Choosing The Right Wedding Reception Favors
By Vicki Churchill

Essentially wedding reception favors are seen as a token gesture from the bride and groom as a thank you to guests for helping them celebrate their big day. No matter how small or inexpensive the favour, it will communicate this message and make all your guests feel appreciated and valued.

For the bride and groom wedding reception favors are another way of adding a personal touch to any wedding. Without knowing it, the type of favors you choose will convey your personality, individuality and sense of style. Be they quirky, stylish or well co-ordinated with an overall theme, your wedding reception favors will get attention from your guests and the right type can create a lasting impression.

Which wedding reception favors would suit us?

Think of wedding reception favors and most people would think of a bag of sugared almonds. Traditionally this was a popular choice for most couples, but like every other aspect of a wedding, be it the dress, cake or venue, there are now a wide variety of alternative options available to suit any budget or any preference.

Deciding on which wedding reception favors you want really depends on a number of things:

• The number of guests attending
• Your budget
• How much time you have
• The style of your wedding reception
• Whether you want something fun or meaningful
• Whether you have friends or family who can help

Working out a budget based on your wedding party

The number of people you have attending your wedding can be a key decider in how much you are willing to spend on each guest. Although most wedding reception favors look reasonably priced individually, once multiplied against the number of guests attending the wedding, that figure can look enormous! By dividing your budget by the number of guests attending the day, you can set yourself a realistic spending amount, which will not only keep you focused on favors within your price range, but it will also save you time as there really are so many different options to choose from on an unlimited budget!

Looking for wedding reception favors to suit your style of wedding

If your wedding has a theme, your favors need to compliment the overall décor at your reception. For example if you have an oriental style wedding with oriental flowers, red candles and Chinese food, fortune cookies would perfectly fit in with this theme.

To create a lasting impression and make an impact on your guests, there are a lot of quirky or personalised favors that you can find to suit your style of wedding, themed or not. Some quirky examples are plantable seeds, heart-shaped measuring spoons, or bride and groom corkscrew and bottle stopper sets, which are obviously a fun talking point for your wedding. If you want guests to be reminded of your big day then personalised wedding reception favors, such as matches, glasses or teddies, with the bride and groom's name and wedding date on will do the trick, but these can get expensive.

Want to save money and try making them yourself?

If you are on a tight budget, but still want to have impressive wedding reception favors then another consideration is the number of friends and family who would be willing to help you make them! Even if it is down to you alone, given enough time before the wedding it is quite possible to make the favors yourself and save money. For ease, many couples opt for boxes, which they can fill with sweets or chocolates and decorate themselves. It is a nice personal touch, which your guests will appreciate.

Before you embark on this task, with or without help, it is really important to try making one favour and time how long it takes you. You can then work out how much time you will need to finish the job and work out a total cost for materials. In theory, making the wedding reception favors yourself usually works out to be a great idea, but without proper planning it is easy to lose sight of your budget and can be an added stress when you think of everything else you need to organise leading up to your wedding day.

No time left! Ideas for alternative favors:

If you do not have a lot of time or money to spend on wedding reception favors, then lottery cards are a nice touch to any wedding. Though be careful to not fall out with a guest if they win! Alternatively a donation to a charity can create a big impact on the day and extends your happiness to others who are less fortunate.

Weddings reception favors can be found in many bridal magazines and on the Internet. Shops in your local high street will also offer bespoke favors. However you order, make sure the delivery date is about two weeks before your wedding. That way if there is a problem, you have enough time to rectify it, without any added pressure!