Guest Wedding Favors

Your wedding favors will constitute an important part of your wedding celebrations so it is important that you begin thinking about them early on in your wedding planning . What many brides fail to realize is that there is far more to favors than just giving a simple little gift of thanks to their wedding guests.

To begin with you will need to ensure you set a realistic budget for your wedding favors. By the time you come to purchase your favors your budget maybe a little stretched so if you don’t have enough money set aside to begin with you could be in trouble. When deciding on what makes a healthy budget you need to include the cost of the favors, the packaging, decorations, tags or labels, shipping and any applicable taxes.

Do some research on online favor websites to get an idea of what favors cost. Although you will not yet know what favors you want, most are within the same price range so you can use that as your guide. Many favor stores do have various offers and incentives available, but it can difficult to include these in your calculations so leave them aside when calculating your budget. Calculate a figure based a single favor including packaging, decorations etc and then times this by the number of guests on your guest list.

As you progress through your wedding planning note down any ideas you have about your wedding favors, keep a scrapbook of images from magazines and websites so you have a collage of pictures to give you inspiration. When you do your research online in favor stores note down the shipping times on offer so you know when to order your favors so they will be with in time for the wedding – don’t forget you will also need time to put them together in their packaging.

Make sure your choice of wedding favors and packaging are coordinated with your wedding colors and wedding theme if you are having one. They are traditionally presented on each guest’s place setting and as such provide the finishing touches to your reception tables. If they do not coordinate they will stick out and look awkward.

Keep your eye on several favor stores for discounts and special offers which maybe beneficial to you. Signing up for newsletters can also get you a nice discount on your first order and most stores will offer free shipping on orders over a certain amount. If you need to purchase a lot of favors, 150+, then look for wholesalers where you can buy in bulk at prices lower than in the retail stores.

It is a question that vexes many brides every year and that is how much should you set aside for your wedding favors within your wedding budget.  Whilst much of the initial wedding planning sees decisions being made about venues, guest lists and when the wedding should be, wedding favors are often one of the last details to be decided upon.

Wedding favors are an important element of your wedding day.  Intended as tokens of thanks to their wedding guests by the bride and groom, they do not need to be anything special or expensive, but they do need to coordinate with the wedding style and say something about the style and personality of the bride and groom.

One problem that does become apparent later in the wedding planning is that the initial figure set down in the wedding budget is woefully inadequate and the couple must now stretch what money they have left to make sure they can meet the cost.  Research and accurate calculations will make sure that this does not happen, but you need to address you wedding favors when you first make out your wedding budget.

Go online and check out the range of favors available and the prices from wedding favor stores.  You will find that most of the bigger stores will stock the same favors so do a little price comparison to find out which offer the best value for money.  Many stores will also offer extra incentives such as free shipping on orders over a certain amount and discount codes when you join their site or sign up for the newsletter.  If you are planning a big wedding then check out the bulk pricing for large quantities and seek out some wholesalers for even cheaper deals.

At this stage you are unlikely to know which favors you will want to buy, so it is more useful to stick within a price range.  You also need to think about the cost of packaging, decorations and thank you tags, as well as shipping costs and taxes.  All of these things should be considered within the price range you can afford.

Having only just written up your guest list you will not yet know how many of your guests will be coming.  There are some calculations you can do based on typical numbers of rejections but it is probably safer to include everyone in your initial budget at this stage.  The best way to come up with a realistic figure for your favors is by working on a price per guest basis, this should include the favor, the packaging, a sum for decorations and tags, shipping and taxes.

When you finally get around to purchasing your wedding favors you will probably need to adjust this figure based in the number of confirmed guests you have.  It can also be wise to include around 10% extra to cover any late invites and to perhaps send to those who couldn’t make it.  If you need to claw back money within your budget then you wedding favors could come to the rescue, or alternatively you can up the amount you spend per favor and go for something more expensive than you originally budgeted for.

The simple answer to whether or not you should give wedding favors is yes. They have become a traditional part of weddings and have their origins in the 13^th century when brides would give small gifts of sugar cubes to her female wedding guests.

With budgets tight it is tempting to forego the wedding favors so you can channel the money into another element of your wedding planning. But wedding favors are more than just a decorative detail on your reception tables. They are given as a token of thanks to the wedding guests by the bride and groom to thank them for sharing their special day with them.

You may be thinking ‘well surely thank you cards do the same thing, right?’ but thank you cards are generally reserved for those guests who gave a wedding gift and are sent out a few weeks after the wedding day. And, although it is unlikely, not all your guests may give you a gift. You don’t give favors to every guest you invite either, only to those you join for the ceremony and wedding breakfast afterwards.

Another reason for giving wedding favors is that if you don’t you will both need to individually thank each guest for coming. A process which could be tedious and time consuming meaning you could miss a large chunk of your day. Wedding favors do this job for you and although you will probably thank each guest at some point during the day, you will be able to relax and enjoy the party without having to worry about whether or not you have thanked everyone.

Wedding favors have become so traditional that a fair percentage of your guests will be expecting them and may look upon you as cheapskates if you don’t make some kind of effort and give them something! Whilst many of your guests may be please to not receive another mini photograph frame or packet of flower seeds, there will be those who will have been looking forward to a small bag of mints or a luxury chocolate throughout the entire wedding ceremony!

If your budget is tight there are ways in which you can achieve nice wedding favors without breaking the bank. Candies are the most inexpensive favors and look lovely presented in little bags or boxes or simply placed in a dish on the table. Also consider doubling up your favors with something else, such as name card holders or names cards themselves by adding your guests names to the thank you tags.

Edible wedding favors are one of the easiest favors to put together for your wedding and one which is always popular with the guests. However, choosing edible favors should be done with care and with thought to the shelf life of the product – presenting your guests with favors which have gone off is never a good idea!

As you progress through your wedding planning you should take some time to research the various types of edible wedding favor and how long you can expect them to keep for. Here are just a few of the types of edible wedding favors you can purchase:

§ Chocolates – ranging from candy coated shapes to luxury handmade versions and truffle chocolates.

§ Candies – these come in all shapes and sizes, as well as colors and flavors. Purchase them wholesale if your wedding is very large or if you want to give a variety of different candies.

§ Almonds – these are most traditional type of wedding favor and come in plain, candy coated or sugar coated varieties.

§ Cookies – these have become very popular in recent years and allow you the option of making favors which are designed to coordinate with your wedding.

§ Mints – another very traditional favor and can be purchased in a range of different colors.

§ Mini cakes – or cupcakes are perfect alternatives to traditional wedding cake and can double as favors too. They are more expensive than more traditional types of favor.

Other types of edible favor include fortune cookies, beverages, preserves, honey and bottled sauces. Many edible favors will keep for some time and can be ordered six months in advance without fear of them perishing before the big day. These types of favors include mints, almonds and candies. Chocolates can have a long shelf life but should be stored in a cool place to avoid them melting! Almonds too should be kept in an air tight container in order to keep them fresher for longer.

Cookies and cupcakes/mini cakes will not have a very long shelf life and tend to made to order due to their custom nature. Cookies can be stored in an air tight container for around four weeks, however it is probably wise to have these types of favors made and delivered around two days before the wedding.

Preserves, beverages, honey and bottled sauces will all keep for long periods of time but make sure you take note of any special storage instructions to ensure they are still at their best by the time the wedding arrives. If your choice of edible favor comes in a sachet, such as coffee, tea, cocktail mixes, then chances are these sachets will be made from foil which will keep the contents fresh for many months. Again make sure you follow the storage instructions to prevent any mishaps!

In the current economic climate it is little surprise that many couples will be trying to save money wherever they can off the cost of their wedding. As they progress through their wedding planning they will no doubt abandon some elements of the day altogether or in favor of something less expensive. However, one element they shouldn’t abandon altogether is their wedding favors.

Wedding favors have been a tradition at weddings for many centuries and whilst the favors themselves have become rather more sophisticated – originally they were sugar cubes, the expectation amongst guests to receive one has not diminished. That is why not giving favors is a bad idea.

However, today there is a world of choice when it comes to favors and there is something to suit all budgets – you just need to become a savvy shopper!

Firstly you need to look at how much you can realistically afford to spend on them. Go back and take a look at your wedding budget, you should have included a figure for your favors there. Depending on what stage you are at with your wedding planning this figure maybe realistic or totally unrealistic. At this point you need to decide how much you can put towards them.

Don’t forget this figure needs to include the favor, the packaging, the decorations and the cost of shipping. You can save money by choosing favors which don’t require packaging – candles for instance look just as nice with a bit of ribbon tied around them. And you can get free shipping from many favor stores if you spend over a certain amount. If you haven’t decided on your actual favors yet then you will need to calculate a figure which includes everything and one which is worked out on a per head basis.

There are several ways though that you can save money on your favors, two of which I have mentioned above. Another includes looking for favors outside of the traditional favor stores, which can be more expensive than buying similar items from high street stores. Supermarkets for instance, offer many things which are suitable as favors such as mini soaps, candles, tea, coffee and chocolate and all at much cheaper prices. This will leave you with more money to spend on good packaging.

Wholesalers are another good option for those who have a lot of favors to buy. Look for those who specialize in wedding favors, gifts and food and beverages. Some will be online whilst others maybe in your local area and you can visit them in person. There will be a lot on offer but don’t get carried away by the cheap prices! The object is to save money not spend more!

Another option is to only give favors to your female guests, as was the original tradition of giving wedding favors. This could save you a small fortune and your male guests really won’t mind!

The final option is a little cheeky but worthy of consideration. It is a fact that a percentage of your guests will not take their favors home, either because they don’t want them or because they forget them. On clearing up the reception after the wedding you may be surprised by just how many wedding favors turn up! So the final choice is to purchase fewer favors than you actually need – about 25% fewer will probably be about right. Of course this then requires you to be a little creative when it comes to handing them out. One option is to place all the favors in a pile on a table by the door and let your guests pick one up themselves. Those that don’t want one will not take one and won’t feel obliged to either. But you should think carefully about doing this as it could back fire and you end up with a queue of guests all asking for their favors!