We're getting married in July, and to save money we're doing everything ourselves. We will be spending the two days before the wedding, baking and cooking with our families.
For our wedding favors, we are going to line a buffet table with plates of homemade cookies we remember from childhood, made by mom, grandma, and the aunts. There will be Chinese takeout containers for guests to load with chosen cookies.
This way, each guest will be sure to end up with something they like, and they don't have to lug knick-knacks home to sit on a shelf! Plus, we get to save money on favors and relive a little bit of childhood magic.
The takeout containers are easy to find online, and you can personalize them with ribbons, stamps, or stickers.
By Heidi from Charlottesville, VA
Editor's Note: Heidi, if you get a chance, please take pictures to share.
When my daughter married 2 years ago, she purchased small nightlights (lantern style in white) at the dollar store for favors. She wrote a poem about lighting up your life (or something) and her husband being an electrician and pasted onto bottom of each light. I found a pattern for a "pillow box" on the internet and we made them and put a light in each box then tied it with inexpensive lace bought in quantity (my daughter has Victorian tastes in furniture and wanted to reflect that, too.) They were elegant on the tables and a favor that was actually useful!
Heidi thanks for sharing this brilliant idea. I think I'm going to use this for smaller gatherings as well. I would love to see the pictures, if you've got any.
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Tip: Do It Yourself Wedding Favors
Archived on 06/09/2006
When I got married, I priced guest wedding favors but they were very expensive. Most of the items I looked at were $2 - $6 each and that was not even including the cost of the candy. With over 200 people attending the wedding, this would have been extremely expensive.
I decided to go to the dollar store and found sets of 2 crystal candle stick holders (50 cents each!) and bought over 100 sets. We decided to insert tulle wrapped candy into each unit. When we priced the cost of having a party store do this for us, it was another $1 -$2 for each unit, depending on the colors and layers of tulle and the machinery that "puffed up" the tulle. This would have added another hefty amount to the price tag.
Instead, we decided to buy the candy in bulk along with tulle, and ribbon and put together the candy inserts ourselves. It only took a couple hours to put everything together. We ended up with a gorgeous wedding favor for a fraction of the cost. It pays to shop around and do some of the work yourself!
By Mary Beth
Feedback:
Chrysanthemum Plants
06/09/2006
When I was married, we had virtually "dollars" for flowers, etc. I was married in November, so for flowers, to save a huge amount of money, rather than doing arrangements, etc. we bought big Chrysanthemum Plants, gorgeous yellow ones put out at the local greenhouse for Thanksgiving. They were beautiful and had pretty foil wrapped around the base. They were magnificent, as we did a simple "Open House" style reception with bite size sandwiches, etc. and as my nephew called them "horse dovers", and a punch. It was a beautiful setting with a fireplace. It was lovely and everyone enjoyed themselves
Great Idea on the candlesticks, we didn't' have "Dollar Stores" back then :)
By jeanne
Good Memories
06/09/2006
My family and I made the favors for our family weddings and showers and I love it, because you also have the memory of all the fun you had doing it. My mom, sister and I had a lot of laughs telling jokes while we did all ours. It was like a little family party,
By debbie
Flower Pots
06/11/2006
I really like that idea about the big pretty flower pots. I thought maybe about going to home depot, they sell nice flower bunches for pretty cheap and adding all sort of nice flowers to the already big flower pot idea you did to make a big flower display for any party. They make only live for the day unless you take them all out at the end and put then in water, or you can insert them into the flowers dirt with those green water stems at the end. You think this may work?
I'm a banquet server and have done MANY weddings. The last one I served was very much a "budget" wedding but it was beautiful. Instead of traditional favors the bride and groom made a donation to a charity and placed cards stating something to that effect at each spot. Then they just had candies in their wedding colors in bowls at each table. I thought it was great because the couple got to spent only what they could afford, the guests didn't end up with another annoying bottle of bubbles, and of course a worthwhile charity benefited also.
