I think that wedding favors are usually a big old waste of money. They’re expensive, no one ever likes them all that much, and they either end up getting left at the reception or tucked in the drawer next to the broom closet. Huge stressball for bride and groom + no appreciably positive impact on guests = fail, in my opinion.
But!
Here’s a way to solve the favor problem in a way that maximizes guest happiness while minimizing cost for you: Incorporate favors into your decor!
Kendrick and I knew that we wanted a candlelit, Midsummer’s-Night-Dream-esque affair, so we decided to surround the bouquet centerpieces with tall rice paper votive holders and lower, gold-trimmed votive holders (you can see some of them in that picture above, along with the hand-written menu). We filled half with regular tealights and half with LED versions (to minimize smoke).
On the menu, guests were encouraged to take home the votives as favors, and the DJ reminded them as the night came to a close. So our guests ended up with nicer favors than we could have otherwise afforded, and we ended up saving money and minimizing wastefulness.
