Wedding favors have been a traditional component to the wedding celebration for hundreds of years. They are a way to thank your guests for sharing in the joy of your wedding. Sometimes deciding what to give for a favor can get overwhelming. The Knot Wedding Shop, one of the largest wedding websites, has over 550 wedding favor ideas on their site. Oy vey! How do you decide what to give?
I always like to consider the meaning and purpose first. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?” Often if I start by clearly defining the purpose, that alone eliminates half of my options.
First, let’s look at the purpose of wedding favors. Why do we give them? I came up with three primary reasons.
- To thank your guests for being a part of your wedding day. This is accomplished by giving something for their own use – candy, a candle, etc.
- To give your guests a keepsake to remember your day. This is accomplished through the container that holds the consumable item.
- To give your guests a physical reminder to pray for your new marriage. The best way to accomplish this is by attaching a decorative card with your name and Bible verse or marriage prayer on it. You could even put a note on the card which says, “Please use this card to pray for our new marriage.”
Second, consider the meaning of what you are giving.
- Sweets are symbolic of the sweetness of the day.
- Candles are symbolic of the light of Christ to guide your way.
- Living plants are symbolic of the new life you are building.
- I suppose soap could be symbolic of washing by the Word. Personally, I’m not a fan of giving soap because of the possible implication that your guests smell bad but that’s my own personal opinion.
If you combine the purpose with the meaning of the favors, you can come up with some really creative and inexpensive ideas. For example, for our wedding, we gave a mixture of candy in tulle. Each candy had significance for us. We made up cards on our printer with our names, wedding date and marriage verse. We used narrow green and cranberry ribbon to attach the cards to the tulle. We made favors for 120 guests for under $40. If I had it to do again, on the back of the card I would have explained the significance of each candy.
For a really inexpensive yet meaningful favor, you could take some flower seeds and glue them to a card. Compose a short paragraph about the parable of the mustard seed and how the seed of your wedding day will grow and blossom into a lifetime and legacy of love and faith. On the other side of the card, put your names, wedding date and verse. Laminate the card and give out with a few candies placed in either tulle or inexpensive favor boxes.
