You may still get a box of sugared almonds by your place setting as a little gift when you arrive at a wedding reception as a guest, but in recent years wedding favours have moved away from the traditional and have become more and more imaginative.
In particular, brides are taking up the challenge of creating DIY wedding favours – which can be anything from little bags of homemade cookies to pots of spring bulbs. We’re always amazed by some of the fabulous ideas our brides come up with. Here are a couple of alternative wedding favour ideas which have caught our eye…
Tasty treats
Instead of sugared almonds, give your guests a sweet iced cookie which they can take home or enjoy with tea and coffee after the speeches. We spotted these for £5 each by GC Couture – very sophisticated if you haven’t got time to DIY your own. Plus, they can be personalised, so they can double up as place settings!
More cookies we like – Cakes by Shelly will make up sweet treats for you as you wish, and can even create replicas of your wedding cake!
For beautifully presented chocolate favours, how about these champagne truffles from Prestat? They’re just £2 each – although they look like they cost a lot more! We think would look dazzling on reception tables, especially if you’re having a bright wedding theme.
You can get delicious jams for just £1 each from Wild Side Preserves, and they also come with a personalised label giving best wishes from the bride and groom. Ideal if you really haven’t got time to make your own jam (and who has, really?).
If you’re having a winter wedding, what about giving these mirrored tea light holders as wedding favours (£9.95 for 6 from The Handpicked Collection). Put a lighted tea light in everybody’s place and invite them to take them home after the wedding reception as a reminder of your wedding – they’ll do double duty as pretty table decorations when people arrive too! A whole room lit up with little candles would certainly have the wow factor.
If you have a little more cash to splash on the favours, or if you’re having a smaller wedding with a limited number of guests, these chocolate flower bouquets are a gorgeous choice for the ladies. At £10.50 for a boxed set of two, they’re not cheap, but they’re certainly interesting and would make your tables look fabulous.
Real wedding ideas
Our Forum brides have some interesting ideas on favours. One couple who live by the sea had some personalised rock created with their names running down through the sticks – perfect for a seaside wedding!
Another couple who met out dog walking decided to use the money they would have spent on favours to make a contribution towards the Dogs Trust – and in fact charity donations are an excellent favour alternative. Cancer Research will create small personalised wedding favours for a donation of £2 a guest.
Something a little different
To give your guests a long-lasting memory of your wedding day, put this little tin of wildflower seeds by every place setting. The mix includes both early and late summer flowering plants to ensure colours that will last all season. £4.50 each from Much Ado About Weddings.
It’s sometimes difficult to find really good favours for the men, which is why we love these English Gent photo prop sets. If you’re having a photo booth at your wedding (and even if you’re not), these are great fun to play with and will definitely result in some memorable pictures! Just £2.99 each from MyGiftTree.com.
Finally, you can always DIY your wedding favours – it just takes a little bit of time. Don’t be put off if you don’t consider yourself a crafty bride – why not do something very simple, like filling small glass screw top jars with little sweets like jelly babies, flying saucers or midget gems and then adding a personalised label? It’s a super-simple idea that will add a DIY touch to your big day and will be very much appreciated by peckish guests!
For more ideas, check our Favours section on the Wedding Ideas Forum or jump right in and start a new discussion yourself! There’s a particularly lively chat going on about whether favours are really necessary at all – what do you think?
