So, you got a dress and picked out flowers. You tasted food and gorged on cake. You asked your friends, you stamped the envelopes. It is winding down - what is left? Programs, napkins, ceremony & reception items, place cards, table cards, thank yous and ... oh, the favors.
Off to pinterest you go. You type "unique wedding favor ideas" in the search bar and what follows is a barrage of images that fill your screen. Tight, macro shots of almost any pocket-sized novelty item. Photographers are so talented and creative these days, you could probably zoom in on a box of Borax and it would look delicate and edgy. So, how can you weed through all of these items and decide what is best for your blessed event?
I will spare you the cliche questions - (what is special about you and your groom? what are things you love? etc.) you know to ask yourselves these. Gone are the days of match books and paperweights - people tailor their wedding favors to suit their event. What you want to know is 1. How to package it so it is adorbs. and 2. How to be responsible about it so the favors aren't running you 20 bucks a head.
I say there are three fab categories of faves & I will decode them below.
Do-Gooder Fave - This is the fave that makes the other faves jealous. It sits on the table in all of its good Samaritan glory, mocking the mints and almonds - judging them and making them feel guilty. This is the charity fave - when you donate to a cause on your guests behalf and then place a darling notice at their seat telling them what a good deed they did by coming to party with you. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy as I am guzzling Pinot Grigio (so I can get up the gusto to go tear up the dance floor with the twenty year-olds) to know that my attendance at that event just might have helped a dog get adopted. I definitely support this favor idea - but think that it is still important to make the note for your guests, lovely in content & detail. Sure you don't want to blow $800 bucks on a business card that tells your loved ones that they donated to cancer research but don't put a sticky note there either.
At Your Seat Fave - This favor is waiting for your guests at their places. Unlike the DIY Fave Station, individual presentation here, is key. The containers should be as darling as they are practical and there should be a sweet note & wedding logo upon each for all of your guests to enjoy. In the old days it was customary to give people match books, and while this {slightly dated} practice is still occasionally found, I dare say the American Cancer Society is probably delighted that we have moved onward and upward to sweets and spirits in exchange for matchbooks. (The American Heart Association is likely less delighted.) It is important to consider this as part of your table styling as these little lovelies can support the aesthetics of your table presentation. A dee-darling pocket sized pillow pouch stuffed with candied marshmallow and covered in wraphia and your wedding logo can really add a lot to the visual styling of your event. You can use this as a pop of color at the seats to really perk up the look. A hash mark on the not-so-great chalkboard is that these can run a little more in terms of dinero but when you figure it into the decor, it's not so bad. You can even use them as part of the place card set-up (see succulent favor below).
The DIY Fave Station - This is where you treat your guests to a serve-your-self station. The power here is in the presentation of the table, not as much the individual containers. Here you want to create a stunning visual feast of candies, or candy apples, or whatever your hearts delight. Consider sticking with one color OR if you are doing hodge podge candy, support the set-up with consistency of displays. The individual containers that your guests place the items in will not be as critical here - many guests will pick this up on the way out or cram it into their purse (so they can grab another and not look chinchy). Sure candy bars are fairly standard these days and can be masterpieces in all of their apothecaried glory - but there is a new wave of DIY fave bars. Hot chocolate, candy apples, ice cream sundaes, marshmallows and popcorn have busted on this scene - so move over personalized M&M's I might just dip an apple in some caramel and sprinkles and take the road less traveled. Either way, you need a darling sign with a clever play on words that fits in with your wedding logo/brand to dazzle your guests with an over the top detailed presentation. Skip dumping cash into the containers they put the items into, they will not add to the beauty of the overall event!
Obviously, you want your favors to be personal and unique - something that your guests can enjoy in the coming days & weeks and think back to your nuptial shin dig and fondly remember 80% of it. So, if you are marrying a pizza parlor owner, dole out the pizza sauce. If you and your lady are ski fanatics, pass out powdered sugar doughnut holes (snow balls), and of course don't forget the darling paper items to accompany!
If you need help coming up with favor ideas, my intellectual property is free. My lovely paper goods that will compliment my dazzling idea are not, but they are reasonable and darling, so lets chat about it!
{all photos were retrieved from Pinterest by typing associated tags into the search bar}
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