I get this question time and time again:
"Are wedding favors required?"
If I had to answer in one single word, the answer would be "no." Wedding favors are never a requirement. In fact, nothing is ever a requirement on your wedding day.
But that would make a pretty boring blog article if I stopped it right there. So I will explain further.
Jessica H Photography
Wedding favors are something that have been a tradition for many years and continue to be a tradition today. Some of your guests have traveled very far and have spent a whole lot of money on that travel and your wedding gifts, so the wedding favor acts as a "thank you for attending and celebrating with us!"
However, one of the biggest mistakes I see brides making, is spending a fortune on their wedding favors, only to have me boxing them all up from each place setting at the end of the evening and loading them right back into the bride's car to take back home. Guests forget them and they become a waste.
Wedding favors have three purposes:
1. To act as a thank you.
2. To dress up the place setting for pretty photos.
3. A filler, because a bride thinks she has to have them.
Like I said before, if you ask me for a one word answer, I will tell you to forego the favors. Remember, you are providing them with a delicious meal and a fun night to remember, when they may be otherwise sitting on their couch watching tv. But if you do happen to want favors and just have to have them as part of your wedding day, here is my advice to you:
Edible:
Make them something edible so that it doesn't matter if you're left with 134 of them at the end of the night. The Bride List vendor LauraBella Treats makes customized chocolates which "have the couple's names, wedding date, and 'thank you' written on them. That way, guests get to eat them there rather than taking them home and throwing them into a drawer!" (Debra DeBernardo, LauraBella Treats Owner)
Macy Marie Photography (The Bride List vendor)
Inexpensive:
Make them inexpensive so that if they do happen to be left at the end of the evening, you won't feel terrible for spending $340 on them, only to have them end up in the trash.
"Wedding favors can bring so much joy to a wedding, but most importantly, they are a way to remember a special new beginning." (Kristen, XoXoKristen owner) And like I always tell you, do what feels right for you and forget about what everyone else thinks. It's your wedding and it should be just as you want it!
