Making Your Wedding Favors Work for You

Recently, while talking to a bride-to-be, I enquired about her plans regarding wedding favors for her guests.

She waved the question away, "I'll just get the cheapest thing I can find. People always throw them out right away anyway."

I hope I'm wrong but in her case, I'd imagine they will. It doesn't sound like she's putting any thought into her decision - and there's little worse than a thoughtless gift. She'd probably be better off not spending the money in the first place.

The thing is, if she'd just put a little bit of thought into her favor choices she could find a gift which will pay off in any number of ways. Ways like:

• Decor - a well chosen favor, that fits with a well thought out, specific theme will go a long way toward extending your decor. And the great thing about it is that means that your budget for your decor either doesn't have to be as big or delivers the illusion that you spent more on decor for your wedding than you did.
• Memories - a wedding favor that closely matches your theme and is useful to your guests in some way can provide years of memories for your guests as they see that favor in their own home and think of you and your big day. Toward that end I personally prefer the wide variety of decorative bottle stopper favors because nearly anyone with a kitchen has at least one bottle on their counter top that could be dressed up with a special bottle stopper. How about a place card holder that can be used to hold photographs of a variety of sizes? You can use the place card holder then they can take it home to hold their favorite photo in it - or you could provide one! In some circles a decorative key chain can be useful to you guests. Candles, we all need to keep candles on hand in the event the power goes out. Coasters can be useful. Or luggage tags. You get the idea.
• Prayer - if you come from a community of faith, then prayer is important to you. A well chosen wedding favor, which means a wedding favor that your guests will want to keep around, will provide them a reminder of you and the support that you need as you embark on the adventure of marriage.
• Returned Gratitude - most of the people who will be at your wedding have stood with you for years, often in ways you won't be aware of for years. A thoughtful favor choice tells them that you appreciate them and all they have done for you.

The point is, you can choose a thoughtless trinket that your guests can throw away or you can give your choice a little thought and benefit from your investment in numerous ways.