You know… the little token you give to each of your guests.
Brainstorming help:[ul][li]The wedding’s in Chicago, and we’ll have a lot of out-of-town guests. Maybe something Chicago related? [] The wedding colors are black and white. Gifts don’t need to fit the theme, but they can. [] We don’t want to spend much money. Hopefully, no more than a couple of bucks per gift. We’re willing to put in work to save on money if we end up doing something “crafty.” (However, there will be something like 140 guests, so we can’t do anything TOO labor-intensive.)[] Our venue was built as a ballroom in the 1890s, but is currently being used as a library. A couple other things we’re doing are library-related. [] The venue was designed by one of our favorite architects, Louis Sullivan, and we’re big architecture fans. We don’t want anything too overdone, like jordan almonds, candy with your name printed, etc.[/li][/ul]
We’re entertaining all ideas. You can use or ignore any or all of the above.
Something consumable. No one except your parents (and sometimes not even them) want a keepsake of someone else’s wedding. They’ll either throw it away or keep it for a while out of some sense of obligation.
My brother and SIL set up a table with pictures of all their family members who’d been in the military, and wrote something about how in lieu of favors they’d be donating money to a veteran’s charity. It was very sweet. I was in charge of collecting all the photos and getting them suitable for framing.
Around the same time my hairdresser was telling me about her daughter’s wedding where they donated to the MS Society because someone close to the bride & groom was afflicted with MS. She was telling me about it because they were on the hunt for MS Society lapel pins to give out to the guests.
Just some different ideas for ya. I honestly can’t remember any other wedding party favors I’ve ever gotten from a wedding, and I’ve been to a shitton of weddings.
If you give $300 to a chairty (~$2 per guest) that’s a pretty nice gesture.
We got married near Plymouth in Devon, so gave miniatures of Plymouth gin from the local distillery. They also double as place settings, with the addition of a name tag tied to the neck.
We had a photographer friend available to take quick portraits of the guests, which then got put in a little cardboard frame that you could print the name/date details on. The idea being that everyone is dressed up for a wedding, might as well get something out of having the entire family corralled together looking nice.
Just for kicks, we assembled a big box of silly props for those that wanted to take fun pictures. Everyone got really into it, coming up with dramatic poses and such, and the kids enjoyed themselves playing with the props the rest of the night. Wigs and scarves and hats and oversized sunglasses, it’s great having a photo album of all my friends and family having a blast playing dress-up. Almost everyone still has their photos displayed when I visit them, four years later, so it seemed to work out well.
You don’t HAVE to do favors at all if you don’t want to. It’s an easy way to cut some money out of the wedding expenses and I don’t think most people will miss the favor. One of my friends did a keepsake type favor and most people just left it on the table. He regretted spending the money on it.
That being said, I myself did candy favors and people did eat them. If you do want to do a favor, I strongly agree with doing one that is edible. If it’s something people enjoy eating, it will be taken.
We encouraged people to take the table decor home with them - we printed 5x7 silent movie posters and put them in cheap spraypainted frames. People loved them and started trading.
ETA - but seriously, if you don’t have anything special in mind don’t do favors just because they’re a “done thing”. Really.
Is it too late for you to convert to Judaism?
Because then you just give everybody a yarmulke, colored to match your bridal gown, imprinted with “Seltzer wedding, Sept 2013”, in pretty gold letters.
And 13 years later, this works for Bar Mitzvahs, too .
Or, what Zsofia said:
Will your guests really be insulted if there are no favors?
For my daughter’s wedding we did jelly bean shooters for the candy side, and then each couple or individual or family got a personalized bottle opener since it seemed useful as well as cute.
Since you are doing a library venue, why not create your own bookmarks? Yes, I know everyone is into ebooks these days, but decorative bookmarks are still big sellers and if you are crafty you can personalize it. Or there are plantable ones or Personalized ones that can serve as anniversary reminders!
Thanks for the ideas everyone. Honestly the “no favors” idea is extremely appealing to me because 1) I think the concept of party favors is ridiculous and 2) I wouldn’t have to pay for anything or do any extra work.
While we are seriously considering skipping out on the favors entirely, in case we decide to give them after all, we need to figure out what they would be.
One thing we’re considering is that the wedding is right around Halloween. We might give little bags of cheap Halloween candy. It can be bought in bulk for just a few bucks per pound, and it’s festive.
Candy buffets at receptions are pretty popular - goole it - you’ll get a ton of pictures that will explain what I’m getting at. And congratulations, by the way!
I’m a fan of the no-favors idea. I really don’t need any of the stuff, and often it gets left behind on the table.
That said, one wedding I was at had a bunch of cookies made, and packed up in pairs in small bags. There was a table full of them set up at the exit, as everyone left, as a treat for the drive home. What’s not to like about fresh chocolate chip cookies?
Oh speaking of candy…a recent wedding I attended had a candy table instead of a dessert table. Containers of candy with bags and you were encouraged to fill your own bag and take it home. I actually ate some of mine during the long reception and ended up re-filling before I left.
They also had a photo booth, sort of like what Queen Tonya suggested but it was an actual service that they purchased alongside the DJ service. The booth spit out double strips of prints - the guests took one strip and the other went in to a book for the bride & groom.
