Wedding favors?

Question

Do people expect wedding favors? It seems like all the weddings I hear about or have gone to, the favors are sweet but are always left behind. I would rather invest that extra $300 on something else.Any response whether negative or positive is most appreciative!

Answer 1

i went to a pink themed wedding and eveyone got a little breast cancer pin then there was a note saying how much had bee n donated 2 charity.

Answer 2

To be honest with you, I don't ever EXPECT favors, and a lot of time they aren't very nice or useless so unless you're like my mom who refuses to throw away ALL the favors from every babyshower, wedding, and first communion she goes to and displays them in her "china" cabinet, I will NEVER use them. My friend is actually getting married and decided to get shotglasses with the wedding date and the names on them. If you have a really fun family this would be really great, becaue you know you can use this item again. I say the best thing to do is do the disposable camera thing. Put a disposable camera at every table and have the guest take their own pictures. Number the cameras and have the guests write their address in the guest book next to the number of the camera that is at their table. When you develop them, send some (I'm sure there will be many you'll not want to keep) to the guests with your thank you notes!

Answer 3

I know I gave my guests candles and nearly all of them were taken. We used small glass jars in tropical scents, and had printed a sticker that had our picture and date that we stuck to the top. I had enough colors that you could pick whatever color went with your house. I think every guests took one--or at least every couple. However I did not spend very much money on them. I got a bulk rate of 25 cents each.

However a friend of mine spent a lot of money on lil metal buckets with sea shells, taffy, a few pieces of candy, and some local things that could only be found in the area. Hardly anyone took them. They had 75% left over. No one wanted a metal pail. A lot of people reached in and took one thing out of the bucket but left the rest. What are they going to do with them?

Another friend did handmade soaps for everyone as well. She makes them herself. I think a lot of people didn't particularly care for the gesture, and I know I don't like handmade soap. I don't like the texture or when the lil pieces of fruit fall out of it. Those were left behind as well.

Another friend had what we all thought were matches which would have been useful (who can't use matches) except they were both anti smoking, so it had lil pieces of paper instead. Too small to ever actually write on and I threw it away instantly. Complete waste.

Favors are sweet but generally not appreciated. I think the brides that package a lil thing of m&ms in the wedding colors or jelly bellys, find people more appreciative. It only cost less than $50 for all the favors and it's something they can eat immediately. Other than that, I wouldn't even bother. Most people leave them behind and you just end up throwing away several hundred dollars of stuff you wish you hadn't bought in the first place.

I remember the horrible favors but I can't recall ever getting a great favor. My mom really appreciated when a bride gave the plants. She had arranged the individual plants into a centerpiece but had it not had a card on the table telling you to take one of the plants, I doubt anyone would have known to. Definitely not much on the positive side of it.

If you are tight on the budget, I'd just save the money. I don't even think people notice in the first place.

Answer 4

Wedding favors are not required and you are right - most get left behind, and the majority that get taken are thrown out. Surveys show that MOST guests prefer edible favors (candy, etc) rather then the trendy "keepsake" favors that brides are so fond of right now. If you want to have a favor that your guests will all enjoy - go with chocolates or candy - or just cut out the favors entirely

Answer 5

Don't feel obligated to have favors. You're right - a lot of people do leave them behind. If you want to do something memorable but don't want it to be wasted, donate the $300 you would have spent on favors to a charity, then at each place, have a card for the guest that tells them you've donated to charity in their honor. That way, the money is being put to good use, and it will be more memorable than a candle or a picture frame.

Answer 6

No matter what you do, someone will find something to complain about, so I say if you don't want to do a favor, you don't have to. Spend the money on something else like food or photography or whatever.

However, the favor functions as a thank you from the bride and groom to their guests, and a small token of appreciation is never unwelcome. If you choose not to do a favor, be sure that not only do you get to as many of your guests as you can and thank them for coming, but that you and your new husband stand up and toasts your guests at some point.

If someone judges you for not having favors, then that's really more on them than it is on you.

Answer 7

We are giving $1 instant lottery tickets as our favor. With 150 people at the wedding someone has to win something. With envelopes and stickers all together is about $175 for 150. The website below is where I got the idea. Don't get the envelopes and stickers from here. You can find them cheaper!

Answer 8

Veiled, if you strongly advise against balloons because of environmental issues, you should reconsider your stance on butterfly releases.

Butterflies raised by unregulated commercial interests may spread diseases and parasites to wild populations, with devastating results. Often, butterflies are released great distances from their points of origin, resulting in inappropriate genetic mixing of different populations when the same species is locally present. When it is not, a non-native species is being introduced in the area of release. At best, this confuses studies of butterfly distribution and migration; at worst, it may result in deleterious changes to the local ecology.
In addition, these releases create a commercial market for live butterflies (currently about $10/apiece), with the result that, for example, the Monarch overwintering sites in Mexico and on the California coast are now targets for poachers.

http://www.naba.org/weddings.html

Please do not use fish, butterflies, or any other living creature as a favor or wedding decoration. It's inhumane and gross. Stick with candies, chocolates, etc. - inexpensive, edible goodies. You can also use flower bulbs or tiny potted plants as favors.

Answer 9

Favors are always expected, but are a complete waste. My girlfriend is getting married and she is giving donation scrolls instead, they say in lieu of a wedding favor a donation has been made on your behalf. So basically she is donating to a charity of her choice and in return the charity will be sending her these scrolls. If you want to jazz them up with some candy or something its completely your choice, but, this takes care of the expectation of a favor and eliminates the waste of funds.

Answer 10

We donated the money we would have spent on wedding favors to charity. On each table we made a card saying what we had done. We had no negative responses from our guests and most commented that it was a great idea.

Answer 11

I used to plan weddings and saw many different kinds of favors. Everything from jordan almonds to picture frames. The favorites I saw were flower seeds, donations to an alzheimers reaserch foundation (the bride's grandmother was suffering), and on a cold snowy night, a good-bye of a warm cookie with a bag printed with the bride and groom's name and cup of hot chocolate. But if you can't find anything that is useful, just forgo it and plan a great party that people will actually remember!