To give wedding favors or not? Many brides and grooms spend a good portion of their wedding budget on fancy favors their guests don’t appreciate. Sure, customized pint glasses or custom printed candy bars seem like they are simple enough favors, but the cost adds up quickly. Think about it – even just a ten-dollar favor, times 75 guests (for a midsized wedding) is going to eat up quite a bit of your budget.
That’s a lot of cash to spend on something your guests might not appreciate or even remember to take with them when they leave. So what is a cash-conscious couple to do? Japanese Style has a wide variety of cheap wedding favors that won’t break the bank but still make a statement.
Homemade Cookies
If your mom or grandmother has a cookie recipe to die for, you are in business. Get that recipe, gather as many unsuspecting victims as you can to help, and have a cookie baking party. Wrap the cookies in pretty paper, tie them with a ribbon, and you are good to go. You could even print out the recipe to include. (Unless it’s a family secret – we don’t recommend getting kicked out of Grandma’s will over a cookie recipe!)
Votive Candles w/Personalized Tag
Candles are a cute favor; they will totally get used, and there are two ways you can choose to do them. First, you can order votives in bulk with your name and wedding date, which actually isn’t usually too expensive, or you can buy inexpensive votives and add a cute tag with your wedding date, names, etc. Either way, look for bulk buys online or at dollar stores.
Chopsticks
Chopsticks wedding favors are a great way to offer your guests a unique, useful gift. Candles might end up gathering dust on a shelf, but most guests are going to use chopsticks. Personalize them with your wedding date, add ribbon for decoration to create beautiful, unique wedding favors. No baking required. Look into buying in bulk to save even more money.
Candy
You can’t go wrong with candy! For super affordable wedding favors, purchase gauze bags online and add inexpensive candies like M&M’s, Kisses, or chocolate-covered raisins. We’re partial to chocolate, but any candy will do.
Flower Bulbs
Eco-friendly and long-lasting. We love the idea of giving bulbs for your favorite flower as a wedding favor. Wrap in a paper, add some pretty ribbon and a tag, and – voila! Unique wedding favors that will grow in your guests’ gardens for years to come. It’s cute and a little different. (Plus, you get to add cheesy lines like “Watch our love grow,” and that makes us happy.)
For the truly tight budget, you could always choose to forgo wedding favors entirely, but many couples like the idea of giving their guests a token to show their appreciation, and that is totally okay. Just don’t think you have to set aside a huge portion of your wedding budget for favors – with a little creativity and a few helping hands, you can find or create affordable wedding favors.
