Are Favors Really Necessary?

I think it depends on you.

Personally, I think that your guests are spending a lot of money to come to your wedding and what a better way than to remind them that you are thankful. Not saying that you are not thankful if you don`t give wedding favors.

I just think it`s a nice gesture. You don`t have to spend a fortune. I`m spending about $125.00 for 150 people. I did some searching on ebay and I`m making everything. I also asked my bridesmaids to assist me in making the favors so that we can have a day of fun and some time just to hangout.

What ever you choose, your guests will be excited and happy that you are getting married!!! I hope you have a fantastic wedding! Good luck with the decision on wedding favors.

Dear Susie

I`ve been wondering the same thing. I think I`ve decided against the favors myself. I`ve been to wedding with favors and without, I don`t think it makes much difference. If I had a really creative idea I think I would go ahead and do it, but since I have not yet come up with anything, I`m leaning towards skipping it. When I think about the favors I`ve gotten at weddings they are usually things I personally don`t want or need, except for one really nice one. I wouldn`t worry about it.

I am not doing favours either. I was beating myself up trying to think of a good idea for them and I just felt as though I was searching for a way to spend money. I don`t think guests will be upset if you don`t have them.

However, I do have a good idea that I think that I will use which will be cheap and kind of like a favour. As guests arrive at the reception site I will be setting up an area with flowers or an arch and will have my brother take a photo of the couple or person all dressed up at the wedding. Then after the wedding we will have the photos developed and will mail them to our guests along with our thankyou cards. How many times do you get all dressed up and then wish that you`d taken a picture. I think that guests will appreciate this as well.
What do you think?

Forget the favors, most people throw them away anyways....plus i know it seems like ur thanking ur guests, but people usually spend around $30 and up on a gift. Tehy know ur favor is only a couple of dollars max....really, they wont think of it as a thanking tool (i am not saying this to be rude to the person who said this earlier...just expaning on it)...

NO!!!
DO NOT distribute favors just because susieQ is doing so. These wedding "traditions" have such terrible environmental impact, don`t contribute to the waste that these events already produce. FIND something meaningful to channel your money towards, not something guests will toss as soon as they walk away from your reception.

The only favors I`ve ever seen that the guests actually wanted were edible ones. Little gourmet chocolates are great. Homemade cookies prettily wrapped (for a more casual wedding) are always well liked. The cutesy, crap that a lot of people think are wonderful favors usually get left on the tables or thrown away.

My theme is fans and I am making little fan shaped chocolates (out of molds) in my wedding colors and since we have a cd burner we are making a list of must plays at our reception and making cd`s to fit the guest taste, since most of them are family and really close friends then it won`t be too hard to determine their taste. Like I am not giving my grandma a cd with marilyn manson on it or my deadhead friends Elvis!
Between our computer and FH best friends we can have them done in a few days, with covers and all!

Think about what you would enjoy if you were the one attending the event. Guests are going to remember your food and atmosphere, not some little trinket that they will, in all reality, most likely throw away when they get home.

The other poster was accurate in suggesting that consumables are a great way to go. Bottled water if you have a summer wedding is a nice touch. Then if people go for a late night stroll around the venue grounds they have something to take with them.

I think one of the most thoughtful, inexpensive favors that you can offer your guests is a digital photo album of a variety of memorable pictures of you and your groom growing up.

You can create these on your computer and put them onto cd`s. They also have great kits to make sticker labels for the cds so that you can personalize them.

I too think that favors are unnecessary. I remember lots of things about the weddings I`ve gone too, but favors are not one of them. However, if you are looking for a neat idea that your guests might actually use and not throw away, my fiance`s sister-in-law went to a wedding where they gave those little wine charms (i`m not sure exactly what they are called b/c i don`t drink, but they are the little things you put around your glass so that people don`t get their glasses mixed up) I think what they did was put sets of 6 or something in a little box that they decorated with ribbon to match their colors. I think this is a good idea because it is something that people can actually use in their home and is actually useful (my fiance`s sister-in-law has already used them several times and the wedding was just a month ago). I also think that edibles are a good way to go. But, if you don`t have the money, or just don`t like the idea, then don`t feel bad if you don`t have any favors, they aren`t remembered, many people dont` expect them, and they often end up in the trash or left behind.

Picking out cute favors was one of the things I enjoyed most about planning my wedding. I wanted my guests to know I appreciated them coming, and a favor was a way to offer a small token of my appreciation.

Personally I feel favors are an added expense that isn`t necessary. Most people throw them away or just leave them on the table. I feel the host/hostess are thanking their guests enough for coming to the wedding by providing a wonderful meal, beverages, and a night of fun.

I want people to remember my wedding, so I plan to give out wedding favors. It is a good reminder of your first wedding anniversary, as well. Okay, I`m a sentimental bride!

Though some people in this post believe that they are a "waste of money" or unnecessary, I disagree. Of course, it is a waste of money if you purchase the standards cheap favors which everyone forgets like tulle with almonds, bubbles, etc. However, I believe that the wedding favor is a memento and a way to thank guests for coming to my wedding, so selecting favors will take time if you want to spend the time on the details and research in finding the nicest ones that people won`t throw away.

I also think that it is proper etiquette to give wedding favors, since your guests did come to the wedding with a wedding gift. All in all, I would not discount the variety of new wedding favors on the market. I think many vendors have gone a long way from the standard Jordan almonds.

You just need to find the right ideas and those may not come up right away when you search on places like Google.com. Try Yahoo`s list of favor vendors - I found my favors through this route. Good luck all.

That`s my two cents!

If you have wedding programs, these could serve as the favors. The guests can have something to take home with them as a souvenir.

I think wedding favors are a way of showing your appreciation to the guests, some of whom may have to travel quite a distance to attend the wedding. I am getting married in December 2004 and I bought a bunch of tiny terracotta pots (about 35-40 cents each). I spray painted them the color of my wedding and filled them with that gel candle stuff (and a wick of course) that you can pick up at any craft store. I them bought some inexpensive iridescent plastic paper and tied the top with a ribbon. Each one will cost about $1.00, they look really nice and they sparkle in the light. Just a note, if you use the gel candle wax you have to buy the wicks that have a thin piece of copper wire in it to prevent "smoking"

I would definitely NOT give favors. I got married recently and struggled with this. I must say, i made the right choice by not spending the $ on something most guests would not care about or remember anyway. I have to admit, i have never been given a favor at a wedding that i didn`t either throw in a drawer or throw away. Please save your money and don`t give it another thought. Good luck!!!

I don`t really see favors as being a "thank you" to the guests because everyone gets the same thing, so they aren`t really personal. The best way to thank your guests is to send them a thank-you note after the wedding. I would rather get a thank-you note than a cheesy little favor, but apparently, judging from the past several weddings I`ve been to, thank-you notes have become obsolete. (sorry for ranting, I`m just old-fashioned about that stuff.)

Which is not to say that you CAN`T have favors, just that they shouldn`t take the place of a proper thank-you. Also, I would agree with the person who said edible favors are the way to go. The worst favors are things like shot glasses or votive holders with the bride and groom`s names and wedding date on them. Who, besides the bride and groom, wants something like that? I`m planning on getting those little Chinese-takeout boxes and filling them with candy and fortune cookies. Maybe not terribly classy, but fun and low-key, and something that most people will enjoy.

When we met with our officiant, he wanted to know what our favors were going to be. Before we answered he said that food and CD`s were the only ones that he perferred. Going to many many weddings, he said "Just how many candles does one need?" We`re making a CD and I don`t know what, if anything else. Chocolate is out, as I`m having an outdoor wedding in August! I do love the photo idea of a previous reply!

Favors are very important, your guest are going out of their way to attend your wedding and i think its a great way of showing thanks, my fiancee and i found picture/ clocks make out of glass that open as a book and on the frame side we are making little messages that thank the guest for sharing our special day they are from the dollar store and cost 1.50 ea., very cheap and they look about 20.00 each