Wedding Favor Etiquette
For someone planning a wedding, the decisions to make surrounding wedding favors can be extremely difficult to make. Do you need favors at all? What wedding favors are elegant and which ones are
considered tacky? How will guests react? Let's face it, there isn't a lot of
information out there on wedding favors for brides interested in planning a
wedding. This article is designed to provide advice, tips, and general etiquette
on wedding favors. Topics included in this brief overview include: the decision to use wedding favors, how to save money on favors, placement on the table, the quantity of favors necessary, and the appropriateness of favors.
Importance of Favors
There is so much emphasis on the bride and groom that special wedding day. It's
important not to forget all those who you've invited, some who have traveled
long distances just to share this special memory with you. There are many things
you as a bride and groom can do in return to thank those who have come to share
your wedding day with you. Wedding Favors have been around for a long time.
Below is information that will hopefully give you ideas and tips regarding those
special favors you can give back to your wedding guests.
One thing that will serve to remind your guests of your wedding celebration is the wedding favor that you give them. If the favor is something nice, every time your guests see it they will be reminded of you, your wedding event, and wedding reception. Since the wedding favor can have such far reaching affects, it makes sense to provide your guests with something nice. However,
due to the large number of guests that weddings usually have, the cost for nice
favors can get expensive. One wedding favor that is really nice and can be effectively used at weddings are wedding candles.
Appropriateness of Favors
Wedding favors need to be appropriate and tasteful. The wedding favors should be something that your guests would consider desirable.
Do not go through your garage or clean out your closes in search for those
wedding favors. Items like plastic figurines or goofy toys are not favors that are appropriate for a wedding. Some standard ideas are candles, candy (although this should be quality candy), gift boxes, or picture frames. If you are having a theme wedding, you will want to obtain wedding favors that will be appropriate for the theme that you have selected. Finally, you will want to be sure to include items that match your color scheme.
Yes or No to Wedding Favors
There are a number of different takes on wedding favors. Some etiquette experts caution on the use of wedding favors, mainly because of the danger of getting tacky or tasteless wedding favors. However, many other experts emphatically support the use of wedding favors. Most of these experts say that wedding favors are a tangible reminder that you guests will take with them of your special day beyond their memories of the wedding reception. Wedding favors can also serve as tasteful additions to the table. To determine whether to use favors or not, it will be helpful outline the pros and cons:
Pros
Wedding guests will feel special
Can accentuate the decoration of the tables
Serves as a reminder for guests
Guests can keep or use the favor
Can complement reception hall decor
Works well with a theme wedding
Cons
Tacky favors can look bad
Some favors can cost too much money
Can take up extra room on a table
Given the pros and cons, wedding favors are usually a good idea - simply for the fact that they make your guests feel special and cared for. Moreover, everyone likes leaving a reception having something in their hand. Whether you decide to have wedding favors or not, be sure to care for your guest - many of them have come a long distance to support you on your special day.
Quantity of Favors
A general rule is you should plan on having one favor for guest as you plan your reception. Remember, when you purchase favors you will want to know the size of your reception and the number of people you have invited. Most weddings tend to have a 20% decline rate for wedding invitations so you should factor that into your favor calculation. Moreover, you will also want to figure in any planed last minute additions to your reception (that Uncle you need to invite, or a friend you haven't talked to in a few years). The standard 20 percent rate may be too low if a large percentage of the gusts are out of town. It is not uncommon for wedding in which a large part of the either the bride or groom's guests are from out of town to have a decline rate of over 40%. If you have sent out invitations early enough, you can get a sense for the rate from the first few responses that you receive back.
Another option that you can do is to give one favor per couple or one favor per family. This idea can be a good one in the sense that each family or couple will get a gift and you can buy higher quality favors. This idea requires a significant amount of extra preparation and generally works effectively if everyone has assigned seats. Otherwise, people will not get the favors that were designated for them and some people may think that they did not get a favor. You will definitely want to make sure single guests receive a favor too if you choose to use this option.
Save Money on Wedding Favors
Wedding favors don't always need to cost a lot of money. Some weddings can have a few hundred people - providing a favor for each guest can become quite costly. There are a number of ways to lower the cost. The main one is to buy supplies that can be creatively assembled into wedding favors. These usually cost less than bought favors. You can get help from your bridesmaids / family members a few weeks or days before the big event. Ideas for favors that you can assemble, decorate, or readily create include: candles favors, candy in a bag, wedding bells, or tulle-based favors.
If you don't have time to assemble favors, you can opt to give wedding favors on a per family basis. This allows you to cut down the number of favors that you are purchasing and saves money.
Another way to cut the cost down on favors, is to not purchase favors from an expensive source. Most people would be surprised to know that the favors that they find in high end, brand name stores could most often be bought a lot cheaper in store that didn't spend as much money on advertising. These stores will be able to bring the costs on quality favors down and will save you some money.
Favor Placement on Table
Although a lot has been said about the placement of the favors on the table, the decision of where to place the favors is most often a personal preference with a few guidelines. Don't place the favors on plates, on chairs, or on the floor. The favor should be some place visible, a place where your guests will be certain to look at the favor. Many wedding receptions place the favors just to the left
above the plate. Other wedding receptions have placed the favors in the center of the table where they are out of the way, but still can be accessed by guests. The final alternative is to hand out favors as the guests leave or come in.
It is recommended to place the favors on the table so that they accentuate the overall table presentation.
