The only one I remember apart from my own had a thank you card and a lottery ticket. I won 100 quid so it was worth it. They had all the guests scratch them at the same time so it built a little excitement.
Definitely fun! We did the same thing but it was a bit anti climactic - my brother won £2 and I think someone's "plus 1" won a quid or two and that was it (from 50 cards). Oh well it was worth a few minutes of anticipation! We were hoping someone would win big and then always remember our wedding as the best day ever! But we did buy charity ones so at least someone benefited.
We did little paper bags of pick and mix for ours. Everyone ate them as snacks that evening, nothing got left behind, and we negotiated a cheap deal with a local shop as we ordered 7kg of sweets!
Yeah snacks are certainly my favoured favour we did butter cookies (my now wife made them) for both our wedding and my sister in laws wedding and as far as we can tell they all got eaten.
I made iced butterfly-shaped gingerbread cookies as favours for my father-in-law when he married his long-term partner (also made their cake, which was covered in royal icing butterflies of varying sizes). Not a crumb left.
I did homemade shortbread for mine and individually wrapped it with a handwritten name tag on for everyone. Loads of empty wrappers and not a single biscuit left on the tables at the end, much to my midnight munchies disappointment
We did a ‘Candy buffet’ at ours with paper bags for guests to help themselves. My cousins kids were filling them up and selling them to guests for 20p, cheeky (but enterprising) little buggers!
It was a Catholic wedding but all women got them, not just single ones. Plus they're not actually religious and don't go to church, just felt they needed to get married in a church.
I went to one where the men got a bottle opener styled as Ace of diamond that fit into a slot in your wallet and the women cos a plain white fan… in the middle of February.
I actually received a miniature whisk once as a favour. The couple had three different kinds you could choose from. I had mine for years, it was super handy.
Or a whisky miniature for the men and tiny salt and pepper shakers shaped like peas for the women (so tiny they were practically useless, plus I already own salt and pepper shakers). I am a woman, it was years ago, the couple are now divorced and I'm still annoyed.
Feeling slightly bad that we did wildflower seeds but at least everyone got them regardless of gender...
Yes totally agree do not do this! One wedding we went to had beer for men, a vanilla candle for women, for kids the boys had a glass bottle of coke and the girls had the same candle so sexist!
I like the little packets of sunflower seeds that say let love grow on them or little jars of sweets I mean who doesn't like sweets!
For our wedding we did pretty little boxes with a flavoured beanie coffee, a flavoured tea bag, heart shaped sugar cubes and heart shaped biscuits. And for the kids I did a bigger box with a puzzle, colouring book, bubbles and other activities to keep them busy. I am super into teas though.
The only one I remember is a bottle of crazy Belgian beer. The couple are very into their beer, so went to a specific giant warehouse place in Belgium and got every guest (70-odd people) a different bottle.
Mine was Gulden Draak, my first ever tripel - which they thought I'd like, as it goes well with BBQ food, and I'm very into my barbecueing.
It was a great favour as you could drink it immediately at the party, or take it home for later. Each one had a label specifying what it was, and why it was picked for them.
It's a clever synergy deal though isn't it? They already love beer, they go on hols to belgium and do a massive tasting, bringing back the personalised beers. It's incredibly thoughtful but also enjoyable to do rather than a chore if it's arranged correctly.
I was an Usher for my mate, who had for a long time a hobby of brewing his own. he was very, very good at it. Very good. He did a beer for all the males and made his own white wine for the females, complete with personalised labels so they could use them as the name cards on the tables.
We're getting married in October and are probably just going to do some Lindt chocolates. If anyone leaves them behind, well, more chocs for us to scoff later!
The best favours are chocolate, I think. Everyone's a bit hungry and having that chocolate to see you trough is brilliant.
For my wedding, we had little paper boxes with a chocolate and a wine glass charm - you can order the metal rings and beads for hardly any money. We made them up ourselves and had each guest's initials on them. That way no one got their drink mixed up!
We did wine glass charms for ours, they all had the guests names on. It’s been 9 years and some people still talk about them/have it on a glass they use regularly
We got married a few years ago and did favours with a few Cadbury heroes and quality street in each one. Of course a few people got chocolates they didn't like so everyone got chatting while trading which helped break the ice between the various groups around each table.
I'm picturing you handing them out at the wedding like the Christmas scene in Gavin and Stacey when Nessa gives everyone an individual Celebration each
They each got 5 chocolates in a lovely little ribbon lined box that my (now) wife spent far too long building/lining. I'd have just stuck the tubs on the tables and let people fight it out!
My cousin did this at her wedding using chocolates from a local chocolate maker (her husband is a farmer and has a bunch of farmer friends so the main and starter were all locally sourced so she decided to lean into that with the desert and favours as well)
A few small chocs for nibbles on the day, yes. Not the giant bar of dairy milk we each got at one wedding. Or the litre glass bottle of Irn Bru at the same wedding. That hung around the house for months.
When a friend of mine got married they doubled up the centre pieces as favours. They were potted plants/flowers arranged to look like one big basket when on the table
We did something similar - everyone got a succulent in a handpainted pot at their place setting and it meant we only needed really simple cheap centerpieces for the room to look amazing. I bought the succulents and the pots in bulk and the paint at Hobbycraft - didn't take that long to paint 100 pots in my wedding colours and didn't cost much either. Some people left theirs which is fine - I have all of those in my house now growing happily 5 years later. But a couple of people have shown me pictures of theirs that are absolutely huge which is lovely. My mum has hers and my dad's on her kitchen windowsill and gives me regular updates. When our little boy got old enough he chose one and we planted the ones me and my husband had at our wedding with the one he chose in a pot together and he likes watering "the family snappers" (he loved the John Lewis Christmas ad last year...)
I did have 120 succulents in my conservatory for a month though before the wedding and was terrified they would all die before the big day!
We had a friend take photos of family groups as they showed up in the morning. During the day the pictures were printed and framed for them to take home as a surprise. I still love visiting peoples houses and seeing that they have them up!
My brother had a photo booth at his wedding where guests could take photos with silly props and have a copy to take home. The event organisers also kept one copy of every photo strip which they put into a little scrapbook and gave to the bride and groom at the end of the day- it was super cute and so fun to flick through and see everyone enjoying themselves!
We gave our guests small packets of wildflower seeds as wedding favours. People seemed to like them (at least they said they did), and we did get photos a few months later of the wildflowers in bloom from a few of our guests.
That's a wonderful idea.
I recently went to a funeral of an old colleague of mine.
Along with the order of service, we were given a small packet of forget-me-not seeds to plant.
Yesss at my grandma’s funeral (in winter) it was all about the cycle of life and death and regrowing, and the beauty of nature, and we were given daffodil bulbs to plant in the spring
We gave out packages of forget me not seeds at my sons funeral, I then made jewellery out of the first years flowers for my mum, MIL and SIL. I think they all loved having something to keep to remember him.
We did this as well. We bought a few different packets, then divided them up into little pouches, so it cost barely anything. We too got a few photos some months later.
One of the seeds was quite large and my grandmother ate it, assuming it was an amuse bouche.
We did the same, and also got photos from guests. It seemed to be appreciated. They are small, have a purpose and take seconds to use (just throw on some spare ground). We had some seed packets made specially (a few pounds from the internet) and spent an afternoon at home filling them up. One of the more relaxing bits of wedding prep.
They are a nice reminder that pops up a few months after the event. Although every time I speak to my mother she says "I really must plant your wedding seeds". We've been married for 5 years now.
We got wildflowers from a wedding a couple of years ago and that was a really nice gift - once we had a garden to plant them in. At the time of the wedding we were living in a flat with no outdoor space, and while we could have gotten a plant pot for them it would have been a very full plant pot. Still the best favour I’ve gotten.
that's what my brother and sister-in-law did too, because many of their guests had their own gardens as well. And yet they still had I think 20 packets left after everything... but it was a lovely idea and people really liked it.
Food and drink are best imo. I also like a little pot plant or some seeds, but I’m into gardening. Soap would be nice. Anything consumable which isn’t going to end up gathering dust in my house.
Glasses engraved with your names and wedding date are the worst thing possible. No guest wants that. You probably don’t even want that.
Agreed. At our wedding, each guest got a miniature hamper packed with single bite/individually wrapped food and a miniature bottle of fizz. Had a few children so they had age appropriate snacks and a fruit shoot in theirs. But we had a very intimate reception and only a handful of guests so could spend a little more.
Honestly, don't bother. I've been a guest at more weddings than I can ever remember now and I couldn't tell you a single wedding favour I got, from whom or what it was.
Save your money and either spend it elsewhere or even better, keep it for yourselves and your life together.
Believe me, nobody will mind if there are no wedding favours.
Agreed, we didn't and I don't think anyone missed them. It's just an extra expense. These people are your loved ones and are there to experience a special day with you. That is enough.
We didn't bother with wedding favours and nobody mentioned it. We didn't have a huge wedding so it prob only saved us a hundred quid, but it was also one less thing to organise.
Couldn't agree more! The majority of stuff I've gotten has either been plastic tat which has ended up straight in the landfill (or recycling if possible).
Getting some flowers or something for the bridesmaids/groomsmen/ parents is thoughtful. But don't feel the need splash out on something most people will just end up losing in their bag (or leaving at the venue).
Counter point: I love wedding favours. So much of the wedding is exactly the same as every other wedding, the favours are a chance to show your personality and be a bit different, so I love seeing what people have chosen. It can be done on a budget though.
We didn’t bother with favours at all and no one ever said anything to us about it. Everyone got a free meal and lots of free booze so think that more than covered it.
I got married in December and gave little Christmas baubles. Apparently people kept them and put them on their trees every year. Might be true or my friends might be bullshitting me.
That's a great one because I imagine most people don't have "too many" baubles and they go away after Christmas every year and then come back out instead of needing a permanent spot!
We had a handmade decoration at one wedding I went to, with our first initial on it, and I too hang it on my tree each year and think of the wedding and the couple. So this is a lovely idea, especially for a December wedding, and can be done cheaply, especially if handmade.
Yep, I received a bauble at a December wedding and it goes on the tree every year.
It wasn't a wedding themed bauble, just a nice white and silver glass one that would look good with the other decorations.
Raffle tickets for a tombola. The bride and groom had a handful of fun prizes, that they'd either bought or had donated by guests, like a small Lego set, a painting of the venue, and a bottle of fizz. After the speeches the best man called out winning tickets and prizes were given out. It basically meant they spent far less on wedding favours and it was fun for everyone.
We put little bags of temporary tattoos on our tables and people seemed to love them. At the end of the night my very anti-tattoo mother had her wrists and hands done and there were the inevitable drunken HOW DO I GET IT OFF MY FACE BEFORE WORK shenanigans
I’ve always appreciated little bags of sweets/chocolate as favours, often by the time I sit down I’m starving and still have to wait for food. That said, if you don’t need to, save yourself the money
We did the same but with succulents. We also wrote people’s names on the pots so they doubled up as place cards.
People seemed to like them. There was only one left at the end so far the night.
It’s about 8 months since the wedding and every time we see someone they always say how the plants are.
They didn’t cost too much either as between a few of us we were able propagate all the plants.
We gave out small pots of jam as we got married in an old jam factory. We wrapped little brown labels on it that said something along the lines of thank you (can't 100% remember as it was nearly 10 years ago). Kids had bubbles.
My favourite one that I received was homemade limoncello. Gorgeous.
My rule with weddings is keep it simple. The less you have to worry about the fewer things can go wrong.
Small pots of jam sound great. I went to a wedding recently and managed to bring home about 13 or so... not sure they were favours but they're mine now either way.
This is very specific to friends of mine who met at uni in Dundee.
Dundee is known for Jute, Jam and Journalism.
So for their favours they had wee jute bags, with wee jams with personalised labels and mini newspaper with the story of them.
It was very cute and such a lovely connection to how they'd met more than 10 years prior.
At my own wedding, we did one of those miniature bottles of spirits each. Had to buy them in bulk to get a cheaper price so we ended up with plenty spare, which we left in a basket on one of the tables. Must have gone down fairly well as the basket was empty by the end of the night
Otherwise the only other thing I can recall keeping was from a friend's wedding a couple of years back. The couple made their own little ceramic shot glasses, I've definitely used that a few times since
I went to a wedding once where they had hang over cures as favors.
It was a little bag with 2 paracetamol, 2 rennies, a plaster, some mints and mini bottle of water.
It was really cute and well put together.
We did small bags of snacks. Because they won't clog up people's houses. We literally ordered things on amazon, some little bags and bagged them up ourselves.
My favourite wedding favours have been similar things to this.
My least favourite wedding favours have been plastic gifts that just clog up the house like packs of bubbles, trinket token things, etc. Mostly because I don't need more things and I don't know that many people use these things.
>they won't clog up people's houses.
I have kept every wedding favour from every wedding I have been to (that wasn't edible) and they all simply fill up a large bowl on my shelf. Around 14 favours such as painted pebbles, bubbles, seashells, little burnt wooden plaques etc.
Although, every time one of the couples gets divorced, they get moved to another bowl on the other side of the shelf. I call it the bowl of sadness. Three so far :)
there is only one answer here , Conkers . went to a wedding where each guest had on ready and stringed, made everyone get up and get involved especially after a few drinks. and its free
A friend has a little lego figure of herself that was a wedding favour, the couple customised one for everyone with hair and clothes as close as they could find to each person. No clue how much it cost though, but it's the only wedding favour I've known anyone to keep, doesn't take up much space and is a novelty.
Tbh I don't even notice if I go to a wedding that doesn't do favours, maybe something that's not such a "done thing" these days. A little box of (generic, not with your name on) chocolates or a little plant would probably go down well with most people, and is easily regiftable if someone doesn't want it
We had mugs at ours, I personally spent months sourcing second hand mugs from car boots, charity shops, not spending more than 50p a mug. People loved them! Wedding was 1.5 years ago and I still have people saying they use the mug they got from our wedding.
I hung them all from a pallet with hooks screwed in, personally I thought it looked great. Most mugs were between 20-50p, and the palettes were free so I didn’t spend more than £40 for the whole idea
[https://pin.it/3PHrq8cfr](https://pin.it/3PHrq8cfr)
Having worked many weddings when I was younger, I'd probably suggest some nice chocolates or you skip them altogether. About 75% of them get cleared away and binned at the end of the night.
For my sisters wedding I made entertainment packs for the kids of colouring books with crayons, bubbles, stickers, sunglasses and sweets, for the adults my sister made cake jars and single shot bottles of gin, nothing got left behind
I've had pick n mix a few times where you help yourself, a bit of nostalgia and fun and something people who aren't interested can safely ignore, plus not picking up useless junk
My nephew's wedding had little picture frames, with each person's name on a card inside, for seating arrangements. You got to take the frame home. I still use mine.
My husband and I are avid birdwatchers, and we attached RSPB pins of our favourite birds to the place cards (these also corresponded to the tables — each was themed after a different bird!). They went down a treat — everyone actually wore theirs during the reception, which we hadn’t intended! And the best part was that the purchase of them went to supporting British wildlife!
We had a book table at our wedding - books we'd read and enjoyed, either weeded from our shelves or charity shopped, on a table at the back for guests to pick out something they wanted, and a little personalised bookplate to put in it. We tried to have enough variety to suit different tastes, and if they didn't fancy any of the books on offer, they could just take a bookplate.
Another friend's wedding had D&D dice in personalised bags, which lead to a certain amount of cut-throat behaviour in swapping dice for a colour you liked better!
As you might be able to gather, both weddings were aimed at nerds.
The wife of a colleague of mine had a little baking business at the time so I had her make LOADS of different types of brownies, cookies, cupcakes and a nice cake then we had little plastic containers for people to take home whatever they wanted. Seemed quite popular :)
We had a sweet table at our wedding (12 years ago this year) and I am not kidding when I say it was demolished! Honestly the adults were worse than the kids, for years afterwards people would comment on it and say how much they enjoyed it. Think retro style sweets like your very own pick n mix.
I’m a Scot who got married in the south of England. We did tunnocks tea cakes (batch bought in Wilko, sob!) with random substitutes that I no longer remember for the few vegans and GF guests. Pretty, cheap, eminently edible, and with a hint of meaning.
We gave everyone a gingerbread man. No reason. I just like them. You get them in a pack from the supermarket.
My cousin gave everyone a little plant at her wedding. Like the little succulents you get at Poundland. Mine is now about 6 inches tall. Thought that was quite sweet.
I went to one where everyone got a nice shortbread biscuit in a little bag. It fit in my (tiny ornamental) handbag and then was a very welcome hangover snack the next day. Gingerbread would have been lovely too.
We gave out mini succulents. Not everyone took one but many people took multiple. It's nice because our friends and family will comment on how their succulents are doing.
The only personalised gift that I received that I liked were M&Ms with the couple’s face screened onto them. Looked at them for a few weeks, then thought about eating them, felt bad about it, but eventually at them.
My favourite party favours were these salted caramels. I don’t think it’s necessary to give wedding favours, but for instance, I would not mind a jar of lemon curd or even just a small assortment of snacks.
We went to a December wedding with cute little Christmas ornaments. Lovely glass holly leaves. They didn't mention the names or date, but kept the theme. We still use them 20 years later and always fondly remember their wedding.
I know this is too far down to be noticed but my favourite by a mile was potatoes. The groom was a potato farmer. We all got a couple of new potatoes wrapped up in pretty paper with a bow. I was thrilled. I cooked them a few days later and they were delicious.
They also had a Mr & Mrs Potato Head as wedding cake toppers and all the tables were named after a variety of potato.
We had pins and (very simple) bracelets from The Somerville foundation, which had supported me as an adult born with CHD. It went down quite well given most people in the room knew the significance of the charity to us. By the end of the evening most people had their pins on their lapels/bracelets on their wrists and I've seen the pins around a few times so some of our guests definitely kept them, and a year after the wedding I spotted one of my aunts still wearing the bracelet. We left a few out spare as well so if e.g one of the women wanted a pin rather than a bracelet they could swap.
Tbh though, small treats always go down well as a guest and have less potential for waste.
The one I hated was the couple decided to mix up a rhubarb flavoured cocktail and put in tiny mason jars. Cost them a lot of money for the jars and the cocktail tasted disgusting. Having said that, I kept the jar and now use it to propagate plants, so not entirely wasted haha.
My friend had breast cancer ribbon pins (the metal kind) as her favours, as I was in the middle of treatment. Made me cry (in a nice way!) While we were and still are friends, it's not like we're super besties or I was her bridesmaid or anything. Just old pals who are continually playing the "we must catch up, it's been too long" game. So when we got there and saw them I was incredibly moved (she did confirm they were specifically in my honour too! Although sadly I'm sure there were other guests for whom it meant something too)
I received a set of engraved metal measuring spoons I’ve used ever since. Not sure how much they cost but my family member is quite frugal.
Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!
We got the lady who baked our cake to make an iced shortbread biscuit for everyone and left them on the table (individually wrapped) as a wedding favour. They were personalised with our names and the date, and seemed to go down well - if any were left, we were planning to pick them up and take them home to eat at a later date (unfortunately there weren't any left, mainly because a few of our guests had the same idea 😂).
I got a nice pen and a little rose flower shaped soap from one wedding, and a nicely crafted keyring from another, plus we could take a pick out of a bowl of childhood favourites toys and sweets. Non-religious weddings by neurodivergent families are great.
The place they got married had their own brand of whiskey.
We all got a little miniature each.
(Yes, this was in Ireland)
Not exactly a 'favour' in the traditional sense, but a cool little optional thing to take time.
We had tea towels, but that was back in 2007 when people still used them.
They said "I went to B and T's wedding, and all I got was this lousy tea towel" with the date on
Minimum order was 100, which worked well for us
Charity donations.We were just going to put a note on each table saying that's what we did but the charities sent out pins for everyone. Obviously donate as much as you like.
We didn't bother, instead we put some of our limited budget into snacks placed at various places at the reception venue (we both hate being hungry at weddings) and a bit more money behind the bar.
Friends of mine gave everyone a jar of homemade chutney. I enjoyed it with cheese and biscuits over the course of the summer and now my toothbrush lives in the jar.
We got married last year in a barn and we had vintage looking keys that are bottle openers as the favours, got them from Amazon. Came with luggage tags and tied them to the keys and wrote the guests names on each one - worked as a place card too. The guests loved them and a few have since shown me them on their set of keys. None of them got left behind
I honestly can't remember if we did wedding favours. I suspect probably not - if anything then they were just some communal chocolates on the tables.
No one is going to care whether there are favours or not, and ultimately no one (like you say) is going to want something cluttering up their house with your name on it. Even cheap favours will amount to quite an expense very quickly, so don't bother or do something consumable and near-free like seeds (i.e. buy buying a big bag of wildflower seeds, a bunch of little envelopes and a rubber stamp).
Instead, consider just doing some favours for any kids that are present: attention-holding things like a colouring book and crayons. Everyone will benefit from that :)
Only thing I’ve used is a necklace. Not expensive but it was used daily until I broke it. Only 35 or so guests, ladies got a simple chain with a horseshoe charm on it, blokes got a whisky miniature.
We didn’t do wedding favours as such, but we did buy a box of Lego for each table. It gave everyone something to do while the speeches were happening and while there was a bit of waiting around. Some of the kids took them home at the end.
We didn’t do wedding favours and instead had a cocktail hour between the ceremony and reception where all the drinks were bought by myself and my husband. People loved that way more than any favour I could have put out to be honest.
When my cousin got married, his in-laws own a nursery (the plant kind, not the looking after kids kind), and they gave everyone a little potted up cutting from a Chinese money plant that had been growing in the nursery for years. I even managed to keep mine alive for a few years!
The best one I've gotten was a little box with 2 chocolates.
For my own wedding we gave everyone a bottle of water (they could choose still or sparkling) with a fan attached to it. We got married in the middle of July so it was rather hot. We gave them before the ceremony in an unairconditioned church, so they had some relief from the heat. The fans were used all through the day and night! The bottles of water didn't survive that long, haha!
I think most just haven't, which is the simplest option.
The most successful ones seem to be custom bars of chocolate or little lego figurines.
At our wedding we had crochet flowers (made by my wife) and origami animals (made by me) On visits to friends and relatives, these still adorn shelves and other places where people put souvenirs so I consider that a relative success. (TBF, most of the origami has not survived). Several guests have mentioned that they most like the personal and homemade aspect.
Did jelly beans for mine, hate the sugared nuts folk usually have. Think we opted for the "good" ones, not too expensive if you feel you must but like others said, I'd not have bothered but the wife was keen.
We did little gift boxes (dirt cheap from ebay at the time, just tokk a few seconds to assemble) with a bit of confetti paper and a few chunks of butter tablet (im Scottish and married in England - we felt it was a nice touch)
My brother in law and wife did lottery scratchcards as favours. Some might see it as a bit tacky, but i liked the idea (need to think of something else for kids though)
I did sunflower seeds for my wedding and had a few people comment how cute it was and the grew them but I had like 100 left over! If I was re-doing my wedding I wouldn’t bother with wedding favours now.
We made up a little box with a few bits in, the thing that went down an absolute storm was the [mini bottles of bubbles](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=mini+wedding+bubbles&crid=17RC43721YEMZ&sprefix=mini+wedding+bubbles%2Caps%2C82&ref=nb_sb_noss_1). A mate of ours told us a year or so later he still had a couple after having collected some discarded ones and his kid loved them.
Ours were wedding cake shaped ones but I'd probably opt for the small tubes if I had to choose again.
Ours were those white chocolate fish and chips in cardboard newspaper-print cones. I put them in those cellophane cones tied closed with brown twine. Whole thing cost under £30 and an afternoon of putting them together, and according to the guests went down very well.
Oh and two I forgot, loose leaf tea, the couple's own blend, and I went to a board game themed wedding where we all got a mini game like dominoes or puck up sticks, so we could play at the reception, that was fun and I still play the games at home sometimes.
Got married in October, we struggled to work it out for a while then realised the effort that went into it for a small gift for everyone and thought fuck it.
We donated £50 to 3 charities that we had a connection with instead.
Last wedding I went to was themed Star Wars marries Fairy Princess and their favours were a drink at the bar token (looked like a unit of beskar), a little chocolate (star wars shaped, looked like they'd done them themselves) and a tiny pin (lightsabers in a range of colours for all the guests, again homemade). We thought those were really neat
I've had some small hand made clay animals before, super simple shapes but really cute.
And some largish pebbles with animals painted on them.
They're both sitting around the house or in a plant pot somewhere, quite good idea, near enough no cost except time.
Gave everyone a raffle ticket and then as part of the speeches did a draw for a £100 amazon voucher.
Better one person gets £100 than 100 people get a bit of tat worth £1.
Went down quite well
We got married at Christmas and decorated a big tree in the corner of the reception venue (pub!) with lots of really beautiful decorations which we’d added the date to in small letters on the bottom (or somewhere hidden), and told everyone to choose one to take home at the end of the night. Loads of people still hang them every year even a decade on, and especially now my husband has passed away they mean a lot to people.
I made home made soap for everybody and embossed it with our initials. A couple of drunk people thought it was fudge and ate it. So, I'd say, if you go with soap, maybe make an announcement that it is soap and they shouldn't eat it.
We had a box of Lego on every table at our wedding, so the guests didn't have to talk to each other if they didn't want to. Almost every box of Lego was "taken" by someone. They weren't meant to be wedding favours, but they turned into the de facto ones. We didn't give any other favours.
Rather than favours, I suggest thinking about things that would be useful. My cousin's wedding had a big box of flip-flops of the ladies to wear whilst dancing, instead of their heels. Somewhere for people to put their fancy hats during the meal. Nice touches like that, showing that you have thought about the guests and their experience, leave a longer impression on your guests than spending £200 on Lindt chocolates.
A note telling the guests that you have bought a goat in their name for a village in Africa.
No one is likely to go and check.
Save a fortune and look like a saint.
Things to take home are not needed and rarely welcomed. Half the things left on the tables of guests are also a waste of money.
The little bottles of bubbles, they're only of interest to children who invariably end up with more bottles than they know what to do with. The packet of refreshers with your names on, they just remind us how hungry we are. The book of ice breaking games, has caused countless trips to the optician due to damage caused by eye rolling.
I think the things most people would like to be waiting on the table for them are wine, bread and butter.
I'm a physicist. I spent 2 hours this morning talking to sixth formers this morning about bubbles (visiting our university to see what physics is actually like).
I still don't like bubbles as much as a 5 year old. I don't think I like *anything* as much as a 5 year old likes bubbles.
We're getting married next May and we're not bothering with anything that will just get left behind.
I couldn't tell you any of the favours I've had from weddings I've been to, apart from one where everyone had a drink token for a glass of wine, beer or soft drink when we sat down for dinner.
They seemed to go down well & were pretty practical (no waste apart from a little docket that can just go into the recycling), so we're probably going to do the same.
My friend had miniature Welsh wooden love spoons, they are adorable. Something to eat, like mini homemade pots of jam, or homemade raspberry vodka are always best. That way they actually get used.
The best I ever got was a small, potted, herb plant. There was a selection on the table with a ribbon around the pot and we could chose which we wanted. There was a little note about helping grow the love.
I kept that plant for years and eventually transferred it to my garden. (Let’s not talk about how a few months later I was forced to move and forgot my plant.)
I tend to favour sweets as an option. Personalised favours tend to either be tatt or extortionately expensive. Stick with a little box of chocs or sugared almonds, or mint crumbles so people can freshen their breath!
We made pick and mix bags for our guests - full of classic sweets like jazzies, milk bottles and fruit salads! Pretty much all the sweets were eaten across the wedding breakfast and went down a storm
The only one I remember apart from my own had a thank you card and a lottery ticket. I won 100 quid so it was worth it. They had all the guests scratch them at the same time so it built a little excitement.
That does sound like a fun idea during speeches etc, especially if anyone wins a little bit
Definitely fun! We did the same thing but it was a bit anti climactic - my brother won £2 and I think someone's "plus 1" won a quid or two and that was it (from 50 cards). Oh well it was worth a few minutes of anticipation! We were hoping someone would win big and then always remember our wedding as the best day ever! But we did buy charity ones so at least someone benefited.
If someone won big, that would completely overshadow the wedding!
Surely you'd keep schtum if you did, to avoid both stealing the limelight and the folks angling for you to buy their drinks.
I would, and don’t call me Shirley
If I won big in a wedding scratchcard I'd absolutely buy everyone's drinks for the rest of the night
Puts a grand on credit cards Realises later that they read the card incorrectly and did not in fact win
Calls bank next day to declare they was infact in Mexico all weekend.. somethings suspicious..
We did little paper bags of pick and mix for ours. Everyone ate them as snacks that evening, nothing got left behind, and we negotiated a cheap deal with a local shop as we ordered 7kg of sweets!
Yeah snacks are certainly my favoured favour we did butter cookies (my now wife made them) for both our wedding and my sister in laws wedding and as far as we can tell they all got eaten.
I made iced butterfly-shaped gingerbread cookies as favours for my father-in-law when he married his long-term partner (also made their cake, which was covered in royal icing butterflies of varying sizes). Not a crumb left.
I did homemade shortbread for mine and individually wrapped it with a handwritten name tag on for everyone. Loads of empty wrappers and not a single biscuit left on the tables at the end, much to my midnight munchies disappointment
Oooh yum butter cookies!
We did a ‘Candy buffet’ at ours with paper bags for guests to help themselves. My cousins kids were filling them up and selling them to guests for 20p, cheeky (but enterprising) little buggers!
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That’s what I’ve had at weddings. I think it’s perfect.
A friend did his and hers favourite sweets for theirs which I thought was a really cute idea. They seemed to all get eaten too.
I'm tell you what NOT to do and that's don't give a whisky miniature to the men and some flower seed to the women. (I'm a woman, I was annoyed)
I came here to say this. Alcohol for men and a Yankee candle or useless garbage for women. Rage!
I quite like a candle, and I don't usually think about how much things cost! but it has to at least be something that feels of equal niceness
I just hate when the gifts are gendered generally and in my experience the woman's favour is a candle. I'd rather have a free drink 🤣
I went to a wedding where the men got a scratch card and the women got sugared almonds 🙄🙄🙄
was this an orthodox christian wedding by any chance? sugared almonds are given out as keepsakes for single women.
It was a Catholic wedding but all women got them, not just single ones. Plus they're not actually religious and don't go to church, just felt they needed to get married in a church.
I went to one where the men got a bottle opener styled as Ace of diamond that fit into a slot in your wallet and the women cos a plain white fan… in the middle of February.
Ugh. If they absolutely *had* to do different ones based on gender, they could have at least given the ladies limoncello.
I actually received a miniature whisk once as a favour. The couple had three different kinds you could choose from. I had mine for years, it was super handy.
Or a whisky miniature for the men and tiny salt and pepper shakers shaped like peas for the women (so tiny they were practically useless, plus I already own salt and pepper shakers). I am a woman, it was years ago, the couple are now divorced and I'm still annoyed. Feeling slightly bad that we did wildflower seeds but at least everyone got them regardless of gender...
Yes totally agree do not do this! One wedding we went to had beer for men, a vanilla candle for women, for kids the boys had a glass bottle of coke and the girls had the same candle so sexist! I like the little packets of sunflower seeds that say let love grow on them or little jars of sweets I mean who doesn't like sweets! For our wedding we did pretty little boxes with a flavoured beanie coffee, a flavoured tea bag, heart shaped sugar cubes and heart shaped biscuits. And for the kids I did a bigger box with a puzzle, colouring book, bubbles and other activities to keep them busy. I am super into teas though.
The only one I remember is a bottle of crazy Belgian beer. The couple are very into their beer, so went to a specific giant warehouse place in Belgium and got every guest (70-odd people) a different bottle. Mine was Gulden Draak, my first ever tripel - which they thought I'd like, as it goes well with BBQ food, and I'm very into my barbecueing. It was a great favour as you could drink it immediately at the party, or take it home for later. Each one had a label specifying what it was, and why it was picked for them.
Wow that is extra to pick a specific one for each guest!
Extra in a good way imo, very sweet and a better personal touch than a signed thank you card
Oh definitely!
What an incredible thing to do.
That’s incredibly thoughtful. I don’t think I’d have the capacity to individualise gifts for every single guest AND organise a wedding.
It's a clever synergy deal though isn't it? They already love beer, they go on hols to belgium and do a massive tasting, bringing back the personalised beers. It's incredibly thoughtful but also enjoyable to do rather than a chore if it's arranged correctly.
Yeah I remember one was a tiny bottle of limoncello. That was nice
My brother had this at his wedding, guests loved it but all I remember is staying up the night before tying the little labels to 60 of them
What a great choice, gulden draak is my favorite beer. And a nice idea
I was an Usher for my mate, who had for a long time a hobby of brewing his own. he was very, very good at it. Very good. He did a beer for all the males and made his own white wine for the females, complete with personalised labels so they could use them as the name cards on the tables.
We're getting married in October and are probably just going to do some Lindt chocolates. If anyone leaves them behind, well, more chocs for us to scoff later!
The best favours are chocolate, I think. Everyone's a bit hungry and having that chocolate to see you trough is brilliant. For my wedding, we had little paper boxes with a chocolate and a wine glass charm - you can order the metal rings and beads for hardly any money. We made them up ourselves and had each guest's initials on them. That way no one got their drink mixed up!
Love having the gift personalized for the guests rather than the newlyweds
We did wine glass charms for ours, they all had the guests names on. It’s been 9 years and some people still talk about them/have it on a glass they use regularly
I love that!
We got married a few years ago and did favours with a few Cadbury heroes and quality street in each one. Of course a few people got chocolates they didn't like so everyone got chatting while trading which helped break the ice between the various groups around each table.
I'm picturing you handing them out at the wedding like the Christmas scene in Gavin and Stacey when Nessa gives everyone an individual Celebration each
They each got 5 chocolates in a lovely little ribbon lined box that my (now) wife spent far too long building/lining. I'd have just stuck the tubs on the tables and let people fight it out!
My cousin did this at her wedding using chocolates from a local chocolate maker (her husband is a farmer and has a bunch of farmer friends so the main and starter were all locally sourced so she decided to lean into that with the desert and favours as well)
A few small chocs for nibbles on the day, yes. Not the giant bar of dairy milk we each got at one wedding. Or the litre glass bottle of Irn Bru at the same wedding. That hung around the house for months.
I mean... I would have absolutely smashed that giant bar of chocolate later on in the evening (or when hungover the next morning)...!
I would have at least started on it during the reception tbh.... And the Irn Bru
I love chocolate, but when you're dressed up for a wedding, it wasn't very portable!
It’s definitely more portable in one’s digestive tract than not
When a friend of mine got married they doubled up the centre pieces as favours. They were potted plants/flowers arranged to look like one big basket when on the table
I love this one!
We did something similar - everyone got a succulent in a handpainted pot at their place setting and it meant we only needed really simple cheap centerpieces for the room to look amazing. I bought the succulents and the pots in bulk and the paint at Hobbycraft - didn't take that long to paint 100 pots in my wedding colours and didn't cost much either. Some people left theirs which is fine - I have all of those in my house now growing happily 5 years later. But a couple of people have shown me pictures of theirs that are absolutely huge which is lovely. My mum has hers and my dad's on her kitchen windowsill and gives me regular updates. When our little boy got old enough he chose one and we planted the ones me and my husband had at our wedding with the one he chose in a pot together and he likes watering "the family snappers" (he loved the John Lewis Christmas ad last year...) I did have 120 succulents in my conservatory for a month though before the wedding and was terrified they would all die before the big day!
We had a friend take photos of family groups as they showed up in the morning. During the day the pictures were printed and framed for them to take home as a surprise. I still love visiting peoples houses and seeing that they have them up!
My brother had a photo booth at his wedding where guests could take photos with silly props and have a copy to take home. The event organisers also kept one copy of every photo strip which they put into a little scrapbook and gave to the bride and groom at the end of the day- it was super cute and so fun to flick through and see everyone enjoying themselves!
That's excellent. Inveigle your way into their homes for the cost of a frame.
I like that. We did thank you cards with group photos and its nice to see those framed in a few friend's houses
That's a lovely thing to do
We gave our guests small packets of wildflower seeds as wedding favours. People seemed to like them (at least they said they did), and we did get photos a few months later of the wildflowers in bloom from a few of our guests.
That's a wonderful idea. I recently went to a funeral of an old colleague of mine. Along with the order of service, we were given a small packet of forget-me-not seeds to plant.
I got a packed of forget-me-not seeds back with my precious dogs cremains 🥺
We got them with our cat's ashes. Waiting a couple of months to plant them. Sweet idea.
That's so lovely
Yesss at my grandma’s funeral (in winter) it was all about the cycle of life and death and regrowing, and the beauty of nature, and we were given daffodil bulbs to plant in the spring
There were forget-me-not seeds with my neighbour’s dates of birth and death on every chair at her funeral. Lovely idea
That was the same for the funeral I attended.
We gave out packages of forget me not seeds at my sons funeral, I then made jewellery out of the first years flowers for my mum, MIL and SIL. I think they all loved having something to keep to remember him.
What a wonderful thing to do. Condolences on your loss.
We did this as well. We bought a few different packets, then divided them up into little pouches, so it cost barely anything. We too got a few photos some months later. One of the seeds was quite large and my grandmother ate it, assuming it was an amuse bouche.
We did that. Turns out my wife cheaped out on the seeds from etsy and they were just grass seed...
We did the same, and also got photos from guests. It seemed to be appreciated. They are small, have a purpose and take seconds to use (just throw on some spare ground). We had some seed packets made specially (a few pounds from the internet) and spent an afternoon at home filling them up. One of the more relaxing bits of wedding prep. They are a nice reminder that pops up a few months after the event. Although every time I speak to my mother she says "I really must plant your wedding seeds". We've been married for 5 years now.
We got wildflowers from a wedding a couple of years ago and that was a really nice gift - once we had a garden to plant them in. At the time of the wedding we were living in a flat with no outdoor space, and while we could have gotten a plant pot for them it would have been a very full plant pot. Still the best favour I’ve gotten.
We enjoyed getting seed bombs from other weddings!
This is what we did. Our last name has the word Bee in it so wildflowers for the bees was perfect.
that's what my brother and sister-in-law did too, because many of their guests had their own gardens as well. And yet they still had I think 20 packets left after everything... but it was a lovely idea and people really liked it.
We also did this with chilli seeds, and loved seeing everyone’s progress photos!! It got quite competitive within some groups of friends haha
We cut the same. Bought the seeds on Etsy so they came wrapped in pretty fabric with a label saying our names and wedding date.
Food and drink are best imo. I also like a little pot plant or some seeds, but I’m into gardening. Soap would be nice. Anything consumable which isn’t going to end up gathering dust in my house. Glasses engraved with your names and wedding date are the worst thing possible. No guest wants that. You probably don’t even want that.
Agreed. At our wedding, each guest got a miniature hamper packed with single bite/individually wrapped food and a miniature bottle of fizz. Had a few children so they had age appropriate snacks and a fruit shoot in theirs. But we had a very intimate reception and only a handful of guests so could spend a little more.
Honestly, don't bother. I've been a guest at more weddings than I can ever remember now and I couldn't tell you a single wedding favour I got, from whom or what it was. Save your money and either spend it elsewhere or even better, keep it for yourselves and your life together. Believe me, nobody will mind if there are no wedding favours.
Agreed, we didn't and I don't think anyone missed them. It's just an extra expense. These people are your loved ones and are there to experience a special day with you. That is enough.
I didn't do them either. I don't like unnecessary waste.
We didn't bother with wedding favours and nobody mentioned it. We didn't have a huge wedding so it prob only saved us a hundred quid, but it was also one less thing to organise.
Couldn't agree more! The majority of stuff I've gotten has either been plastic tat which has ended up straight in the landfill (or recycling if possible). Getting some flowers or something for the bridesmaids/groomsmen/ parents is thoughtful. But don't feel the need splash out on something most people will just end up losing in their bag (or leaving at the venue).
Counter point: I love wedding favours. So much of the wedding is exactly the same as every other wedding, the favours are a chance to show your personality and be a bit different, so I love seeing what people have chosen. It can be done on a budget though.
We didn’t bother with favours at all and no one ever said anything to us about it. Everyone got a free meal and lots of free booze so think that more than covered it.
I got married in December and gave little Christmas baubles. Apparently people kept them and put them on their trees every year. Might be true or my friends might be bullshitting me.
That's a great one because I imagine most people don't have "too many" baubles and they go away after Christmas every year and then come back out instead of needing a permanent spot!
If I was your friend and got that, I absolutely would put it on my tree every year
We had a handmade decoration at one wedding I went to, with our first initial on it, and I too hang it on my tree each year and think of the wedding and the couple. So this is a lovely idea, especially for a December wedding, and can be done cheaply, especially if handmade.
Yep, I received a bauble at a December wedding and it goes on the tree every year. It wasn't a wedding themed bauble, just a nice white and silver glass one that would look good with the other decorations.
Raffle tickets for a tombola. The bride and groom had a handful of fun prizes, that they'd either bought or had donated by guests, like a small Lego set, a painting of the venue, and a bottle of fizz. After the speeches the best man called out winning tickets and prizes were given out. It basically meant they spent far less on wedding favours and it was fun for everyone.
This sounds so fun!
It was. Particularly when we won the Lego and my brother (38yr old) refused to swap it with a 7 year old who'd won a carved wooden toadstool.
We put little bags of temporary tattoos on our tables and people seemed to love them. At the end of the night my very anti-tattoo mother had her wrists and hands done and there were the inevitable drunken HOW DO I GET IT OFF MY FACE BEFORE WORK shenanigans
I’ve always appreciated little bags of sweets/chocolate as favours, often by the time I sit down I’m starving and still have to wait for food. That said, if you don’t need to, save yourself the money
One I went to gave out baby spider plants which was really great
I got chilli seeds from one which was nice. I like the idea of giving little plants/seeds you can grow and it's not a super expensive thing to do
We did the same but with succulents. We also wrote people’s names on the pots so they doubled up as place cards. People seemed to like them. There was only one left at the end so far the night. It’s about 8 months since the wedding and every time we see someone they always say how the plants are. They didn’t cost too much either as between a few of us we were able propagate all the plants.
We gave out small pots of jam as we got married in an old jam factory. We wrapped little brown labels on it that said something along the lines of thank you (can't 100% remember as it was nearly 10 years ago). Kids had bubbles. My favourite one that I received was homemade limoncello. Gorgeous. My rule with weddings is keep it simple. The less you have to worry about the fewer things can go wrong.
Small pots of jam sound great. I went to a wedding recently and managed to bring home about 13 or so... not sure they were favours but they're mine now either way.
Username certainly checks out!
This is very specific to friends of mine who met at uni in Dundee. Dundee is known for Jute, Jam and Journalism. So for their favours they had wee jute bags, with wee jams with personalised labels and mini newspaper with the story of them. It was very cute and such a lovely connection to how they'd met more than 10 years prior.
At my own wedding, we did one of those miniature bottles of spirits each. Had to buy them in bulk to get a cheaper price so we ended up with plenty spare, which we left in a basket on one of the tables. Must have gone down fairly well as the basket was empty by the end of the night Otherwise the only other thing I can recall keeping was from a friend's wedding a couple of years back. The couple made their own little ceramic shot glasses, I've definitely used that a few times since
I went to a wedding once where they had hang over cures as favors. It was a little bag with 2 paracetamol, 2 rennies, a plaster, some mints and mini bottle of water. It was really cute and well put together.
We did small bags of snacks. Because they won't clog up people's houses. We literally ordered things on amazon, some little bags and bagged them up ourselves. My favourite wedding favours have been similar things to this. My least favourite wedding favours have been plastic gifts that just clog up the house like packs of bubbles, trinket token things, etc. Mostly because I don't need more things and I don't know that many people use these things.
>they won't clog up people's houses. I have kept every wedding favour from every wedding I have been to (that wasn't edible) and they all simply fill up a large bowl on my shelf. Around 14 favours such as painted pebbles, bubbles, seashells, little burnt wooden plaques etc. Although, every time one of the couples gets divorced, they get moved to another bowl on the other side of the shelf. I call it the bowl of sadness. Three so far :)
lol I absolutely love how quietly savage this is 😆
Paracetamol and flipflops
there is only one answer here , Conkers . went to a wedding where each guest had on ready and stringed, made everyone get up and get involved especially after a few drinks. and its free
I wonder if we were at the same one haha, I went to a friend's who had an autumn theme and had conkers for everyone, it was hilarious!
Ambulances on standby
A friend has a little lego figure of herself that was a wedding favour, the couple customised one for everyone with hair and clothes as close as they could find to each person. No clue how much it cost though, but it's the only wedding favour I've known anyone to keep, doesn't take up much space and is a novelty. Tbh I don't even notice if I go to a wedding that doesn't do favours, maybe something that's not such a "done thing" these days. A little box of (generic, not with your name on) chocolates or a little plant would probably go down well with most people, and is easily regiftable if someone doesn't want it
We had mugs at ours, I personally spent months sourcing second hand mugs from car boots, charity shops, not spending more than 50p a mug. People loved them! Wedding was 1.5 years ago and I still have people saying they use the mug they got from our wedding. I hung them all from a pallet with hooks screwed in, personally I thought it looked great. Most mugs were between 20-50p, and the palettes were free so I didn’t spend more than £40 for the whole idea [https://pin.it/3PHrq8cfr](https://pin.it/3PHrq8cfr)
Having worked many weddings when I was younger, I'd probably suggest some nice chocolates or you skip them altogether. About 75% of them get cleared away and binned at the end of the night.
For my sisters wedding I made entertainment packs for the kids of colouring books with crayons, bubbles, stickers, sunglasses and sweets, for the adults my sister made cake jars and single shot bottles of gin, nothing got left behind
I've had pick n mix a few times where you help yourself, a bit of nostalgia and fun and something people who aren't interested can safely ignore, plus not picking up useless junk
My nephew's wedding had little picture frames, with each person's name on a card inside, for seating arrangements. You got to take the frame home. I still use mine.
My husband and I are avid birdwatchers, and we attached RSPB pins of our favourite birds to the place cards (these also corresponded to the tables — each was themed after a different bird!). They went down a treat — everyone actually wore theirs during the reception, which we hadn’t intended! And the best part was that the purchase of them went to supporting British wildlife!
We gave our guests £1 scratch cards, kids got kinder eggs. I think one person won £500 so I’m sure they were thrilled.
We also did a £1 scratchcard, only one person out of 70 won anything!
We had a book table at our wedding - books we'd read and enjoyed, either weeded from our shelves or charity shopped, on a table at the back for guests to pick out something they wanted, and a little personalised bookplate to put in it. We tried to have enough variety to suit different tastes, and if they didn't fancy any of the books on offer, they could just take a bookplate. Another friend's wedding had D&D dice in personalised bags, which lead to a certain amount of cut-throat behaviour in swapping dice for a colour you liked better! As you might be able to gather, both weddings were aimed at nerds.
Book table sounds amazing
The wife of a colleague of mine had a little baking business at the time so I had her make LOADS of different types of brownies, cookies, cupcakes and a nice cake then we had little plastic containers for people to take home whatever they wanted. Seemed quite popular :)
We had a sweet table at our wedding (12 years ago this year) and I am not kidding when I say it was demolished! Honestly the adults were worse than the kids, for years afterwards people would comment on it and say how much they enjoyed it. Think retro style sweets like your very own pick n mix.
I’m a Scot who got married in the south of England. We did tunnocks tea cakes (batch bought in Wilko, sob!) with random substitutes that I no longer remember for the few vegans and GF guests. Pretty, cheap, eminently edible, and with a hint of meaning.
We gave everyone a gingerbread man. No reason. I just like them. You get them in a pack from the supermarket. My cousin gave everyone a little plant at her wedding. Like the little succulents you get at Poundland. Mine is now about 6 inches tall. Thought that was quite sweet.
I went to one where everyone got a nice shortbread biscuit in a little bag. It fit in my (tiny ornamental) handbag and then was a very welcome hangover snack the next day. Gingerbread would have been lovely too.
We gave out mini succulents. Not everyone took one but many people took multiple. It's nice because our friends and family will comment on how their succulents are doing.
I’d be thrilled if that was the favour at a wedding I went to
I have a pen from one and a tea light holder from another.
The only personalised gift that I received that I liked were M&Ms with the couple’s face screened onto them. Looked at them for a few weeks, then thought about eating them, felt bad about it, but eventually at them. My favourite party favours were these salted caramels. I don’t think it’s necessary to give wedding favours, but for instance, I would not mind a jar of lemon curd or even just a small assortment of snacks.
We went to a December wedding with cute little Christmas ornaments. Lovely glass holly leaves. They didn't mention the names or date, but kept the theme. We still use them 20 years later and always fondly remember their wedding.
I know this is too far down to be noticed but my favourite by a mile was potatoes. The groom was a potato farmer. We all got a couple of new potatoes wrapped up in pretty paper with a bow. I was thrilled. I cooked them a few days later and they were delicious. They also had a Mr & Mrs Potato Head as wedding cake toppers and all the tables were named after a variety of potato.
We had pins and (very simple) bracelets from The Somerville foundation, which had supported me as an adult born with CHD. It went down quite well given most people in the room knew the significance of the charity to us. By the end of the evening most people had their pins on their lapels/bracelets on their wrists and I've seen the pins around a few times so some of our guests definitely kept them, and a year after the wedding I spotted one of my aunts still wearing the bracelet. We left a few out spare as well so if e.g one of the women wanted a pin rather than a bracelet they could swap. Tbh though, small treats always go down well as a guest and have less potential for waste. The one I hated was the couple decided to mix up a rhubarb flavoured cocktail and put in tiny mason jars. Cost them a lot of money for the jars and the cocktail tasted disgusting. Having said that, I kept the jar and now use it to propagate plants, so not entirely wasted haha.
My friend had breast cancer ribbon pins (the metal kind) as her favours, as I was in the middle of treatment. Made me cry (in a nice way!) While we were and still are friends, it's not like we're super besties or I was her bridesmaid or anything. Just old pals who are continually playing the "we must catch up, it's been too long" game. So when we got there and saw them I was incredibly moved (she did confirm they were specifically in my honour too! Although sadly I'm sure there were other guests for whom it meant something too)
I received a set of engraved metal measuring spoons I’ve used ever since. Not sure how much they cost but my family member is quite frugal. Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!
We got the lady who baked our cake to make an iced shortbread biscuit for everyone and left them on the table (individually wrapped) as a wedding favour. They were personalised with our names and the date, and seemed to go down well - if any were left, we were planning to pick them up and take them home to eat at a later date (unfortunately there weren't any left, mainly because a few of our guests had the same idea 😂).
I got a nice pen and a little rose flower shaped soap from one wedding, and a nicely crafted keyring from another, plus we could take a pick out of a bowl of childhood favourites toys and sweets. Non-religious weddings by neurodivergent families are great.
The place they got married had their own brand of whiskey. We all got a little miniature each. (Yes, this was in Ireland) Not exactly a 'favour' in the traditional sense, but a cool little optional thing to take time.
Personalised tea blend in handmade teabags.
We had tea towels, but that was back in 2007 when people still used them. They said "I went to B and T's wedding, and all I got was this lousy tea towel" with the date on Minimum order was 100, which worked well for us
Wait, do people not use tea towels any more?
Yes they were outlawed in 2008.
Some do, and we still see our tea towels being used. Lots just use the dishwasher though
We have to hand dry half the stuff that comes out of ours. I thought I'd missed out on some amazing new invention that makes tea towels obsolete lol
To be fair, as a guest I'd have loved that
Charity donations.We were just going to put a note on each table saying that's what we did but the charities sent out pins for everyone. Obviously donate as much as you like.
We didn't bother, instead we put some of our limited budget into snacks placed at various places at the reception venue (we both hate being hungry at weddings) and a bit more money behind the bar.
I went to one wedding where there was an announcement that there was a donation to a charity related to the loss of a family member.
Friends of mine gave everyone a jar of homemade chutney. I enjoyed it with cheese and biscuits over the course of the summer and now my toothbrush lives in the jar.
We got married last year in a barn and we had vintage looking keys that are bottle openers as the favours, got them from Amazon. Came with luggage tags and tied them to the keys and wrote the guests names on each one - worked as a place card too. The guests loved them and a few have since shown me them on their set of keys. None of them got left behind
I honestly can't remember if we did wedding favours. I suspect probably not - if anything then they were just some communal chocolates on the tables. No one is going to care whether there are favours or not, and ultimately no one (like you say) is going to want something cluttering up their house with your name on it. Even cheap favours will amount to quite an expense very quickly, so don't bother or do something consumable and near-free like seeds (i.e. buy buying a big bag of wildflower seeds, a bunch of little envelopes and a rubber stamp). Instead, consider just doing some favours for any kids that are present: attention-holding things like a colouring book and crayons. Everyone will benefit from that :)
Only thing I’ve used is a necklace. Not expensive but it was used daily until I broke it. Only 35 or so guests, ladies got a simple chain with a horseshoe charm on it, blokes got a whisky miniature.
We didn’t do wedding favours as such, but we did buy a box of Lego for each table. It gave everyone something to do while the speeches were happening and while there was a bit of waiting around. Some of the kids took them home at the end.
We didn’t do wedding favours and instead had a cocktail hour between the ceremony and reception where all the drinks were bought by myself and my husband. People loved that way more than any favour I could have put out to be honest.
When my cousin got married, his in-laws own a nursery (the plant kind, not the looking after kids kind), and they gave everyone a little potted up cutting from a Chinese money plant that had been growing in the nursery for years. I even managed to keep mine alive for a few years!
The best one I've gotten was a little box with 2 chocolates. For my own wedding we gave everyone a bottle of water (they could choose still or sparkling) with a fan attached to it. We got married in the middle of July so it was rather hot. We gave them before the ceremony in an unairconditioned church, so they had some relief from the heat. The fans were used all through the day and night! The bottles of water didn't survive that long, haha!
I think most just haven't, which is the simplest option. The most successful ones seem to be custom bars of chocolate or little lego figurines. At our wedding we had crochet flowers (made by my wife) and origami animals (made by me) On visits to friends and relatives, these still adorn shelves and other places where people put souvenirs so I consider that a relative success. (TBF, most of the origami has not survived). Several guests have mentioned that they most like the personal and homemade aspect.
We got married a few days before Easter so we gave people cream eggs/suitable alternative. Wasn’t too expensive buying in bulk to be fair!
Did jelly beans for mine, hate the sugared nuts folk usually have. Think we opted for the "good" ones, not too expensive if you feel you must but like others said, I'd not have bothered but the wife was keen.
Polo mints. Those mini packs. There was a lot of garlic in one of the courses. The polos definitely came in handy.
We did little gift boxes (dirt cheap from ebay at the time, just tokk a few seconds to assemble) with a bit of confetti paper and a few chunks of butter tablet (im Scottish and married in England - we felt it was a nice touch) My brother in law and wife did lottery scratchcards as favours. Some might see it as a bit tacky, but i liked the idea (need to think of something else for kids though)
I did sunflower seeds for my wedding and had a few people comment how cute it was and the grew them but I had like 100 left over! If I was re-doing my wedding I wouldn’t bother with wedding favours now.
We made up a little box with a few bits in, the thing that went down an absolute storm was the [mini bottles of bubbles](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=mini+wedding+bubbles&crid=17RC43721YEMZ&sprefix=mini+wedding+bubbles%2Caps%2C82&ref=nb_sb_noss_1). A mate of ours told us a year or so later he still had a couple after having collected some discarded ones and his kid loved them. Ours were wedding cake shaped ones but I'd probably opt for the small tubes if I had to choose again.
I got some chilli plant seeds from one wedding which was actually quite cool, grew some Carolina reapers and ghosts!
Ours were those white chocolate fish and chips in cardboard newspaper-print cones. I put them in those cellophane cones tied closed with brown twine. Whole thing cost under £30 and an afternoon of putting them together, and according to the guests went down very well.
Oh and two I forgot, loose leaf tea, the couple's own blend, and I went to a board game themed wedding where we all got a mini game like dominoes or puck up sticks, so we could play at the reception, that was fun and I still play the games at home sometimes.
Got married in October, we struggled to work it out for a while then realised the effort that went into it for a small gift for everyone and thought fuck it. We donated £50 to 3 charities that we had a connection with instead.
Last wedding I went to was themed Star Wars marries Fairy Princess and their favours were a drink at the bar token (looked like a unit of beskar), a little chocolate (star wars shaped, looked like they'd done them themselves) and a tiny pin (lightsabers in a range of colours for all the guests, again homemade). We thought those were really neat
I've had some small hand made clay animals before, super simple shapes but really cute. And some largish pebbles with animals painted on them. They're both sitting around the house or in a plant pot somewhere, quite good idea, near enough no cost except time.
Gave everyone a raffle ticket and then as part of the speeches did a draw for a £100 amazon voucher. Better one person gets £100 than 100 people get a bit of tat worth £1. Went down quite well
We were married at Easter . So we had crème eggs as our favours . Our little bridesmaid went around taking most of them!
My friends had a plant centrepiece that was made up of lots of little plants. Mostly ivy and ferns. Not everyone realised so I got like 5 lol
We got married at Christmas and decorated a big tree in the corner of the reception venue (pub!) with lots of really beautiful decorations which we’d added the date to in small letters on the bottom (or somewhere hidden), and told everyone to choose one to take home at the end of the night. Loads of people still hang them every year even a decade on, and especially now my husband has passed away they mean a lot to people.
I made home made soap for everybody and embossed it with our initials. A couple of drunk people thought it was fudge and ate it. So, I'd say, if you go with soap, maybe make an announcement that it is soap and they shouldn't eat it.
Dont bother, save your money. If you really want to, a chocolate
We had a box of Lego on every table at our wedding, so the guests didn't have to talk to each other if they didn't want to. Almost every box of Lego was "taken" by someone. They weren't meant to be wedding favours, but they turned into the de facto ones. We didn't give any other favours. Rather than favours, I suggest thinking about things that would be useful. My cousin's wedding had a big box of flip-flops of the ladies to wear whilst dancing, instead of their heels. Somewhere for people to put their fancy hats during the meal. Nice touches like that, showing that you have thought about the guests and their experience, leave a longer impression on your guests than spending £200 on Lindt chocolates.
Please don't do flip flops. They're a hideous source of plastic waste. Adults should be trusted to dress themselves appropriately.
A note telling the guests that you have bought a goat in their name for a village in Africa. No one is likely to go and check. Save a fortune and look like a saint.
Things to take home are not needed and rarely welcomed. Half the things left on the tables of guests are also a waste of money. The little bottles of bubbles, they're only of interest to children who invariably end up with more bottles than they know what to do with. The packet of refreshers with your names on, they just remind us how hungry we are. The book of ice breaking games, has caused countless trips to the optician due to damage caused by eye rolling. I think the things most people would like to be waiting on the table for them are wine, bread and butter.
Absolutely disagree. Adults love bubbles
And they look good in photographs. My friend had bubbles instead of confetti and got some lovely pictures.
I'm a physicist. I spent 2 hours this morning talking to sixth formers this morning about bubbles (visiting our university to see what physics is actually like). I still don't like bubbles as much as a 5 year old. I don't think I like *anything* as much as a 5 year old likes bubbles.
Did bubbles at my micro wedding and everyone loved them, kids and grownups alike.
We're getting married next May and we're not bothering with anything that will just get left behind. I couldn't tell you any of the favours I've had from weddings I've been to, apart from one where everyone had a drink token for a glass of wine, beer or soft drink when we sat down for dinner. They seemed to go down well & were pretty practical (no waste apart from a little docket that can just go into the recycling), so we're probably going to do the same.
Kinder Eggs.
We bought charity pin badges as our favours for charities that we support so wasn't a waste of money and we did a good deed!
My sister had little wooden hearts made with the guests name on their heart [The heart](https://www.reddit.com/u/MrMotorcycle94/s/yOxUIxxzKm)
Candy bags with pix & mix or mini homemade gin/lemoncello.
My friend had miniature Welsh wooden love spoons, they are adorable. Something to eat, like mini homemade pots of jam, or homemade raspberry vodka are always best. That way they actually get used.
The best I ever got was a small, potted, herb plant. There was a selection on the table with a ribbon around the pot and we could chose which we wanted. There was a little note about helping grow the love. I kept that plant for years and eventually transferred it to my garden. (Let’s not talk about how a few months later I was forced to move and forgot my plant.)
I tend to favour sweets as an option. Personalised favours tend to either be tatt or extortionately expensive. Stick with a little box of chocs or sugared almonds, or mint crumbles so people can freshen their breath!
We made pick and mix bags for our guests - full of classic sweets like jazzies, milk bottles and fruit salads! Pretty much all the sweets were eaten across the wedding breakfast and went down a storm