, on theme, and very cheap!
Our favors were a bookmark with our names and the wedding date on one side and the guest's name on the other and served as seat cards. Some people still have these. I was a librarian at the time. We also gave out little vw beetle key chains that when pulled back, would actually drive. My husband likes vw's. Best part was watching the aunties playing the cars at the table! We also used carved watermelons filled with fruit as centerpieces so that people could have something to snack on while waiting. We had a small backyard wedding in the summer.
I love making candles, so I made a custom scent blend and used dried flowers from our garden. Put them in little jars that we have hundreds of at no cost (long story) and then put our little hashtag at the bottom so there are otherwise no markings. Chose this because the creation would make me happy and the cost would mainly be my labour (as I already had the supplies and periodically refresh them anyway), also we had under 50 guests so these was reasonably feasible to do myself.
i love seed bombs, especially ones that have the flowers used in bridal bouquets. kind of similar to the portrait is a cheap disposable camera! or even having a photo booth, so guests can take photos home. for kids bubbles are fun, especially to be used during the "send off"
A wedding I recently went to had massive floral arrangements that they took down and got us to take home, I thought it was ecologically friendly and looked great at home for a few days. Some of those even lasted weeks!
We grew mini succulents for all the guests, which were not only the favors but also the seat reservation. For the kids, I collected matchbox cars from thrift shops. It was a total success. Some of the guests still have the succulents, grown into big plants now ❤
My friend had centerpieces made of books on each table and encouraged each guest to take a book as their favor. I think it was super sweet and cool seeing as they were all books that meant something to the couple too.
We did small succulents with a pun (I love puns!). Super cute, and some people took them, some didn't. I was able to gift extras and I still have mine growing!
I just went to a wedding that handed out custom playing cards! The Bride and Groom were the Queen and King of hearts, and the wedding party made up the rest of the face cards. The Aces all had special dates on them (day they met, first date, proposal, and wedding).
My cousin did cigars and earrings, you could pick one or the other. The earrings were hand crocheted by the bride and her family and the cigar wrapping had the couples names on it. They were also great items to regift if you didn’t want to keep either.
My lovely friend and her hubby made a charity donation favour. They picked two charities, one close to each of their hearts because of a late grandparent, and made a donation in the name of the wedding. The charities provided tiny pins as a thank you so there was a note and pin attached to every place at the table.
I’m a fan of getting the photographer to get solo or couple photos and the “favor” be an emailed photo that’s shareable and a way to get a print. For many people this will be the only time their dressed up in years. You don’t have to put you name on it, they’ll look at it years from now and think “omg we looked so cute at Jake and Ashley’s wedding”
I once went to a wedding where we were given a cutting of their beautiful big money tree in a small pot, decorated with craft paper. 5 years later I have a nice, big and very easy to care for houseplant that is still named "Smith" after the bride and groom (I have changed the name here). Didn't cost them much and it's a lasting reminder.
We had a photobooth, our favors were instaprinted magnets of people with our names on the frames. People had a blast, and we got a copy of each shot for the album!
We gave chocolates because I'm known as a chocolate lover. The wrappers matched the colours I was using. Cost effective, consumable, and not something they needed to lug home in their suitcase. Also lots of people tend to forget to even take their favors home with them - no biggie if some chocolates get left behind. (My one friend had 50some mason jars of hot chocolate leftover. I still have 5 of them in my cupboard, 2 years later lol)
At one wedding I went to, they had wooden coasters made with each guest’s name on them, so they were initially used for everyone to find their seats, then everyone could take them home! Honestly, they were so cute and I still love mine
For my wedding we made candles! Two batches - purple with lavender for me and turquoise with spearmint for my husband. We put them in little organza bags that had tags with our names and date but the actual candles were just plain.
We married 15 years ago this December so we actually went the day after Christmas the year before we got married and bought discounted glass oraments that were in the color of our wedding. We tied a tag (which could be removed because it watered on with a hook with our names and date. We kept the tag for us but I know so many that still hang theirs on their trees and they did take off the tag. It’s so nice they still love them
If you’re doing the couples name on things make it a sticker so it’s easily removable, I also suggest doing folding fans because it’s always going to get warm and they’re just a fun thing to have
We gave everyone their own cup with their name on it as a place card at their seat, so they can take home but also to use for beverages at the wedding.
We met at Christmas. Married in Autumn. We made beaded & maple leaf charmed Christmas ornaments. Total cost was $1 US. Very personal, unique and were a bit hit!
My God father’s wedding had plants as favors! They looked gorgeous on the table and they had small wooden care cards in them! Their wedding was over a year ago and I still have mine 😊
Attended the wedding of a family friend who had a wedding favor, a box of matches that said the couple was a perfect match! I was using those matches 3 years later (I don’t use matches often and I had put them somewhere that I didn’t need matches) and I recalled that they had been divorced for a year at that point. THE MATCHES LASTED LONGER THAN THE MARRIAGE!
We are having our wedding at a conservatory, so we are giving our guests a little envelope of seeds that say " Love grows here."
We're having ours at a botanical garden, and this actually sounds like a great idea, thanks! I wasn't going to do favors because I have personally never kept favors from any wedding I've been to and don't want waste. No one is going to keep a coozie with someone else's name on it and we're already feeding everyone so wtf good would a snack do.
LOVE IT
LOVE THIS!!
Our friends did this and it was so sweet, I was devastated when my boyfriend accidentally killed ours while I was visiting family 😢
Luckily the couple had a ton of extras, so I get to try again haha
Oh... I might have to copy you... I have my fingers crossed for a conservatory. Waiting for the venue booking office to get to me
My cousin’s wedding had coasters with everyone’s names and they acted as the seating guide and the favor. We still use ours lol
Great idea.
That's a great idea!
That's genius
That’s excellent!
We love a multitasking queen 💅🏻
My dad is a bee keeper as a hobby. My now husband and I did small glasses of honey from his bees as the favors. Each glass had a sticker with our initials on it and we tied a tag with the guests name around the glass as the seating/name card. Our guests loved the honey and it was practically free for us!
I haven’t been to that many weddings but the last one I went to, just before the pandemic everyone got a lovely brownie and the and I still marvel that the actually did this; the bride, her mum and the grooms sister bought every guest a vintage napkin from charity shops around the city, then on each one they embroidered our name and a little flower or a sun or a bird. I still have mine. It’s amazing! I think they had something like 60/70 guests at the ceremony and wedding breakfast. 🥰
Those napkins sound so beautiful! What a good idea!
my fiance and i have been thrifting cute champagne/wine glasses, they’re all different and it plays into the very cute eclectic theme we’re going for. guests will be able to choose their favorite and keep it afterwards!
That’s very cool! What will you do if two guests really want the same one?
@@taylor9547 Luckily we didn't have that happen lol! But one of the guests DID take the one that was supposed to be set aside as mine, and two guests tried to take the one set aside for my wife 😂 I just used a different glass until i had a chance to talk to the perpetrator
I love that!!
We did this too! And the glasses that didn't get taken got donated again cheaper than renting glasses. We did put out gift bags and newsprint so people could wrap their glasses up at the end of the night
I had the idea for my sisters wedding to have a big group shot taken of all the guests and then mailed out after the wedding with or as the thank you card. It’s something small and inexpensive which is easy to either display or put in an album as a cute memory of the day. And guests don’t have to feel guilty about not keeping it if that’s what they choose. Can also be pics of the smaller group if the couple chooses
My favorite is local wild flowers in seed packets that double as their seating information! They can scatter the seeds after and think of you when they bloom
Yes!!! Especially if they are native ones! Xxxx
The traditionnal French wedding favor are ''dragées'' =sugar-coated almonds. Not everybody likes these so we're doing a candy bar (including dragées but also modern sweets) with little boxes you can fill with wathever you personnally like! And yes, the boxes have our names on it 🤣 and they're in our wedding colours! But they're litteraly cute take-out cardboard boxes meant to be recycled after finishing your candies. So not a ''forever'' memento of our wedding with our names/faces/date on it.
I did similar and it was very popular, I even managed to theme the sweets to the wedding colours!
We have these in the US, but we call them "Jordan Almonds." They aren't very fashionable at weddings now, but I remember people having them in the 80s and 90s.
Same thing in Italy. They're called confetti (which in English means a completely different thing). You give out confetti for any big occasion - wedding, baptism, university graduation, confirmation, etc.
I'm graduating on Monday and I got a bunch of flower-shaped little assembles of confetti in the traditional color, which for graduations is red.
My fiancée and I are collected mugs from thrift stores and are going to have an early morning wedding. So people can grab a cup of coffee before the ceremony and take their cup home after
Give them all disposable cameras at the beginning of the service then you’ll have tons of pictures from a lot of different perspectives
LOVE this!!!
The only thing is, in the age of amazing phone cameras, the pictures look so bad.
@@pcbassoon3892agreed, I would rather phone camera!
I commented this too lol. a photo booth is also an alternative to this
My husband works at a coffee roastery, we're thinking of a couple ounces of coffee&tea in cute little bags
As a 16 yr old that has zero friends I really love these wedding videos
I don't even have a boyfriend much less am getting married, but I love your page. I wanted your thoughts on this. In the wedding invitations, have a google form link to organize everyone's responses to questions like if they're bringing a guest or have dietary restrictions.
I think something personalised with your guest's names which act as seating placements is really nice!
Everyone made it sound like I needed to provide favors at my $5,000 budget wedding 😅
I got my favors under 1$/item, but I really love it.
We did m&ms. Easy and edible.
That's a wonderful idea
We did small potted succulents with a heart tag that said "thank you." It was a fun project with our bridal party, as well as a nice addition to our decor at the reception.
Went to a wedding where they had written a note to each family in attendance and had them out to grab in beautiful envelopes. Was such a sweet favor that cost very little to them except their time and love
Went to a wedding that they Gave keychains made in macramé that were made by the bride. She made about 6 styles and people liked it. I still use mine.
I think sending a photo when you get your photos back of you and the guest is all that's needed, and is something they'd actually like- a photo of themselves dressed up in a happy moment. With a thank you. Maybe a cookie or cupcake in a box that's their "piece" of wedding cake to take home at the end. Nothing more.
My best friends sister had name cards for the seats at the tables but every card had a note inside either thanking them for coming or welcoming them to the family 🥹
Now that's really nice
My sister's wedding was a couple months ago in August and the ceremony was outdoors. Here it's pretty hot in August so the sedding favors were hand fans that matched the wedding color scheme. Something you could definitely keep but also weren't branded with names. We also passed out cookies at the end by the door to encourage people to leave at the end lol. I highly recommend that.
My mom and I hand made little chocolates for each place setting. It was a Bride, Groom, heart and dove. The bride was white chocolate with a pink swirl in the skirt, my dress had pink. The dove was solid white. The groom was solid dark. And the heart was random blue, white, pink and dark swirls. Then the tag on the little gold bag just said “Thanks for making this day so sweet, here’s a treat from the new Mr. and Mrs. Miller” 😂❤
Getting invited to a free party IS the favor!!
Latinos just grab centerpieces
Just saying to any brides or grooms in the comments, cute soaps are good, too.
Definitely! That's always a great idea.
We got married near Halloween and had a Halloween as a big theme in our wedding.
I got everyone orange glow sticks. Bought a bunch of glass jars with cork stoppers that could stand up right and fit glow sticks. Put some pretty paper on the outside of the outside of the jar, painted the outside of the jar with a pearlescent paint. Essentially making a little lantern, for each guest. (I had a small wedding so only made about 15 of these)
Had a card telling each guest how they’d brightened our lives thus far. (Again small wedding with only nearest and dearest).
It was fun and went over well!
Soap with a name stamped on it, the name will come off after a few uses but it's still useful and can be fit to your aesthetic!!
For my sisters wedding favors she and her husband made vanilla extract with vanilla beans and vodka and it’s so good I use it all the time, and it came with a tiny rubber spatula
I really, really like this idea
I like photo booths! It’s basically a build your own wedding favor!
I did handmade hand soaps in a leaf shape (I had an autumn-themed wedding). I got so many compliments on choosing something useful! I also had favors for 120 people for $60 😊
I went to one wedding that had small things of bubble solution that were great for keeping the younger children entertained. Maybe not something for your adult guests (or maybe! Bubbles are fun!), but having something to amuse the kids was a great idea!
I went to one wedding where they gave out some fancy tea samples (the flowering tea). My dad thought it was too light, but its very pretty. At another, the bride and groom handmade these small glass jars filled with beads and a little rolled message. I still have mines, it was really cute of them to do that.
My friend & her husband brought a box of pins from charities they each support (Alzheimer's Society forget me not & the Cancer Research UK ribbon) & each guest could take one. Which was a nice way to commemorate family who couldn't do something and give a donation to a charity, plus I still have the pin on my noticeboard
At my uncles wedding, the favors were succulents in random containers they’d found at thrift stores which were also the decor. Something like this where it doubled as the decor honestly just seems genius to me. I wouldn’t recommend this if you have a ton of guests flying in since my family did have to take plants through TSA, but we do still have them almost 6 years later.
Personally, if I ever get married, I’d love to do custom ordered candles in bridesmaid dress colors, since that’s both decor and favors :)
My wife and I had a tea exchange as part of our wedding ceremony, so we bought several varieties of tea and herbal ingredients and guests could make their own tea blend! I think it was a hit with guests, and we had a fully stocked tea cabinet with any leftovers afterwards 😄
At my wedding we had a woman making personalized floral accessories for all the guests when they entered. Not only did it add to the atmosphere, guests loved choosing boutonnières, headbands, and floral bracelets. And everyone looked lovely with their fresh flowers and helped to add to the energy of the event
My husband and I are big readers, very into books. We had a library themed wedding. Every table was a library section : historical fiction, science and technology, kid lit, etc. We collected secondhand books and put nameplates in the front covers with our wedding date, and left little notes about why we loved these books and dedicating them to our guests. The books were the table centerpieces, and also the favors. The place cards were personalized bookmarks to stick in the books. Everyone loved it, and for a very small wedding like ours, it was affordable.
At my father's wedding, his grandma hand painted watercolor flowers for each guest. It was really sweet 😊
SOAP CANDLES that’s it that’s what popped in my head
I didn’t do favours but I did do a sweet cart with all the sweets matching the colour scheme. Most people took a bag of sweets home and it cost the fraction of favours. We did include sugared almonds for traditions sake. For my second go round I’m planning for no favours again but I have a secret plan for surprises/prizes if I can pull it off!
We did mugs! Each had the guest's name on it, as well as our stylised wedding banner with the date. They doubled as place names since each was placed on the table at the guest's spot for the reception. They were cheap to have made, useful for the guest, and created a memory for us. We still have ours!
I'm doing small succulents in individual pots. That way they can decorate the table at each seat until people take them home at the end of the night ❤
That's what I did! It turned out great. I hope you have/had a lovely wedding ❤️
I decorated tables with small houseplants (think like 3-4” pots), and everyone took one home after! Easy, delightful, memorable, people still love having them.
Plus it knocks out part of your decor!
My brother and his first wife did mini succulents that everyone could plant. I planted mine. It has lasted longer than his marriage and is a beautiful thriving plant.
I work at a wedding venue and some cheap favors I've spent have been things like, a bag of Hershey kisses, or bag of pop corn, or one wedding did little plant propagation which I thought was so cute!❤
We had 4 favors at our wedding notebooks/journals , gummy/candy salads in mason jars (mainly for the kiddos), mini shots and bottle openers, and mints. Everything got gone.😂
A great one that I saw once was a professional portrait photographer to take photos of all the guests. Not only did the bride and groom get nice photos of everyone at their wedding, the guests were given a great portrait of themselves and got to make full use of the time and money spent on getting dressed up for the wedding.
We're having a dessert table with small boxes so guests can take some petit four desserts with them
I live the idea of letting everyone fill a little sample box with goodies but I can see it getting expensive really fast
As someone who worked weddings… I loved it when they got creative with the wedding favors. Cause I stole them.
At the end of the night there is almost always a bunch of left overs that will go in the trash. So I took them. I have so much stuff with random peoples names on it it’s awesome
I went to an outdoor wedding in the winter. Every guest was given a blanket. I still have mine, and it is one of the best gifts I've gotten, period. Plus, every time I hold it, I think about my cousin.
We had an outdoor wedding in the hill country and gave out blankets embroidered with our monogram and wedding date. Many guests used them when it got dark and a little chillier ( even though there were indoor spaces including a giant fireplace and coffee bar) and a lot of my guests still have/ use their blankets.
I got a pack of playing cards w/the bride and groom’s name on it with the wedding date. The two of them love board games and card games, so it was super cute, functional, and very apropos.
We had a very simple outdoor wedding and we did friendship bracelets for the favor. It was adorable and a lot of my friends still have them
At my wedding we had a tea and coffee station alongside a cabinet filled with mugs that my husband and I bought at various thrift stores. We had a sign that basically said to choose a mug, enjoy some tea and coffee, and keep the mug at the end of the night. It was a big hit and i love going over to friends houses and seeing mugs we chose together being used. We maybe spent $2 on average per mug and had a smaller wedding, so it was a pretty inexpensive way to go. My MIL also picked up fancy donuts from a local shop individually boxed up for people to take home. Coffee and donuts! Cant go wrong with that.
A my cousin's wedding, we had little acrylic name plates with our name on in cursive and a cute simple pattern in the wedding theme colour. V cute, doubled as a favour and a name plate. Still have them.
Having a portrait photographer to take photos of the guests is the best favour I've ever heard of.
Not got a wedding but for my baby shower we did home made cement coasters. It was a huge hit!
Not a wedding favor, but my uncle’s parents had a 50th Anniversary party and handed out PILES of “A Match Made in Heaven” matchbooks.
We’re STILL working through those over a decade later.
❤😆
I found my cousins idea great. They had small test tubes with salt and peppery decorated like a bride and groom.
And I know that at least he loves to cook so it was on brand.
At my friend's wedding she had a bunch of different goblets at each table, and you got to use it the entire time you were there and then take it home with you. Her family does stained glass, and all the goblets were different patterns and colors of glass. It was really sweet and I think a really good favor
a lot of people in my country use live plants instead of center pieces, and those are the party favors at the end of the night!
Was super blessed that my mom's best friend is a master gardener. I bought a hundred little double shot glasses for $0.50/ea, my mom and her best friend lovingly dipped the edges in a gold paint to match the theme, and then she cultivated and planted a hundred little succulents that I was able to give to my guests. Some of my friends still have theirs and they're all grown up. I'm not much of a gardener, but I got married still with covid lingering, so a lot of people were really into bringing greenery into their home.
I recently attended a wedding where, during the reception everyone got a mug or a tea cup to put their drink in and then they could take it home at the end. It was really cute! The reception was set up under the trees with string lights and lots of tables and all the mugs and tea cups were mismatched and thrifted. I think it was the coolest reception and party favors I've ever seen!
So glad someone finally says how weird some of the favours are!! Like "Hi, I know we had a class together eight years ago and haven't spoken since, but I think what your house is missing is a glorified Christmas tree decoration with mine and my partner's names on it!"
I love the collection of cookies my parents have from their friends’ weddings. I was excited to add to that collection when my cousins got married!
I love to bake and all of my friends and family know it. My husband doesn’t bake but he didn’t care about the favors (he cared more about the DJ). So my mom and I made a cookie mix of all the dry goods and layered them into mason jars. We added a sticker with our names and wedding date on top so people could easily remove it and use the mason jar again. And we added a ribbon with a recipe card. So many people made the cookies and said they came out delicious! They were also pretty cheap to make cause we bought everything at BJs.
My husband + I made our own candles in glass jars with a sticker of our last name and wedding date on the lid. It’s sentimental when we still see our wedding candles in our friends homes being used a few years later!
I told people to take our decor. I made or bought all the table decor, it was tea light candle holders, picture frames, mirrors, and modest silk floral arrangenments. People practically fought over them and i didnt end up with 100 gold votive holders
My friends just had their wedding, which was dnd/star wars themed, and the little favors had D20s and pieces of candy in them! Super cute, on theme, and very cheap!
Our favors were a bookmark with our names and the wedding date on one side and the guest's name on the other and served as seat cards. Some people still have these. I was a librarian at the time. We also gave out little vw beetle key chains that when pulled back, would actually drive. My husband likes vw's. Best part was watching the aunties playing the cars at the table! We also used carved watermelons filled with fruit as centerpieces so that people could have something to snack on while waiting. We had a small backyard wedding in the summer.
I love making candles, so I made a custom scent blend and used dried flowers from our garden. Put them in little jars that we have hundreds of at no cost (long story) and then put our little hashtag at the bottom so there are otherwise no markings. Chose this because the creation would make me happy and the cost would mainly be my labour (as I already had the supplies and periodically refresh them anyway), also we had under 50 guests so these was reasonably feasible to do myself.
i love seed bombs, especially ones that have the flowers used in bridal bouquets. kind of similar to the portrait is a cheap disposable camera! or even having a photo booth, so guests can take photos home. for kids bubbles are fun, especially to be used during the "send off"
A wedding I recently went to had massive floral arrangements that they took down and got us to take home, I thought it was ecologically friendly and looked great at home for a few days. Some of those even lasted weeks!
Such fun ideas. I love little packages of s'mores with gift tags that match the theme of the wedding.
We grew mini succulents for all the guests, which were not only the favors but also the seat reservation.
For the kids, I collected matchbox cars from thrift shops.
It was a total success. Some of the guests still have the succulents, grown into big plants now ❤
My friend had centerpieces made of books on each table and encouraged each guest to take a book as their favor. I think it was super sweet and cool seeing as they were all books that meant something to the couple too.
i saw someone do portraits as their wedding favors! taking pictures of couples or families and i thought it was such a cool idea
The thing I loved the most from a wedding were the photoboot pics
We did small succulents with a pun (I love puns!). Super cute, and some people took them, some didn't. I was able to gift extras and I still have mine growing!
I just went to a wedding that handed out custom playing cards! The Bride and Groom were the Queen and King of hearts, and the wedding party made up the rest of the face cards. The Aces all had special dates on them (day they met, first date, proposal, and wedding).
My cousin did those personalized M&Ms with their initials and date in the wedding colours as favors. It was super cute.
My cousin did cigars and earrings, you could pick one or the other. The earrings were hand crocheted by the bride and her family and the cigar wrapping had the couples names on it. They were also great items to regift if you didn’t want to keep either.
My lovely friend and her hubby made a charity donation favour. They picked two charities, one close to each of their hearts because of a late grandparent, and made a donation in the name of the wedding. The charities provided tiny pins as a thank you so there was a note and pin attached to every place at the table.
I’m a fan of getting the photographer to get solo or couple photos and the “favor” be an emailed photo that’s shareable and a way to get a print.
For many people this will be the only time their dressed up in years. You don’t have to put you name on it, they’ll look at it years from now and think “omg we looked so cute at Jake and Ashley’s wedding”
I once went to a wedding where we were given a cutting of their beautiful big money tree in a small pot, decorated with craft paper. 5 years later I have a nice, big and very easy to care for houseplant that is still named "Smith" after the bride and groom (I have changed the name here). Didn't cost them much and it's a lasting reminder.
We had a photobooth, our favors were instaprinted magnets of people with our names on the frames. People had a blast, and we got a copy of each shot for the album!
We gave chocolates because I'm known as a chocolate lover. The wrappers matched the colours I was using. Cost effective, consumable, and not something they needed to lug home in their suitcase. Also lots of people tend to forget to even take their favors home with them - no biggie if some chocolates get left behind. (My one friend had 50some mason jars of hot chocolate leftover. I still have 5 of them in my cupboard, 2 years later lol)
At one wedding I went to, they had wooden coasters made with each guest’s name on them, so they were initially used for everyone to find their seats, then everyone could take them home! Honestly, they were so cute and I still love mine
For my wedding we made candles! Two batches - purple with lavender for me and turquoise with spearmint for my husband. We put them in little organza bags that had tags with our names and date but the actual candles were just plain.
My uncle and aunt gave out can coozies that said “Till death do us party”. They love rock, they even had a mosh pit in one of their songs :)
We married 15 years ago this December so we actually went the day after Christmas the year before we got married and bought discounted glass oraments that were in the color of our wedding. We tied a tag (which could be removed because it watered on with a hook with our names and date. We kept the tag for us but I know so many that still hang theirs on their trees and they did take off the tag. It’s so nice they still love them
We're doing liquid IV and aspirin.
Amazing
If you’re doing the couples name on things make it a sticker so it’s easily removable, I also suggest doing folding fans because it’s always going to get warm and they’re just a fun thing to have
We gave everyone their own cup with their name on it as a place card at their seat, so they can take home but also to use for beverages at the wedding.
We met at Christmas. Married in Autumn. We made beaded & maple leaf charmed Christmas ornaments. Total cost was $1 US. Very personal, unique and were a bit hit!
My God father’s wedding had plants as favors! They looked gorgeous on the table and they had small wooden care cards in them! Their wedding was over a year ago and I still have mine 😊
Anything edible or usable is always a good idea.
Attended the wedding of a family friend who had a wedding favor, a box of matches that said the couple was a perfect match! I was using those matches 3 years later (I don’t use matches often and I had put them somewhere that I didn’t need matches) and I recalled that they had been divorced for a year at that point.
THE MATCHES LASTED LONGER THAN THE MARRIAGE!
My favors were crocheted snowflakes (February wedding) with some chocolates.