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We are having to re-look at our wedding at a much more realistic cost. Our way over the top favors have got to go! Which of these "new-budget-friendly" items would you be the most happy with recieveing?
Sorry can I say neither?
I wouldn't actually use a journal with a picture of a couple on it or someone elses's wedding date.
A tea bag? I donno what I'd think, the words "super cheap" come to mind. I think tea is a good idea but maybe get a little jar to fill with tea, becasue one tea bag would be pretty bad IMO.
Flip flops seem like a logistical nightmare in the sense that people have different size feet and you'll probably end up with guests who end up with something they can never wear.
honestly--we didn't do favors, and no one noticed. I've never received a favor that I was super psyched about...I wouldn't really worry about it and add that money to something else exciting at the wedding.
If you're trying to cut down your budget, what about cutting favours all together?
I agree, I'm not a big favor person to begin with, and the options presented don't really appeal to me.
What about doing a donation to a charity you support in lieu of favors? You could print up a nice sign for each table and write "In lieu of favors, Katie and Mr. Katie have made a donation in the name of their guests to ____." My sister did it at her wedding and it went over really well.
@abbie017: with the donations, you need to be careful what you donate to as the cause you choose could be against someones beliefs/values etc and be offensive to guests.
I also unfortunately don't see the appeal in the favours - have you thought about something edible?
@bali_y: Good point. My sister picked the Alzheimer's Association of America because it has really affected my family, and also was an issue in her husband's family. There are some very non-offensive charities, like children's cancer research or issues that directly affect the families involved...but yes, there are some that you'd want to avoid!
I clicked flip flops, but I think the charity option is the best. Give a donation to something you feel strongly about and have a sign on each table explaining that.
Out of the three choices, I would like the flip flips because I always feel like I need to wear heels to a wedding and I HATE HEELS (There! I said it!).
As a "budget friendly" way to do favours, we are axing favours, but for important relatives and friends (pretty much everyone isnce we are having such a small wedding!) we are going to mail out a framed wedding picture with a thank you card.
I wouldn't use the journal. One tea bag is a bit of a let down, and flip flops would be impossible as far as sizing goes.
I'd skip the favors all together. People probably won't notice or care in the slightest. Put the savings into something else your guests will enjoy, like nicer food, or spend it in another area of your wedding!
Another idea is to keep that money to pay for postcards with a picture from the wedding day which you can send to the guests as a thank you after the day. That kind of favour, although not given on the day may mean more to them to have a beautiful "official" picture of you two.
I clicked flip flops because I couldn't see myself having any use for the other two... but I can see how doind flip flops would be a nightmare! (having to get a good range of sizes to fit all of your guests). How about something eat-able? Sweets are usually a crowd pleaser.
I love the flip flop idea, but I could see how sizing could present a problem.... Think it would be a fun way to get everyone up and dancing!
Where would you have them though? On the table or maybe a basket they could pick their sizes from??
I agree with PPs, stuff with the couple's name/date/picture on it are definitely things to avoid. A tea bag would make me think "I have a ton of my own Lipton sitting in my pantry at home right now", and the flip flops seem like too big of an undertaking with sizing, etc. I think a higher quality edible item, like a nicer quality chocolate favor or something, would be a good idea if you do favors at all. I love the donation idea, too!! We're doing a big donation to St. Baldrick's because it's personal to the owner of the reception venue we picked, and he was a super nice guy who is very involved in that charity, so we felt it would be nice to donate in honor of his 2 year old daughter who had passed away.
I agree with the Charity idea, You could do something like Mrs. Lovebug and let them pick between different charities
You can read Mrs. Lovebug's post about it is here:
http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/02/05/sweet-charity/
We are up to 310 on our guest list. We cut favors all together, we did this to avoid "looking cheap" with a cruddy favor. With this many guests we couldn't spend $5 extra per guest.
A journal with a picture of us and slogan on the front - Sorry, but there's no way I would want this. Why would I want a journal with a picture of you on it?
A tea bag with a slogan tied onto it - Ok, but kind of small. If you do this, I'd make it several tea bags. (I voted for this option in your poll because it's better than the other 2.)
A pair of flip flops with a note that reads "kick off your dancing shoes and enjoy" - The cheap rubber flip-flops give me blisters terribly on the top of my feet. And people would probably be left out because you didn't get their size or are out of their size.
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How about something immediately edible? We did a couple peices of Ghirardelli chocolate in a cute little bag, it seemed to be a hit, everybody ate them.
I'm not crazy about any of the ideas honestly.. I think the flip flops are always cute to have on hand for the woman or men that arent comfortable in their shoes, but just buy a dozen or so in various sizes.. I think going cheap, your best bet is to get some matches made up... and just leave them on the table for people to take... Who doesnt use matches at some point in their life.. They are easy for the woman to just sneak in their purse too so no one is walking out with a big jar, or package that they will prob end up not using anyways! Heres a great link for cute matches.
http://www.americanbridal.com/personalized-matchbooks.html?gclid=CIGpjYjDjq4CFQGd7Qod5RBUfw
Could you do something edible? It can be as simple as a heart shaped sugar cookie. What about a small baggie of m&m's? I know not everyone likes cookies & chocolate, but it might go over a little bit better than a tea bag. Also, favors are not required, so if it's cost prohibitive, skip them!
I like the flip flop idea, but I agree with everyone above about sizing being a problem. The only way I could really see it work is if you just arranged them in a large basket for people to take if they want to. That way you could always just return the unused ones, maybe? If you are really trying to save money I wouldn't even worry about a favor. I have been to numerous wedding where they haven't had a favor or just put a few pieces of candy at each place setting. To be honest I never really noticed or even cared if I got a favor or not.
I picked flip flops, and in regards to PP comments that it could be a logistical nightmare with sizing, it's definitely doable and not that tricky. It's quite the trend where I'm from, so I've been to at least 5 weddings that did that. Just get a lot of the typical sizes and taper off on the end sizes. All the ones I've been to have used Old Navy because they have inexpensive flops. Good luck!
yeah we did m&m's in our colors. Cheap, easy, and edible! I put them in little tulle bags tied with our color of ribbon, and a little handwritten tag with our wedding date and thank you on it.
The other favors I've seen were m&m's in glass jars, almond bark pretzels handmade by the couple, small jars of jam made local to the venue, squishy 'stress ball' cow (both were dairy producers), and another tulle bag/colored m&m's.
What about making homemade jam and giving away small jars of it? That was one of my ideas for favors... or creating a special blend of tea (if you're so inclined, I am) and packing it in small multiple-portion bags or jars nicely packaged...
I'm not crazy for any of the ideas, but I voted for the tea bag because I'd be most likely to use it.
I like the flip flop idea, but would it be only for the women?
I'd go with something edible.
None, I would lose the favors.. no one pays attention to them anyways. Spend more on your decor.
I didn't want to deal with making or paying for favors so we did a donation to 2 causes. the Lustgarten Foundation to Cure Pancreatic Cancer and the National MS Society of America. My Mom is fighting a battle with Pancreatic Cancer and my Uncle and my new sister in law have MS. It went over extreamly well...
I don't like any of the idea either.
Charity would be your best bet.
Thta is probably what FI and I are going to do, though if we have a little extra in the budjet we are going to have a candy buffet with little chinese take out cartons that people can fill with the candies of their choice/
I don't like any of them, because honestly, I would either leave them at the reception, or I would throw them away when I got home. I agree, donation is the best way to go. We are going to donate to The American Cancer Society because my dad was diagnosed with cancer last year, and both of our grandmothers died from cancer...so it has a personal impact. I am also a speech therapist, and we thought about donating to the smiletrain.org It is a charity that helps with cleft lips and palates.
If you donate $250, you can pay for a whole surgery for one child and change their lives! To me, I would love that as a guest, and that's more rewarding than any tangible thing I could get as a favor.
I don't think I'd like any of these favors. What about chocolates instead?
I'm in the same spot as you.Originally when I only had 75 guests we were going to give candy apples as wedding favors but now that the guest list is almost at 90 I'm rethinking the candy apples.So rite now me and my mom were thinking buying those huge marshmallows and dipping them in white chocolate with pink food coloring and adding little edible gold pearls and shoving a little stick like a lollipop marshmallow...I had one at my cousins baby shower and it was deliciouse..its that or cake pops .lol but leaning towards the huge marshmallows. I think you can do candy,or something edible if you still decide to do favors ,of not then you don't have to do anything.
I think out of these choices, the teabag is the best bet because it is something that will eventually get used. But I agree with others about cutting the favors altogether if money is an issue. Half of them get left behind when people leave for the night, and they aren't anything guests are going to be super excited about receiving anyways. It is a waste of money and time!
if you want some affordable favors....stock up candies/chocolates from the store now as they are on sale for V day, as long as the expiration date is end of year, you should be fine. Just store it somewhere cool in the house. I would suggest to stay away from the candies that clearly says "Valentines Day" if you know what I mean :)
Wait for sale at the store like right now for Valentines, St. Patrick's Day, later on Easter, ...depends on your color theme. Stock a few bags of candie and buy some affordable containers (anything) and a few clear bags have people grab them at the reception: Candy Bar :)
If you want to make it looks nice, you can always pack the candies into some little bags as favors too.
@Firie: I agree. In my experience favors are typical left behind or thrown away and now that I am planning my own wedding I am starting to realize what a waste of money that is.
I do like the flip-flop idea and we are actually having a basket of flip-flops for the ladies that want to keep dancing despite aching feet. That might be a better alternative to save some cash rather than assigning everyone a pair.
None of those....I agree with all the PP statements.
We donated books that we had collected to a local hospital in honor of our guests. We got a lovely thank you card for the hospital, and our favors were practically nothing!! I gathered books from co-workers, friends, goodwill....anyplace i could get them for cheap. It has became like a hunt to find good ones that I thought people would want to read! We are going to do another batch right before the wedding (we had SO many that we had to take them before Christmas...)
Um flip flops appealed to me most, but what about male guests, odds are this will be useless to them.... we are doing a candy bar with chinese take out boxes... its very DIY and so far has been very cost efficient!
I would probably go with no favors. Really, they aren't needed, even edible ones since you are already feeding them a meal and a dessert. My guests didn't care.
None of the above. Throw a great party as a thank you for witnessing your wedding ceremony. The reception itself IS your thank you to guests.
IF you do a journal, it shouldn't have a picture of you on it. I wouldn't use a journal with a picture of another couple, (I don't keep a journal, but could use it for something else). A generic quote about love or life might be okay.
But I agree with the other posters...really, none of the three are the best ideas, (sorry). Most men would not use the flip flops or the journal, so you've got approximately half of your guests left out. One tea bag just looks super cheap...plus, a lot of guests don't drink tea.
If you're trying to keep costs down, I would go with edible favors, or the charitable donation suggested by PPs.
The only favor I like is the kind I can eat!!! Lol. Chocolates, or candy, or cupcakes. Something along those lines. I would choose Flip flops out of your choices though.
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