Wedding Favors

Wedding favors can set the tone of a reception. Guests get to their seats and have a few minutes to introduce themselves to the people at their table. But then what? A good wedding favor can give them something to talk about. And, besides pictures and maybe a bouquet, wedding favors are the one thing your guests can take home to remember your celebration.

Often wedding favors are personalized with the name of the couple and the date of the wedding.

But, the rest of the selection is up to the bride and groom, as just about anything can be given away as a wedding favor. From the traditional to the bizarre and off-the-wall, wedding favors should reflect the personality of the couple.

Common wedding favors are personalized books or boxes of matches or cups and glasses with the wedding information. Mini photo albums, soaps, and tins of mints and candies are other personalized options. But you don't have to settle for a plain wedding favors. There are dozens of styles of wedding favors from which to choose including those that scream "I got this at a wedding" to some that make it obvious the bride and the groom are big sports fans or lovers of nature.

Useful wedding favors are also popular to make sure guests remember the wedding every time they pull out the favor afterwards. Something practical also avoids your favor being thrown into a drawer and forgotten. Magnets and candles like tea lights and monogram votive holders are also popular. Sewing kits are handy, as well as key rings and luggage tags for travelers and bookmarks for readers. Coin purses and compact mirrors are always useful for female guests. Playing cards, ornaments and bath salts and sachets are also popular and useful wedding favors.

Guest can take the wedding home and into their kitchen with favors like salt and pepper shakers, wine stoppers, wine charms and bottle stoppers. Sets of cooking spoons, decorated oil cruets, and fluted champagne glasses are also popular. Theme cookie cutters or a jar of honey or jam with the wedding information are also popular favors. Specialty teas are an inexpensive but elegant touch, as well.

Favors can depend on the season the wedding is held in. Favors decorated with flowers, snowflakes, seashells or fall leaves offer the added memory of the event. Wedding favors can also be made of any material, as well. Pewter, silver, plastic, glass wood or rubber all make for interesting favors.

An inexpensive but heartfelt gift is a mix CD with all the main dances from the wedding. Your guests will recall the ceremony and reception with your key tunes like the first dance and the father-daughter dance, among others. The wedding music CD can be economically decorated with photos of the couple. For an added touch, an explanation of the songs' meanings to the couple and the family will make it a favor to remember and enjoy.

Also, wedding favors like coasters, an elegant set of chopsticks, or flower and bud vases that can double as placeholders are also practical ideas. Favors like useful and elegant pens and notebooks, incense, and will make certain your wedding is remembered for years to come.

No matter which wedding favors are chosen, the main focus is the ceremony and reception. Picking the right wedding favors, though, can keep those memories alive in the minds and hearts of guests who wish to reminisce about that special day.