Wedding favours.... ideas help!!!!

mogchops

My brother is getting married in September, and he & fiancee thought it would be lovely if my DDs (his neices) made/assembled the wedding favours. This is a lovely thought, and we are very happy to be doing it (budget is provided).

However - we are a bit stumped for ideas!! When I got married 14 years ago, we didnt have favours, and the few weddings I have been to recently were fairly small and didnt really have them either.

The bride & groom are quite unconventional, there is no traditional "sit down" formal meal, it is all going to be very relaxed and informal, they thought it would be nice if the DDs gave out the favours on trays to the guests whilst they are mingling etc.

So I have been trawling the googleweb and ebay, looking for ideas..... so far we like little champagne bubble bottles, and..... thats about it!!! No fixed colour scheme to match with, so we can pretty much go with anything..... but its where do we start!

Can anyone please offer any advice/suggestions?

double_mummy

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wedding-Guest-Survival-Kits-/261064013177?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Celebrations_Occasions_ET&var=&hash=item3cc8a0b579#ht_4060wt_1054

maybe something like this then you could add your own in

plasters for your feet so you dance the night away
party popper to get the party started etc
a little fake camera telling people the website to upload their wedding pics to

laura_hoggle

How about something like homemade biscuits? Could have savoury ones if being handed out early or sweet ones if being handed out later? Or maybe some homemade fudge or truffles?

ailey

A couple of years ago when my niece got married, I made laminated bookmarks as favours. I got some wording from the internet as follows: Marriage is a time of many feelings: Pride, Happiness, Accomplishment and Love. Thank you for joining us in celebrating this memorable day in our lives.

Then underneath I put both the bride and groom's names and under that the date of their wedding. At the bottom I copied in a picture of 2 doves with 2 wedding rings in their beaks.

I used one ink colour for the wording at the top then a different colour for their names and date of wedding.

I centred the text. You can do this by having column mode (eg Format, columns) on your Word package or whatever you use.

I also went into a craft shop (but you could also get them online as you're spoilt for choice) for little strands of tiny pearls, 6 on each strand and there were 6 strands (although other styles available). Punch a centred hole at the top of the laminated bookmark and feed 3 strands through and wind the 6 together. I then tied a small ribbon around the base of the strands and cut the little 'v' at the end of the ribbon. I have since bought a little inexpensive punch to round the corners which I didn't have at that time and it's amazing the difference that makes in making them look that little bit more professional. The men got the same but they got a piece of tartan ribbon tied through their bookmarks but not into a bow.

They were very effective and went down a treat. Bride and groom were most appreciative as they required to keep their costs down. I feel the tiny pearls made the bookmarks look more special but they would look good also with ribbon just knotted like the men's ones and the 'v' cut into the ends.

I can't remember if I used white card or just white paper as once they're laminated, they are stiff anyway but you could try out both. If you don't have a laminator, you can get them for around £10 and the laminate pouches in Poundland. You get around 5 bookmarks to a sheet. If you have a paper cutter (slicer) (oops having a memory lapse - I can't remember what the machine is called!) but you'll know what I mean, it's worth it's weight in gold as gets them so even compared to scissors. You have to cut them first and then place them in the laminate pockets evenly spaced. You can buy cold laminators but I would recommend a hot one as it has to melt the glue on the laminate pouches. I'm not sure how the cold ones work.

I hope this is useful to you if you decide to make bookmarks. It's amazing how nice they turn out and even if not everyone are avid readers, most people have some sort of reference books where they could use them or just keep as a momento of the wedding.

If you decide to make these and need to know anything else that I might have forgotten to add, then please ask.

Happy wedding! (Edit: Oops! I forgot to add that I borrowed a large flattish basket from someone. It had a tall handle and I wound ribbon around it with 2 large bows at the side (which could match the bridesmaids dresses). I lined it with a linen tray cloth which had a lace edge (borrowed from a work colleague who was clearing an aunt's house and brought many things into work to see if anyone wanted them). You could line with large paper doilies which I think Poundland also sell. I put the ladies on one side and the men's on the other although you could have a basket for each. Two of the little girls took them around the guests. If you would like to see photos, as an example, let me know and I'll pm you and send the photos. You might prefer some of the other ideas but just in case lol!

hamsterfan1

I actually had favours at my wedding a long time ago - they were sugared almonds in a gauze bag - you can buy the bags online & tie them in to the wedding colour scheme

stir_crazy

We've made home made wine glass charms to go with our theme. 200 rings were arond £3.99, silver charms were around £5.00 for about 300. I did get beads too, but they were too small to go on the rings. All off of ebay.

jacksma

I made cake pop balls for my wedding and they doubled as table decorations and also a party game for adults & kids once the balls had been eaten, as they were sticking into big balls of playdough, which the kids absolutely loved and so did the adults - we too were having a very laid back family party theme to our day - and wanted it to be less formal and more fun than a 'normal' wedding...

I got terracotta plant pots and wrapped them in silver crepe paper and tied with fuschia wool in a big bow.

I then made 4 different lots of coloured play dough which cost pennies and then took a chunk of each colour and formed it into a multicoloured ball which I wrapped in clingfilm and put in the bottom of the pot.

I then made red velvet cake, cake pops which my little boy helped me to dip in melted candy pops (from hobbycraft) and decorated with different coloured sprinkles and put them on long wooden sticks (like the wooden stirrers you get for coffee... My hubby got a box of these from his work) we then stuck the sticks into the ball of playdough to keep them in place.

To make 18 pots with 200 cake pops it cost me £30. They were an absolute hit and I got some excellent photos on the day. Plus they were great fun to make and my little boy loved getting involved...

Here's a couple of pics - I can give you more info if you want it...:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150221979973985.321164.514988984&type=3#!/photo.php?fbid=10150364880003985&set=a.10150221979973985.321164.514988984&type=3&theater

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150221979973985.321164.514988984&type=3#!/photo.php?fbid=10150224829268985&set=a.10150221979973985.321164.514988984&type=3&theater

minerva_windsong

How old are the kids? Could you maybe get them to draw a picture of the happy couple in wedding outfits and use that as part of the favours (say in the bookmark idea)?

NoAngel

What sort of budget are you working with? And how many guests?

LEJC

How about little packets of seeds....maybe poppy or forget me not if you want flowers or herbs for cooking....you can get the seeds really cheeply on ebay and package them into small seed packet envelopes and print something lovely on the envelope....the girls could then have a basket of each to take round the guests to choose which they would prefer...

Mazzarati2000

A lot is going to depend on budget. We couldn't decide on sweets, candle holders or seeds, but managed to end up with a few a selection, for under a £1 each (I think they worked out about 80p, but will say £1 to be safe), when I get a moment I'll find a pic & upload it with a description. There's no need for favours to cost anything like that much though, it just worked for us.