Anyone who has ever chipped a tooth on a Jordan almond knows that favors are often one of the most overlooked aspects of a wedding. Wedding favors are your opportunity to share something with your guests to thank them for being a part of your special day. I think favors that reflect the couple’s personalities and backgrounds are the best kind of all. Your guests will appreciate the effort you put into the gifts, and they will walk away with a little reminder of how special your wedding really was. Here are my top ideas for favors that are sure to make an impression.
Choose favors that represent where you’ve come from, or where you are going
Honor your family heritage by spending some time with your bridal party making homemade baked goods from a favorite family recipe. If you don’t have any family recipes, look up traditional recipes from you and your fiancé’s respective ethnicities (Food Network has tons of amazing recipes online). Package the goodies in pretty boxes or glassine bags with ribbons that coordinate with your wedding color scheme. For a really special touch, include the recipes you used with a note that explains where they came from and why they are so special to you.
Select regional products to add a personal touch to your favors. Choose a pair of favors from each of your hometowns, a gift unique to the city where your wedding is being held, or something that reflects where you will be going for your honeymoon. Edibles like honey, olive oil, preserves, tea, or candy are always well received and are usually easy to find locally. Bath, body, and home products like pretty soaps, candles, or potpourri are also good options. Include a personalized note that explains how the favors reflect you as a couple. Martha Stewart Weddings has a great list of regional favor ideas.
Give your guests gifts that symbolize your ever-growing love for each other.
Growing gifts can be enjoyed long after the wedding day has passed. Print your favorite poem or verse or a reading from your ceremony on decorative paper and attach to a seed packet that guests can plant at home. For something really special and unique, have the favors printed up on paper embedded with wildflower or herb seeds. Botanical Paperworks has an amazing variety of custom wedding favors that grow into wildflowers. Photos by: weddingphotographerdenmark.com
Another great idea is to give each guest a mini evergreen sapling to take home and plant. Not only are they good for the environment, but these favors will also serve as living reminders of your love for each other for years to come! You can choose from a variety of different gift saplings online from the Arbor Day Foundation.
Select favors that express your unique personalities.
Rent an old-school photo booth during your reception for a quirky, memorable favor. Guests will have so much fun getting their pictures taken, and the photos will serve as a memento for everyone who attends. Rentphotobooths.com can even personalize the photo strips with your names and wedding date – how cool is that?
For the music-loving couple: make a custom iTunes playlist of your favorite songs and give it as a gift to all your guests. Feature songs played at your wedding, or any other songs that remind you of each other. Or just give a gift card and let guests pick their own music! Learn more about music gifs on the iTunes website.