Favors Tell Guests about You...and Them
Written by Natalie Shollenberger

The giving of favors at parties and weddings is a wonderful tradition. My son recently had his 8th birthday party. The children were so excited to receive a favor; they were thrilled that they, too, received a gift that day. It made the party an even more memorable occasion for each of them. The party theme was "knights" and each boy received a full-sized plastic sword, and each girl received a princess headpiece decorated with silver streamers. The favors didn't cost a fortune, but we did plan pretty well, I think.

In the hectic planning of a wedding, most brides and grooms plan (and pay for) the large ticket items first: the reception site, food and beverages, live music or a DJ, a photographer and photographs, and that all-important and much deserved honeymoon. By the time the final guest list is compiled a few weeks before the wedding, the bride and groom begin to give serious thought to favors for their guests. And by this time, they have probably exceeded their wedding budget and want to spend under $1 per guest for favors.

Think about it in this way. Your guests are giving you an entire day from their schedules and their lives to help you celebrate one of the most important days in your lives. They spend time and money on a wonderful wedding gift, and, no doubt, enjoy themselves at your reception with all the elegant and tasty treats you have generously provided. So don't skimp on the favors, the one item they will take along with them.

Many brides and grooms prefer "keepsake" items: personalized bookmarks, personalized favor notepads, magnets, votive candles, or potpourri. Hint: If you give scented items, don't put them on the reception tables where the scent interferes with food. Instead, arrange them on a table away from the dining area.

Others see favors as one of the reception table decorations and part of the meal, and use personalized boxes filled with chocolates or Jordan almonds. Boxes come in all shapes and sizes, and you can easily find something that fits your wedding themes and colors and add a nice touch to your reception tables. Chocolate is always popular with guests, so try personalized chocolate bars, chocolate roses, foil wrapped bars molded with your names and wedding date, "foto" favor chocolate bars with the bride and groom's picture on the front! Chocolate is deeply tied with feelings of love, warmth, and joy, so it's always a great choice! Foiled chocolate roses in a vase make a lovely centerpiece, and the guests can take one along as a favor. Of course, any candies wrapped in toule and tied with printed favor ribbons are traditional, yet always welcome.

Show your guests that you thought about favors early in your planning. They will be quite impressed. Don't put something cheap on the tables as an afterthought, or worse yet, no favor. Guests, especially women, find this very insulting. Your guests will chatter about your favors at your reception, so make sure they will say something "favorable."

"So how do I plan for favors when I have no idea how many guests are coming?"

As long as you are having at least 50 guests, some favor companies will customize your favors, with a small deposit, and wait for your final guest count four weeks before your wedding. This allows you to plan exactly how much to spend per favor. A good formula to use is to calculate how much per guest you are spending on reception food and beverages, not including your wedding cake. Then, figure on spending 9 to 12% of that amount on favors for your guests. For example, if you spend $22.00 per guest on food and beverages, then you should plan to spend between $1.98 to $2.64 per guest on favors.

Favors tell your guests much about you, so show them how much you value their presence at your wedding!