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I think the donation/chocolate bone combination is a great idea.
I second teaadntoast.... I like the chocolate bone idea and from someone who has never met your pets I like the idea of a donation to an organization you care about!
I like the donation! I don't think anyone would be offended by the organization. The chocolate bone combination is a great idea though too!
Personally, I don't think of donations as a favor replacement (I guess it technically is if you put the money you would have used for favors towards a donation), but it's an awesome gesture either way! I like your ideas of having a combo donation with a small favor. :)
I think that donations is a great idea, in fact, we're planning to do the same thing. I think that most people either leave the favors on the table or they throw them away when they get home.
We're just concerned because we're considering donating to an LBGTQ charity. We really, really want to, but we're worried that a handful of people in the boy's family might be offended by that. None of our friends and nobody in my family would, though.
Actually, I'm going to start a new thread about this to discuss...
But, at any rate, I think that donating to a charity that helps animals is great, and if anyone is offended by that, they're probably not a very nice person.
I think it is a great idea, especially since you are still including a small favor.
I don't mind at all when couples do donations as favors. So long as their registry isn't a donation to charities, I'm very cool with it.
I'm attending a wedding this summer where the bride is a cancer survivor, and her favors are the wristbands in her cancer color, and also, she's making a donation to her cancer society. I think it's a fine idea.
I think its a great idea! :)
We are doing the same thing. We're making a donation to the Altzheimer's Society since both mine and FI's grandmothers are no longer with us due to Altzheimer's. Then we're going to have little (like, really little lol) baggies of M&Ms or skittles or something in our colours tied with a ribbon and a note to tell them where we are donating.
I think that's a great idea. We are considering donating to the SPCA too! We are both animal lovers (have two guinea pigs and two fish tanks so far, but plan on getting a puppy in the near future!) I LOVE the chocolate milk bone idea! :)
I LOVE donations! This is what we're planning on doing as well. We will do it as a card for each guest. I like your donation idea but I don't know about the bone favor? Bones just remind me of doggie treats... maybe a chocolate truffle instead?
we are planning on doing a donation to National Alopecia Areata Fund and St Judes - both of which are really important charities to me and FH. i doubt people would mind - being that normally people just trash favors, unless they are edible.
Yup, I think it's a great idea...
My thoughts were that, we're having 225 people at our wedding...if each favor was around 2 bux...that's $450 that could go towards someone who really needs it. We'll probably donate to Children's Hospital or Haiti Relief...
I don't really understand the point of favors anyways, so I think the donation is a nice gesture. We will just have a note somewhere on the tables that a donation was made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
While it may not be popular opinion, I don't believe that donations are favors at all, nor do they have any place at a wedding. Favors are something that guests take home, whether something edible or a keepsake. A donation is neither of those as it is not for the guest. If you want to give a donation to a charity you regularly donate to, that's one thing and should be kept private between you and the charity. Your guests don't need or want to know anything about it. Definitely do not donate in your guests' names as the charity will come after them in the future for further donations and it may be a charity they don't personally agree with.
I love the idea of the donation to the SPCA! I haven't seen many favors that I have been WOWed by (despite all of our efforts to be thoughtful and creative). It's true to you. If you can add a little human treat that's all the better. Have you thouht of using pictures of your pets and friends pets in decorating? Not going crazy, dog themed wedding, but I saw someone who used pictures of her dogs in place of table numbers....the frisbee table, loves the water... that may be too much for you. But the donation as a favor is good, noone is really going to miss the favor and the world will be a better place.
We are doing favors to an animal charity as well! I think we're going to donate to a local SPCA as opposed to the bigger organization. Most guests don't care about favors anyway. Think about it this way- if you were the guest would you rather receive a useless trinket or a couple pieces of chocolate or know that the money for favors was given to a good cause? Donations hands down!
We are doing a donation to the Special Olymipics. I love weddings that do this and enjoy not having to take home a some cheesy favor that I will never use and usualy end up throwing away.
I am always a big fan of couples that forego the usual favors, and opt to donate the money to a favorite charity. It says a great deal about the couple's values and that they genuinely care about a great cause.
Any guest should feel honored that a donation was made in their honor!
I love donations in lieu of favors. We plan to donate to a local Children's Hospital or to Unicef. We won't be adding anything "extra" but I do like your idea of a little treat for each guest. I don't see how anyone can be offended by not receiving a favor. Would anyone ever think "omg I can't believe I didn't GET a favor after coming to my dear friend/family member's wedding and eating a nicely hosted dinner and having a great time at the party"!?
We're doing a donation as well. We've chosen the Alzheimer's Society (for my maternal grandmother who I'm 95% sure won't be able to make it to the wedding) and they're giving us Forget Me Not seeds for our guests. I think if it's a charity close to your hearts your guests will recognize that and appreciate that more than a tiny cheesy picture frame. I love your idea of the little bones! So cute!!!
I'm also making homemade jam with my sister (MOH) over the summer which is somewhat unnecessary but I love doing that stuff so I'm running with it!
we were thinking of doing a donation as well, i thing you have a great idea. def. to be commended. skip the candy and all that jazz.
@danadelphia
My guy and I were thinking about doing that as well... I was going to wait a couple of months and start a thread about it. I'll just lurk on yours ;) His family is very very conservative and Catholic.
@ bakerella sorry about your grandmother. That is a great charity and it is wonderful that they are giving you the seeds for your guests. I also love the jam idea! Those are the kind of favors I love and will actually use rather than a cheap photo frame. We are going to can this summer as well and give some of the canned goods to our attendants in a little basket.
We are also having donations as favors and will probably donate the the Humane Society of the US. I don't see how there can ever be anything wrong with replacing candy or cookie wedding favors that guests take home with a donation to help a greater cause. I have never once really appreciated any piece of candy or candle I have received at a wedding (not like I would a donation in place of that candy or candle). I say go for it!!!!!!!!
@Tonya2010 - We're date twins! Cute! What are you canning? I love that the charity is providing us with something for our guests which makes it really meaningful to me. In the spring my guests will sprinkle the seeds in their garden and think of our wedding and my grandmother each time they stop to look at the flowers. That makes me smile.
@ bakerella, Yay! We ARE date twins! We are going to can homemade salsa, green beans, corn, carrots, apples, strawberry jam and hopefully blackberry jam. We love organic vegetables, so it will be a gift that means something to the FI and I, and I think that our attendants will truly appreciate the time spent. We are going to get them something else too, but this will be our thoughtful gift. If I have enough time I may make jams for my guests as well...we shall see. =) I plan on making homemade caramel apples for everyone for sure, so that may be all that I can do. Reading the part about your guests sprinkling the seeds and thinking about your grandmother and your wedding made me smile too when reading it. =)
YAY!! Good for you. I think it's awesome, and I think generally, people will love it.
Concerning the ASPCA, see my posts here
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/donation-in-lieu-of-favors-where-to-aspca-or-local-shelter-1
http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/donation-in-lieu-of-favors-where-to-aspca-or-local-shelter
We are going to donate to our local shelter.
I agree with Selene221. Donating to a charity that is important to you is clearly a great thing, but it's not appropriate to announce the donation at a wedding. Just think-- would you donate to this charity if you were not recognized for your contribution (i.e., in front of all your friends and family)? If not, then you're doing it for the wrong reasons. In terms of using donations as favors (in place of or in addition to), there are some people who (rightly) are offended when people donate to charity in their names because it may not be a charity that they support, for whatever reason. I think if you really want to do some kind of donation (and be publicly recognized for it), then a subtle message in the ceremony program or something that says a donation has been made to X is the most benign way to do it.
Love it! We donated to our local humane society. I think its so much better than all of the favors I have ever received at weddings. I really love the chocolate bone idea!
I seem to mostly be in the minority here, but I am really put off with donations as favors.
First, I don't really see what the donation has to do with the wedding. It seems that people choose this when they aren't sure what else to do for favors--but what's wrong with just not doing favors if you don't have a good idea for them? A favor is a "thank you" to the guests for spending your special day with them, and I don't really think donating a dollar or two to an organization that they may or may not care for is really any kind of special treat for your guest.
While I think most people wouldn't be offended by your organization (though it is not unreasonable--I do have issues with some of the ways that ASPCA achieves their mission), I still think it's presumptous to assume that other people would like you to make a donation in their name.
If the reason for doing this is just because you would like to make a donation, then go ahead and make a donation as a couple to that organization. But do you need to be publically recognized for this? Again, what does that donation have to do with the wedding? Also, if you really want to support this organization you could ask guests to donate in lieu of a gift.
I'd encourage you to find a way to tie in your love of pets in another way. And of course, it's all about knowing your guests and knowing what the traditions are in your circle of family and friends. I hope it turns out well for you!
I don't think people would be offended, but I wonder if some people would feel like it's really just a gift for yourself - and I don't mean this to be harsh. I LOVE the idea of giving to a charity, and have been contemplating doing this too, but that's one thing I worry about. Since you said you wanted honest opinions, I thought I should share my concern with you. What do other bees think about that?
It would be great if your charity sold cookies or candy or something that could work as a favor - then the donation goes to them, but people get a favor, and no one even needs to know that the money went to charity! Does this exist?? Please tell me it does! LOL
I can't think of one person that would be offended at my wedding and I think that everyone there would actually like the fact that I spent my money on something that was going to make a difference rather than something that they more than likely will not care anything about. I am donating to the Special Olympics because my best friends and MOH's son who is 4 has Downs Syndrome. Everyone that is coming to my wedding knows about this and they also know that my FI and I think of him as a nephew. When donations are done for the right reason they can actually be very touching and mean a lot not only to the bride and groom but to their guests as well.
I don't see the issue with publically recognizing a donation at a wedding as a favor...at all...not in the least! I would and do regularly donate to the Humane Society. Even if I didn't, I find a wedding a perfect reason to start...why? Because ANY reason to start donating to a great cause is the right reason. We all have very different reasons for starting to donate...why not a wedding! Now it might not be the best idea to donate to a controversial group that your guests wouldn't appreciate (think a pro-choice charity at a conservative wedding), so I do think it's important to consider your crowd in terms of finding the right charity. But at the same time, it's YOUR wedding and you should really donate to a cause that is important to you and describes who you are. Guests shouldn't get offended that they didn't receive a cookie!
I don't think a donation is just to make a donation. It's to use the money that would have been spent on something frivolous on something meaningful.
We're doing the exact same thing -- we have 2 dogs and 2 cats that are the center of our world, so it will be no surprise to anyone that we've decided to donate to the Humane Society as part of our favor. Like you, we're also giving away something small and edible -- sugar cookies shaped like bones and mice (but they're clearly sugar cookies, not doggie treats!).
Like some posters stated above, many guests don't want spam from the Humane Society, so we donated in the name of "The Smith-Jones Wedding", so that the only one receiving mailings will be us. Also, I had never thought of a public donation as a way to brag, but rather as a sign that "this is our favor, so don't bother looking around for a $2.50 trinket that you're going to throw away, cuz there aren't any!"
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Honestly, I need some opinions... I've read positive and negative reviews on this as a favor option. My fiance and I love dogs, (we have two,) and I have two cats. Most of the people at our wedding, (probably almost all,) know our dogs very well. I was thinking of making a donation to ASPCA.org. They have cards that they print out for free to give to guests and I was thinking of either ordering ASPCA wristbands ($1 each,) or making chocolate bone-shaped candies to put with it... or both... so you would still get a favor of some sort. And of course I'd wrap them up and make them look super adorable.
What would you think if you were at my wedding? Would this organization offend anyone? It saves animals from cruelty if you have not heard of it...
My other option is a candy buffet, but it would be all DIY finding containers, and ordering candy, having someone to re-stock, etc. I've also heard horror stories about those... candy running out, it being gone before the reception starts, people getting greedy, etc.
The wedding will be 150 people at most if that information helps. Honest opinions please!!