NBR - Favors (wedding/shower)

lest12 · March 2014

Happy Monday!

I am avoiding doing any real work today by putting in some planning on my sister's Bridal Shower. I am stuck on a good favor, though.

If you don't mind sharing and letting me steal an idea or two - what were the favors for your wedding/bridal shower? Or any other shower/wedding you have attended or thrown? Anything you liked in particular? Anything you hated?

jshrop · March 2014

I hate favors as a whole. No one keeps them, uses them, or cares about them (except maybe the immediate family of bride and groom). For my sisters shower I made little heart shaped boxes (got them at The Christmas tree shops for $.25 each) filled with Hershey kisses that had a note attached "hugs and Kisses from the soon-to-be Missus. Thanks for sharing in this special day!". We also had a candy bar with my sisters favorite candy and little Chinese takeout boxes. People could help themselves to make their own favors before they left.

bumpuser9343355 · March 2014

Edibles are the way to go, in my opinion. People will eat a cookie or candy, but will throw away just about any other favor out there.

lest12 · March 2014

LOL @kaceymarie - thank you. I was thinking a Hershey bar, to be honest.

I like edible favors myself. We did salt water taffy at our post-nuptial party, with little stickers that had our name/wedding date on them. They were cute.

I went to a shower once where everyone got an espresso cup set. They were beautiful, but talk about a waste of space. I don't have an espresso machine, what was I supposed to do with these cups?

@ugabamafans - Favors are definitely given/expected here. I don't know if it's regional (New England) or cultural (Italian), but they're not so optional. I get what you mean, though, and that is why I like edible gifts. A lot of other stuff kind of just collects dust until it gets thrown out. I want to avoid that.

lest12 · March 2014

KrystaJ said:

For my showers, people received flowers and a cupcake and sunflower seeds and a small cake.

I've received other edibles, including cupcakes, cookies, rosemary salt...

Edit - sunflower seeds for growing sunflowers, not for eating

The seeds are an adorable idea.

I wanted to do a small potted flower/plant for everyone. I didn't really look at the cost, so I don't know if it would be feasible anyway, but my mother thought it was a terrible idea I loved it though.

abastian00 · March 2014

kaceymarie said:

kind of like this:
https://katelynjamesblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Wedding-candy-bar-favors.jpg
not an actual candy bar lol.

Ha, I read it as an actual candy bar and all my pregnant brain could think was "yummmmm"

abastian00 · March 2014

I've seen decorated cookies that match the color palate, small plants (personally love a little potted succulent), seeds... a lot of what has been suggested above!

ETA - you can easily do a little potted plant by going to Home Depot and buying all the supplies super cheap. You can also buy beautiful succulent clippings from Etsy!

rastrau · March 2014

I agree with many of the PP that an edible is the way to go, since most people will eat them. The favors at my own bridal shower were little notebooks with leaf-shaped bookmarks and I personally haven't even used the bookmark, it just sits on a bookshelf. For our wedding we had a photobooth and considered the guests' photo strips as their favor.

I did receive a little packet of a bbq rub and recipe from a friend's bridal shower once - it was a favorite of the B&G and we did eventually use it. I thought it was a cute little personal touch.

At another shower we all got to take home one of the potted succulents serving as table centerpieces. I repotted mine and it's still going strong several years later, but I feel like that might be a bit more costly to go that route.

PressLove · March 2014

I always vote for edible favors. They're just less wasteful. The seeds sound like a good idea, but a person like me would put them down somewhere and forget to plant them.

For our wedding, we gave out our favorite cookie. I've used candy for various showers that I've thrown. No one ever complains about a sweet treat!

AandJ28 · March 2014

At my bridal shower, my bridesmaids bought mini wine bottles (both white and red) and tied ribbon around them and guests could choose which one they wanted. I thought it was super cute and the guests seemed to like them as well.

PinkKEL9 · March 2014

At my wedding I had a candy bar and flip-flops at the dance floor for the women to wear and take home.

I hate cheesy wedding favors like a candle/shot glas/etc, especially with the couples name and wedding date engraved on it. What am I going to do with that??

purplegem11 · March 2014

For my showers my girls did cookie mix in a jar. It was layered like sugar, flour, chocolate chips...etc. had everything in a mason jar and they just had to bake it and I assume add eggs and oil. Was a cute idea. Had the recipe on top.

babygabe614 · March 2014

I wanted to do seed favors for my wedding but my DH didn't love the idea so we ended up going with personalized matchbooks instead. Needless to say I have enough leftover matches that I could burn down the whole street if I ever felt so inclined.

I'd go with edibles for the least amount of waste.

temursgirl · March 2014

Most of the time I've seen edible favors, including truffles, specialty nut and fruit mixes, mini cakes or cupcakes, etc. I've also seen cultural favors, like some small item specific to wherever the couple's families come from. I think that's nice too. I don't really appreciate things like shot glasses.

ElTrain5 · March 2014

Another vote for edible favors. For my sister's baby shower we did a decorative small cake (maybe 8 inch round?) and surrounded it with matching cake pops wrapped in cellophane. Each person could eat theirs' there as a dessert or take them home as a favor, they were a hit!.

MrsRahl · March 2014

I had a tea party for both my showers, and the first we gave out little jars of honey with a mini honey dipper, and the second we eare giving loose leaf tea in test tubes like this

lest12 · March 2014

I am stuck in a quote box.

Those are both adorable, @eltrain5 & @mrsrahl!

I'm getting the feeling edible is the way to go, then. We are doing a 'French country' theme, maybe I will package up a few French macaroons in purple and white (the wedding colors) for everyone to take home?

kittenslove · March 2014

Also a non negotiable near me. Generally we do edibles, but depending on the theme may do something them related. For instance, this baby shower was orginally going to be both sides at a garden. The gift was going to be Thomas Jefferson seeds (not sure the real name) that my aunt collected from her garden, and a little herb seedling from my seedlings I grow. Not having it there, so now looking at iced cream and votive candles.

For my wedding shower, we gave out shot glasses. I was not the biggest fan, but my MIL really wanted to give them.

For my cousins wedding shower we gave cupcakes.

For my wedding, I gave out candy apples - huge hit.

My cousins wedding - chocolate covered fortune cookies. Not many liked, cause they didnt taste good.

My best friends wedding - philly pretzels and soda.

Girlfriends wedding shower - a "Philly taste bag" (a baggy with local favorites of the B&G such as herrs chips, tasty cakes, wawa lemon iced tea, peanut chews, soft pretzel). Best shower gift ever. I was pregnant, and it was snack food. Need I say more?

My sisters baby shower #1 - nothing. We forgot. People noticed, but it was all family, so not the biggest of deals.

Sisters baby shower #2 - small picture frames (holds a wallet size picture). Generally, everyone seemed to really like these.

SIL baby shower - they had stemless wine glasses. It was weird to get wine glasses at a baby shower, IMO, but the whole shower was weird, so I guess it worked.

For these baby showers: moms side will have an ice cream bar, with ice cream in mason jar. Guests can choose their own toppings, and get to keep the mason jar. I am skeptical that this is too much work to do during the shower, but it is not my party to throw, so I am keeping that to myself. Can let you know how it goes, if your interested.

MIL side will receive votive candles. I think this is really nice, but not sure how guests will receive it. I would love it, personally.

lest12 · March 2014

ugabamafans said:

I really want cupcakes and cookies now....

I am eating a giant chocolate chip cookie at my desk. No shame.

(I ate my veggies for lunch so I'm totally allowed).

temursgirl · March 2014

Macaroons in the wedding colors = LOVE!

lest12 · March 2014

@krystaj - we had salt water taffy for our wedding favors too

We ordered them from a place down on Cape Cod where DH and I had gone for 2-3 years prior. They were a big hit... plus we liked giving the business to a small shop.

deepoceanmama · March 2014

Just another option: I also think favors are kind of a waste of money and that people never really do anything with them. But...etiquette. So, in lieu of favors at our wedding, DH and I donated money to St. Jude's, and each guest received a little bookmark explaining our donation (St. Jude's sent the bookmarks as a thanks for the donation--they have a whole program for donations in lieu of favors at big events. The bookmarks were even personalized with our names!). A lot of my guests made specific comments to me that they loved the idea, and DH and I were much happier to spend our "favor budget" on a worthy cause, rather than a bunch of knick knacks.

babygabe614 · March 2014

@deepoceanmama I wish I had thought of that for my wedding! Our wedding was very nontraditional so it would have probably been well received by our guests, too.

Kinipela7 · March 2014

I just finished favors for my friends bridal shower that is this weekend. I didn't want to spend much, so I went and got little cellophane bags and filled them with candy and tied them up with a ribbon that was her wedding color. Easy, cheap and hopefully won't go to waste!

Kinipela7 · March 2014

Here is what they look like- I did one in Hershey kisses and another in Skittles

Valie18 · March 2014

The favours at one of my showers were chocolates and stationery and things from a game the host organized where everyone takes home a prize. At another shower they were martini glasses (I've never used mine...)

My wedding favours were jars of jam tied with a ribbon. It was an August wedding and the jam was local so it worked. I think people liked them. Here's a photo because I think they're cute:

vixey · March 2014

Another vote for edibles. Nobody wants the knick-knack crap, and I don't like doing donations in lieuof favors (what if someone doesn't agree with the charity's goals, donating money is in no way a favor to the guests, etc).

For my wedding, I gave away andes mints. Who doesn't love andes mints? Our colors were teal and yellow, so it worked out pretty well.

kcartwright12 · April 2014

Depends on theme for me. I try and keep them in line with their colors and theme but that are also personal.

BMaidPlanner · April 2014

I really don't remember my bridal shower favors, oddly. My wedding favors were mini wine bottles with personalized labels. Alternated red and white at the seats and folks traded if they had a preference. Everyone thought they were awesome and different. (Not the candy, tea, mints that we had been seeing a lot, although I still like edibles. Wine just went with my colors and theme.) You can get really good wine too for less money than I realized.

Guess you could call them "drinkables."

Want a personalized experience?

NBR - Favors (wedding/shower)

Re: NBR - Favors (wedding/shower)

Choose Another Board

Search Boards