Who's doing Favors?

Sara191431 · March 2010

If so, what are you doing? If not, why are you not doing them?

I've been obssessed with doing caramel apples and have been doing research upon research to find the best deal I can. I think I finally found a place that have great apples, and they are willing to give us a discount which makes them be about $3.40 an apple for 200 apples. $680 total. The flavors we decided on are snickers and the apple pie one (which is brown sugar and cinnamon as the topping). They are sooooo good.

Now when I say We, I mean myself and my MOH, lol. FI is trying to "put his foot down" and doesn't think we should spend that much or even really do favors at all. However, I think it's something people will really enjoy and not just throw away and it's a thank you for them being a part of our day. FI says that's what the food and alcohol is for. He did really like the apple pie one after he tried it, so he's warming up to the idea but haven't sold him on it just yet. I am trying to cut elsewhere to make it work.

Back to my first question, are you doing them? If so, if you don't mind sharing what your budget is for them that'd be great. TIA.

MoriaMN · March 2010

We're not doing favors. I just haven't ever been to a wedding that had a memorable favor, so it seemed like an easy thing to cut. That being said, I've also never been to a wedding that has snickers or apple pie carmel apples.They sound amazing.

hkiesling · March 2010

We did two favors for 120 people: a popcorn buffet (about $220 for popcorn, bags, and flavored toppings), and home-canned goods (maple syrup, apple butter, and stawberry jam). The canned goods were about $100 for jars, decorations, and strawberries. My parents have maple and apple trees, so those were "free." The cost is a little inflated, because I made enough for 150 people (before the rsvps came in), however, all the canned goods were gone at the end of the night. People were stuffing them in purses, bags, and kids' pockets. We were really glad we did them, even if they were a lot of work.

kaylas16 · March 2010

My wedding isn't until next June so I haven't "officially" decided but as of right now I am not planning on having favors. I agree that I have never really been to a wedding where there has been a memorable favor so I thought it would be an ok thing to skip. We want to have a photo booth and I figured the pictures people take in there can be a little keepsake for them instead. However, those carmel apples do sound amazing! I say if you want them and you and your FI can agree that it works with your budget, then do it!

kclepire · March 2010

We were not going to do favors because I didn't want to figure them out, put them together and spend money on them. Then 2 weeks ago (3 months before the wedding) FI says he wants favors so now we are doing pillow boxes (got them at Michaels for $28 using coupons and putting hershey kisses in them. I don't know the price of the kisses yet, but will go to Costco to get a huge bag of them. I am thinking it will be about $60-$70 for the kisses. I did not want to spend too much money so when I found the pillow boxes for that price I was excited.

debbieupper · March 2010

We're hoping to do caramel apples, too, but with our 250-count guest list, $3.40/each is waaay too much for our budget.

And against everyone's better judgement, I still really want to DIY.

I've looked up a lot of "fail safe" caramel apple recipes and I do think it's doable the week before if you have a solid team ready to rock right through it. Also, my parents have a lot of apple trees and we're next door to an apple orchard, so those would be free.

BTW, the apple pie flavored one is amazing. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has them and they are my absolute favorite (layer of caramel, layer of white chocolate, rolled in the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture ... YUM).

LoveMuffin101 · March 2010

We are going to do favors but we are doing them to add to our decor in order to lower our decor spending. We are placing a red rose at each place setting tucked into the napkin as the favor for each guest. We are getting them from a wholesale flower company fiftyflowers.com . We have 200 guests= 200 flowers and it's $250. Good luck convincing your FI!!!

Clare13 · March 2010

We are doing favors. We ordered shot glasses with or names and wedding date. We are then filling them with white jordan almonds and M&M's. All total it should be around $400.00 for 436 favors.

cswaldon · March 2010

We're doing hand-molded chocolates shaped into dog bones in honor of the new addition to our family, J.R. They'll be in rectangular boxes, tied with a great bow, and also serve as the escort cards.

If we hadn't found something that was personal and served a second purpose (escort cards), we wouldn't have done favors. I tend to think they're a waste of money, but I loved the ones we chose (who doesn't?). Our budget was $600 for about 110 guests.

Good luck! I LOVE your carmel apple idea!

Qston · March 2010

We are likely not doing favors, but have set aside money in our budget in hopes of donating a couple hundred $$ to Second Harvest or another local food shelf, as we feel, similar to a lot of PP, that most favors are pretty uhhhhh, boring. I have been to a few weddings recently, where there was a sign by the escort cards, or guest book that just basically said that "in leiu of favors, Bride and Groom have donated money to Favorite Charity." Including a small write up of what that charity does, or why its meaningful to the couple.

Caramel Apples sound yummy, though, too!

veijes · March 2010

We are doing favors, we will have a candy buffet, which is a big hit and every wedding I've ever been to and people still talk about them. That's not going to be too expensive, probably like $200 or less with Costco candy.

We are also doing a photobooth which is $400 but they are sooo much fun! Some people count that as a favor too, I don't really know if I would but it is something mostly for the guests.

The apples sound really good! Do they have to be eaten there? Or will they be wrapped up someway so people can take them home? With food and cake at a wedding, I don't think I would really want to eat a candy apple but I would definitely want to take one home.

kkaew816 · March 2010

No favors for us. I don't miss them or notice them when I go to weddings!

Steph0871 · March 2010

We weren't going to; I think they're pointless.

But then I found some cute (cheap!) matchbooks on TK's store. I used to love collecting matchbooks from restaurants, and who doesn't need a match every once in awhile? They ended up costing like $30 for 200 of them.

shameless_ad · March 2010

We're counting our Photobooth as favors, since we're getting a custom strip with our names and wedding date on them.

We thought for a while about doing CDs of some of our favorite music - since FI and I have been making comps for each other since we started dating, we have a lot to choose from, but decided in the end that it wasn't necessary. Instead, we'll make sure we choose our music for the reception using a lot of those songs.

izzyjenni · March 2010

We're having our reception at a golf course and my FI is a big golfer. We got 200 tees with our name and dates on them. We also are making 200 white chocolate golf balls to put into clear favor boxes with a little fake grass in the bottom. We are also doing out of town gift bags which is kind of a favor for a majority of our guests who are staying at the hotel. All said, I think the tees, boxes, and chocolate will cost us about $250.

alliqtpie84 · March 2010

We are also planning on doing a photobooth, and are planning on using the photos that our guests get as our favors. Should be pretty fun!

theophania · March 2010

I LOVE popcorn, so we decided to do bags of homemade caramel corn for each guest. It is ending up costing about $0.40 per guest!! More info in my bio under DIY.

emilykathleen511 · March 2010

I am making hand-made ceramic mugs for every guest. It's kind of a big project, but I will just have to pay for a couple boxes of clay and a few jugs of glaze. My high school art teacher, who I stayed in contact with over the last 5 years, is going to let me use the facilities there to throw them on the potter's wheel and fire them. As much as most people say edibles are the only favors that people take (and for the most part, I agree), I think that most people would take and appreciate a hand-made piece of art that they can use. It will only cost maybe about $150.

DanniRae04 · March 2010

We are going to be doing Chicago Mix popcorn for $3.00 from Candyland in St. Paul. My Fiance and I love that place and popcorn! They are huge bags too. I think the carmel apple is a great idea! Just got to convince him!

Sara191431 · March 2010

Everyone has such fun ideas! Some I have never heard of people having or thought of! When they have a pesonal aspect to them, that's a nice touch too.

Debbie - I say go for it, sounds like you have a team to help you out, and if your trial runs go well, why not. With the apple trees readily available, sounds like it's meant to be to me so good luck! Rocky Mountain - That's where we'd be getting them from! The apple pie one is so good, had the rest of it today, def. my fave of the ones we tried. I think I may be getting them even a little cheaper too, waiting to hear back for a final price, so fingers crossed:)

Veijes - Yep they will be packaged w/cellophane bags and ribbon, which is included in the apples for free. My mom will be doing the tags though. That was my thought too, if I was at a wedding that had them I'd totally take it home to eat later. We also want to do a photobooth as well actually.

Since my findings at first were higher in price and it keeps getting lower, I think that has helped FI be more open to the idea, and he knows how bad I want em. I had a dream about them the other night, lol. I'm like ok this is getting a little ridiculous:) We shall see but I think it will work out hopefully!

Bimbi284 · March 2010

I just didn't wanna put a ton of work/money into something no one would really care for after that day, so we are doing some sort of late night snack instead.

drdifabio · March 2010

We made photo coasters but looking back I dont think I would have gone that route - I would have either forgone favors entirely or done an eatable favor. Carmel apples sound like a great idea but the only thing I would worry about is eatablity - they can be REALLY hard to eat unless they are cut for you. I think you are right that some will take them home to eat later but what if they want to eat it there - I would be a sticky mess

leggwilliams · March 2010

Like PP, we're doing a candy buffet. Love the candy apple idea, I'd be thrilled if I were a guest and got one!

Sara191431 · March 2010

Unless it is a kid, which there won't be many at our wedding, I'd think most people would just cut them at the table if they wanted to eat it there. I guess that's what I'd do at least. When we tried them the other day that was the first thing we did and it was pretty easy to just cut. However, when I had the remainder of it the next day I was kind of thinking the same thing and decided try to eat it without cutting it and it really wasn't all that messy, I of course had to wash my hands after but that wasn't a big deal. I think for the most part it would be fine if guests decided to eat it there.

Candy buffet is always a great choice! May have done that if I wasn't so obsessed with these dang apples;)

leggwilliams · March 2010

Maybe attach a wet nap with the tags your mom is making ;-)

debbieupper · March 2010

Sarah - Have you looked at Daffy Apple? If you want something less expensive but still gourmet, they have impressively good rates. They also sell their liquid caramel and all the supplies in bulk if you want to make your own.

I calculated it all out last night and with all the ingredients (caramel, apples, sticks, chocolate for dipping, peanuts, etc) it comes to less than $1/each, even with the $60 shipping fee for 2 giant buckets of caramel!

But then you have to put in all the work the week before. They have a 2-week shelf life.

Sara191431 · March 2010

Haha, good idea on the wet naps:)

Debbie - I actually ordered their sample pack and it is supossed to be here tomorrow:) So I will know tomorrow how they taste etc. I am worried they may be a little small though but we shall see. Unfortunately, our venue does not let us make any food and bring it in due to health codes, so not an option to make them if I wanted to. Plus the stress of making them would probably be overwhelming.

debbieupper · March 2010

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_whos-doing-favors?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:81Discussion:e63d5506-c697-48c6-8bb1-6d3e0c6dfad7Post:1ba9ddf6-680d-43c2-b537-1c80bf3f815e">Re: Who's doing Favors?</a>:
[QUOTE]Haha, good idea on the wet naps:) Debbie - I actually ordered their sample pack and it is supossed to be here tomorrow:) So I will know tomorrow how they taste etc. I am worried they may be a little small though but we shall see. Unfortunately, our venue does not let us make any food and bring it in due to health codes, so not an option to make them if I wanted to. Plus the stress of making them would probably be overwhelming.
Posted by Sara191431[/QUOTE]

I just ordered that yesterday! I've been thinking about caramel apples all day. So maybe we should move this convo to a PM or email since it's sort of gone off-track, but I'm wondering about the "no homemade food" rule, because my venue has that, too. I thought that since it was a packaged favor and not something being served (as in the dinner or cake), they'd be cool with it. If not, I think I'll commit the crime and ask for forgiveness later.

Anyone ever done this before? Hmmm ... new post, I think!

Bimbi284 · March 2010

UGH! I kinda wanted to NOT do favors at all because I don't have the time, and I feel it is an unecessary expense. Thennnn my mom was all like ""aaack! we need favors!!!

I'm still leaning toward no favors, so unless she does them, we ain't having them, lol. My godmother has a business making little cookies, and she offered to make some for the wedding...so if anything, that'll probably be it.

Oh yeah, and we may be doing a late night snack thing instead of favors...

Sara191431 · March 2010

I don't know what's up with the Knot lately for me, but when I try to PM or even click on certain posts, it kicks me out, grr.

I'm guessing it will vary be venue, this is what mine said:

"It is a food item and all food must be prepared in a site that has been inspected by the health inspector. So you don't have to use a caterer - you can use a grocery store or orchard. But due to health code, you can't make them."

You could just chance it and make them anyways, I mean really, how are they going to know, can't imagine they'd ask for receipts or anything. I already asked mine obviously so not something I'd want to try. Plus again, after my "trial run", I'm good on trying to make them anyways. I guess I would just ask your venue in general terms if they allow you to make any food as favors and see what they say. Don't specifically say what you want to do just in case you do try to be sneaky with them though;)

But if you do like the Daffy ones, that really is not a bad deal at all, so I'd say use those for stress purposes. For me I'm thinking since I have tried the other ones that are sooo good nothing will compare. I did decide to cut back on my cake budget though to compensate getting the apples. May not even have a show cake, just might do sheet cakes instead. I didn't even want a normal wedding cake, I wanted to do a grooms cake w/Fi's fave things, I still really want to do that, but guessing my budget of $500 won't cut it. Will just have to make a decision later.

Anyways good luck, and I love the caramel apple idea of course, and if you do too you can find a way to make it work!

Sara191431 · March 2010

Oh and Bimbi - Cookies would be good, who doesn't like cookies! Plus if your Godmother offered, why not ya know!

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