Favors or not?

maryemoo · October 2013

If we're having a smallish, DIY/budget friendly wedding, is it rude not to give favors? I've read that a lot of people end up having a lot of leftovers and thus, wasted money (which is not something we really have a lot of TO waste...) Thoughts?

doeydo · October 2013

Favours are not necessary. They are nice to have, but definitely not rude to not have them. ETA if you are worried about people not taking them, edible favours are usually taken.

daveANDkristen · October 2013

Not rude. Favors are nice, but not necessary. The only favors most guests will appreciate are edible ones. Few people want a shot glass with the couple's names and wedding date. But they will not be missed if you want to skip them!

wrigleyville · October 2013

We skipped favors. It's one less thing for people to pack, and favors aren't really a thing in my family anyway. I think favors are a pretty recent thing. Most of our family weddings just have a giant nut & candy dish on the table along with little take-home containers for cake.

The only favors I like are food. I don't need a wine glass/ornament/bookmark with their names and wedding date on it. I like when they give out little jars of jam or maple syrup from their area, and we got mini-pumpkin pies at a November wedding one year. That kind of stuff is okay, but it's definitely not required. The reception is the thank you for your guests; they don't need gifts if you can't afford them.

ei34 · October 2013

I personally wouldn't miss a favor. Don't stress about not giving them out.

maryemoo · October 2013

Thanks guys! Also @doeydo, what does ETA mean?!

doeydo · October 2013

Thanks guys! Also @doeydo, what does ETA mean?!|

Edited to add

maryemoo · October 2013

doeydo said:

Thanks guys! Also @doeydo, what does ETA mean?!|

Edited to add

OH! okay, that one was confusing me, I feel silly now! =]

Jen4948 · October 2013

You don't need favors. If you don't have them they won't be missed.

Dreamergirl8812 · October 2013

I'm almost to the point where I am against favors. They are so rarely valued and cost money and cause stress. I think that unless something jumps out at you that you know people would love (usually involving chocolate), skip the favors. We are.

huskypuppy14 · October 2013

Dreamergirl8812 said:

I'm almost to the point where I am against favors. They are so rarely valued and cost money and cause stress. I think that unless something jumps out at you that you know people would love (usually involving chocolate), skip the favors. We are.

Completely agree. My mom keeps asking if I'm going to have favors, and I've told her multiple times that I don't think they're necessary. No one wants a little random thing.

APDSS22 · October 2013

We didn't do favors because we didn't find anything awesome. Somewhere I have a random vanilla votive from a wedding 2 years ago...I think most favors (that aren't edible) are pretty pointless.

wrigleyville · October 2013

I think favors are one of those new-ish "wedding industry" things. I never saw them until maybe 10 years ago, and now they're all the rage. Pinterest and Etsy are flooded with crap I'd never use, especially if it were personalized with the couple's names (as so many of them are).

Toss some Hershey Kisses on my plate, and I'm a happy girl.

melbelleup · October 2013

Favors are definitely not needed. We're doing a photo booth and that will be their favors.

FutureMrsN3312 · October 2013

We're having a photobooth. Included in our package are magnetic frames (without our names on it) that the strip will fit into. We're also having a candy bar. If budget allows I'd like to have caramel/chocolate and candied apples on the tables for each guest.

I was originally thinking of doing a drink shaker but in reality its a waste. We've gone to a bunch of weddings this year and I hate having to drag home another piece of something useless that will just collect dust.

mstallae · October 2013

We are doing a Candy Buffet as favors. Getting little paper bags personalized with our names and the date but then people can fill those with candy! If someone WANTS to keep a bag (namely my mother or something) I will give her an extra clean one she can put "away". (aka in a box never to be looked at again)

annathy03 · October 2013

They definitely aren't necessary, and it's certainly not rude to skip them.

We only plan on doing them because we live in Vegas and our family and friends are all avid card players, so we're doing casino card decks which in the right gift shops run about $1/pack. But if we don't get to it, oh well.

If you do decide you want to do them, chocolate is usually best. I was a BM last month and I didn't even see the favors because by the time we got to our table after introductions people had eaten all of them.

maryemoo · October 2013

mstallae said:

We are doing a Candy Buffet as favors. Getting little paper bags personalized with our names and the date but then people can fill those with candy! If someone WANTS to keep a bag (namely my mother or something) I will give her an extra clean one she can put "away". (aka in a box never to be looked at again)

This is a great idea! We wanted to do a candy/snack bar as an extra dessert....but I think it can double as take-aways!

climbingsingle · October 2013

I'm really on the fence about having favors.

SP29 · October 2013

We are having a candy table, that will have bags that guests can take candy home with them. Nothing specifically on the tables as favours.

MandyMost · October 2013

My mother is one of those that was a aghast when I mentioned we might not do favors. I'm dead set against a silly object with our names on it. I don't want a candy bar or a photobooth. I don't want anything edible in a mesh or plastic home-tied bag. I really don't know what that leaves! The one area that I would consider a compromise is the escort cards--perhaps doing something the guests could take home. Although I would assume most would be left behind.

Another compromise is I'm definitely going to get personalized M&Ms for the pre-wedding festivities, like in the hotel room the girls will all be getting ready and hanging out in. My mom loves those.

I went to a wedding in Hershey, PA once, and they had the menu wrapped around a giant Hershey bar. That's the only favor I ever found particularly useful. :-) At another wedding the couple were both actuaries (i.e. doing math for an insurance company), and their favor was a personalized little calculator. It was really cute, even if I did throw it away almost immediately. And a third wedding, the woman was Indian and the man's heritage was pretty generically american, but with Swedish ancestors. The wedding ceremony was Indian, and the food was all Indian food....but for the favors they gave out little bags of Swedish Fish. It was cute.

DaphneM7 · October 2013

wrigleyville said:

We skipped favors. It's one less thing for people to pack, and favors aren't really a thing in my family anyway. I think favors are a pretty recent thing. Most of our family weddings just have a giant nut & candy dish on the table along with little take-home containers for cake.

The only favors I like are food. I don't need a wine glass/ornament/bookmark with their names and wedding date on it. I like when they give out little jars of jam or maple syrup from their area, and we got mini-pumpkin pies at a November wedding one year. That kind of stuff is okay, but it's definitely not required. The reception is the thank you for your guests; they don't need gifts if you can't afford them.

I agree with this! After spending hours folding these stupid little boxes and hand painting them for my bridezilla sister, just to see most of them thrown away or left behind I am so over favors. Candy is usually the only favor I take home with me. We just did a "wedding party favorites" (the wedding party each picked their favorite candy) candy bar with little clear baggies to fill up as people wish at my cousins wedding a couple weeks ago. So if you want to do something, thats a cute inexpensive idea. Not required though

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