Introduction
Wedding
favors are a tangible thank
you to your guests for being part of your
celebration. A lot of friends and family may travel hundreds
of miles to attend your ceremony and reception and often
may spend hundreds of dollars in travel expenses, time off
works, hotels, and tuxes / dresses. Giving these guests
a wedding favor can be a tangible and memorable way to express
your gratitude for your guests. Although
there are many kind of expensive Wedding favors that you
can buy, there is another alternative. Classy wedding favors
need to end up costing an arm and a leg. With a little time,
you can create elegant wedding favors using a few simple
ingredients.
For
someone planning a wedding, the decisions to make surrounding
wedding favors can be extremely difficult to make. Do you
need favors at all? What wedding favors are elegant and
which ones are considered tacky? How will guests react?
Let's face it, there isn't a lot of information out there
on wedding favors for brides interested in planning a wedding.
This article is designed to provide advice, tips, and general
etiquette on wedding favors.
To
have or not to have Favors
There
are a number of different views on wedding favors. Some
etiquette advisors caution on the use of wedding favors,
mainly because of the danger of getting tacky or tasteless
wedding favors. However, many other experts emphatically
support the use of wedding favors. Most of these experts
say that wedding favors are a tangible reminder that you
guests will take with them of your special day beyond their
memories of the wedding reception. Wedding favors can also
serve as tasteful additions to the table.
To
determine whether to use favors or not, it will be helpful
outline the pros and cons.
Pros:
- Wedding
guests will feel special
- Can
accentuate tables
- Serves
as a reminder for guests
- Guests
can use the favor
- Can
complement reception hall decor
- Can
work well with a theme wedding
Cons:
- Tacky
favors can be bad
- Some
favors can cost too much money
- Can
take up extra room on a table
Given the pros and cons, wedding favors are usually a good
idea - simply for the fact that they make your guests feel
special and cared for. Moreover, everyone likes leaving
a reception having something in their hand. Whether you
decide to have wedding favors or not, be sure to care for
your guest - many of them have come a long distance to support
you on your special day.
Number
of Favors
A
general rule is you should plan on having one
favor for each guest as you plan your reception.
Remember, when you purchase favors you will want to know
the size of your reception and the number of people you
have invited. Most weddings tend to have a 20% decline rate
for wedding invitations so you should factor that into your
favor calculation. Moreover, you will also want to figure
in any planned last minute additions to your reception.
If you have sent out invitations early enough, you can get
a sense for the rate from the first few responses that you
receive back.
Another
option that you can do is to give one
favor per couple or one
favor per family. This idea can be a good
one in the sense that each family or couple will get a gift
and you can buy higher quality favors. This idea requires
a significant amount of extra preparation and generally
works effectively if everyone has assigned seats. Otherwise,
people will not get the favors that were designated for
them and some people may think that they did not get a favor.
You will definitely want to make sure single guests receive
a favor too if you choose to use this option.
Cost
of Wedding Favors
Wedding
favors don't always need to cost a lot of money. Some weddings
can have a few hundred people - providing a favor for each
guest can become quite costly.
There
are a number of ways to lower the cost. The main one is
to buy supplies that can be
creatively assembled into wedding favors.
These usually cost less than bought favors. You can get
help from your bridesmaids / family members a few weeks
or days before the big event.
Ideas
for favors that you can assemble, decorate, or readily create
include: candles favors, candy in a bag, wedding bells,
or tulle-based favors. If you don't have time to assemble
favors, you can opt to give wedding favors on a per family
basis. This allows you to cut down the number of favors
that you are purchasing and saves money.
Another
way to cut the cost down on favors, is to not purchase favors
from an expensive source. Most people would be surprised
to know that the favors that they find in high end, brand
name stores could most often be bought a lot cheaper in
store that didn't spend as much money on advertising. These
stores will be able to bring the costs on quality favors
down and will save you some money.
Table
Placement
Although
a lot has been said about the placement of the favors on
the table, the decision of where
to place the favors is most often a personal preference
with a few guidelines. Don't place the favors on plates,
on chairs, or on the floor. The favor should be some place
visible, a place where your guests will be certain to look
at the favor.
Many
wedding receptions place the favors just to the left of
center above the plate (just beyond where the bread plate
would go). Other wedding receptions have placed the favors
in the center of the table where they are out of the way,
but still can be accessed by guests.
The
final alternative is to hand out favors as the guest leave
or come in. Again this requires some planning, as you will
need to have a person on duty to distribute the favors.
This can work okay is you have the facilities (a single
entrance / exit), but generally, we recommend putting the
favors on the table so that they accentuate the overall
table presentation.
Appropriateness
of Favors
Another
important item to remember is that wedding favors need to
be appropriate and tasteful. Secondly, the wedding favors
should be something that your guests would consider desirable
- do not clean out your closet in search of wedding favors.
Items like plastic figurines or goofy toys are not favors
that are appropriate for a wedding. Some standard ideas
are candles, candy (although this should be quality candy),
gift boxes, or picture frames.
If
you are having a theme wedding, you will want to obtain
wedding favors that will be appropriate for the theme that
you have selected. Finally, you will want to be sure to
include items that match your color scheme. |
