Offering wedding favours is one of the most popular and traditional ways of showing your appreciation and gratitude to your guests for being a part of your big day. They have become an essential part of the overwhelming ‘to do’ list for prospective couples, but it can be difficult knowing what to get without breaking the all-important budget. In this blog we take a look at a few different ideas to hopefully help you solve the dilemma of the wedding favour.
The history of the wedding favour goes back to the days of French aristocracy centuries ago and included a small box made from something like crystal, porcelain or precious stones filled with something edible. This edible treat was typically something made from sugar, symbolising wealth and royalty.
Often, sugared almonds were the sweet treat of choice when it came to wedding favours. This is said to be because the bitterness of the almond coupled with the sweetness of the sugar combined to represent the bittersweet nature of the marriage union. However, nowadays, the notion of the wedding favour has become much more varied, from small, personalised trinkets to more elaborate gifts of gratitude.
If you want to stay traditional and provide something sweet as a favour for your guests, then lots of different websites and companies offer personalised sweetie options to make your offering really unique to your big day. How about a personalised packet of Swizzels Love Hearts, complete with the bride and groom’s names on the packaging? The website Etsy offers an array of small businesses who can print personalised packaging for a whole host of different sweets, from Fruit Pastilles to Millions, complete with printed tags to commemorate the date and time of the wedding day. Guests are always gratefully receive these types of favours as they sit down to wait for speeches to start and are often a simple but effective option, even for smaller budgets.
Another way of thanking your guests on a modest budget is to do a bit of DIY. Lots of small tokens can be personalised quite easily with a little bit of crafting. For example, inexpensive packets of seeds can be a cute way of representing the growth of love that marriage epitomises. Homemade card tags with the names of the newlyweds and phrases like ‘sown with love’ can transform this low-priced gesture into a fancy, personal and memorable favour. Or how about a ‘hangover cure’ kit for each of your guests? A small paper bag filled with hangover ‘essentials’ (adults only of course!) can be a fun and novel but thoughtful gift for everyone- especially if you’re expecting an evening reception on the wilder side!
If you are looking to spend a little bit more money on your favours, another option is to negotiate with your venue about offering drinks tokens. Lots of venues will allow you to put a specified amount of money behind the bar, in exchange for one drink per guest. A small ticket with a message reading ‘your first drink is on us’ would be a much welcomed and gratefully received gift for your guests. The theme of alcohol is a popular choice: much like the aforementioned personalised sweets theme, lots of companies offer individualised miniatures as wedding favours. Mini bottles of gin or whisky are a fun favour and you could actually do this yourself for a fraction of the cost by bulk buying some mini bottles, stoppers and personalised stickers.
Of course, there are some more luxurious options for couples offering wedding favours budget allowing. Jo Malone offer a Bridal Consultation service, allowing you to discover your perfect fragrance, unique to your day, then use as special scented thank-yous for your guests. Other more expensive favours include ideas such as a personalised champagne flute, or photo frame, allowing guests to take a piece of your wedding home with them to keep forever. At BWR-London we can laser engrave a message of your choice on 1 oz or 1/2 oz solid silver coin blanks.
However much you decide to spend on your wedding favours, remember that your guests won’t be expecting elaborate gifts and a small token of your appreciation will go a long way. The key to a good favour is finding something unique and personal to you as a couple. A marriage of two music lovers might gift their guests with a personalised mix tape of their favourite songs. A bride and groom who are real foodies might want to include some personalised pasta as a unique favour. Make your gifts unique to you and consider the presentation and packaging as they will be laid out with the place settings at the tables. Always remember that you don’t need to spend a lot to provide something memorable and appreciated by your loved ones on your big day.
At BWR-London, we believe your wedding should be tailored to you, which is why we work closely with our clients to create the perfect wedding rings. We specialise in crafting bespoke wedding rings that you’ll love forever. We can make almost any ring so have a look at our portfolio for inspiration and get in touch for more information.
