Holiday Wedding Favors

Favors, not thoroughly condoned here at Flaming Tulle (we feel they can be unnecessary items that just make you crazy and spend extra money), are never the less a booming industry all their own in the wedding world. In fact, there is a whole line of just holiday themed favors out there too. Here are just a few. We know it's late in the game for this holiday season but perhaps next year?

1. Make a CD of holiday music. You can buy Cd's in the holiday colors of your choosing or even order them from sites like this. You can design the music, covers and the actual CD. It's actually a not so horrible idea.

2. Snowflake guest soap anyone? Or how about coasters? Find them here.

3. Visit the Stocking Factory for custom ornaments and thank yous.



4. OK I just don't get this one. Best in Favors has a cheese grater? Call it 'One Grate Love'. That's um... cheesy.

5. Bells, tiny Menorahs, Snowmen and more can be cut out or put on the table in ornament and figurine form. Done.

6. Cookies, candy and truffles in bags or boxes in your holiday's colors can make the occasion and table favorable. No pun intended. OK maybe just a little bit.

7. Cookie cutters tied up with string. Or ribbon. Whatever. It's your choice and favor!

8. Votive candles can even be holidayized into favors for your wedding.

9. Go cheap and give people candy canes! They come in bulk right? Be really cheap and get the tiny ones that come in strings like banks give out. Ha!

10. Just forget favors all together and get this cake topper instead. It says it all.

Oh the lengths we will go...

The whole frosting and jewelery and frosted jewelry post by Stephanie got me thinking. What else can I find? What lengths do we brides go to for fantastic and sometimes less than fantabulous things for our wedding?

Check this out- Allergies be damned! Here are tissue packets That is a bit too much work for me.

OR how about this? Nothing says class like a shot glass!

Tiff at the wedding? This one is great! It's just the message you want to convey!

Sexy Love Nuts anyone? Click here.

Now really will any of these make or break your wedding? Will you achieve marital bliss just by having a snow globe wedding topper? In Precious Moments motif? No. No, you will not stand even a smidgen of a better chance than those who decide to forgo all this paraphernalia. While there is no guarantee communication is key.

Communication, understanding, patience, and some serious give and take. Marriage is the goal, not the wedding. Besides I'm not sure anyone at the wedding really wants to see your sexy love nuts.

Low-Budget Weddings – Dresses and Favors

Two quick tips:

1. As I was walking by the American Cancer Society Discover Shop in my town this morning I saw a stunning cranberry-red evening gown in the window and immediately thought it would be beautiful in a formal autumn wedding, for either a maid of honor or an adventurous bride. The California shops are having a Fall Preview/Summer Clearance sale at the end of August. Who knows? You may find the dress of your dreams and help a good cause.

2. Target has mini-lunchboxes filled with candy for $1 each. The outside pictures are Toosie Rolls, Double-Bubble, Now & Laters, etc., and each box is filled with that candy. These would be adorable favors at a candy-themed or Halloween-time wedding.

Poking around BlissWeddingMarket.com

The internet is a weird, wacky place. Researching stuff for your wedding (or your wedding blog) will reveal some scary search results. (Do a Google Images search for “wedding” or “bride” and see how many pictures of Russian mail-order brides turn up in the results.)

Recently my search brought me to BlissWeddingMarket.com. It’s one of those Scary Wedding Industry sites that wants you to spend lots of money.

It’s not enough to have placecards, they have to be held by this creepy angel. The placement of the bottom of the stand makes me very uncomfortable. And cherubs in general freak me out.

As much as I can’t stand this kind of Scary Wedding Industry website, I have to admit these are cute party tickets. Pricey, though. If you're lucky you're a graphic designer or have a friend who is who could easily whip these up.

Mmmm, what a delicious couple.

Initialed toilet paper. I couldn’t make this stuff up.

The thing is, some of this stuff is actually cute, or at least good inspiration. It's just so over-priced. Even if you have an unlimited budget, why would you spend it on these products? It just doesn't make sense.

Favors 2

To follow up with Vicky, I think that most of the offerings from the Wedding Favor Industry are tacky pieces of junk. See the engagement ring key chain favor. I'm not making this up. It's a "real key chain" that "features an enormous faux diamond." Is this seriously what you want your wedding budget to go toward? (Last time I checked, this item was on backorder, which means people are actually buying it, and want to buy more! C'mon!)

Like at any party, appropriate favors at the wedding reception can add to the festivities. Little boxes of candies or chocolates or other snack items are usually welcome by everyone. Fun favors can be a part of the overall theme of the party. One wedding I went to was a 1930s themed costume party, and the favors were masks like what might have been worn at a costume party in the 1930s. The guests had a good time playing with their masks. Favors can be part of the table decor. I'd like to make some little doo-dad from the same dried flowers that will be used in our centerpieces. People may take them home as a keepsake or not, but at least they'll look nice on the table, and that's what's important to me. I love the idea of small potted plants for an eco-friendly reception but they would not be easy for out-of-town guests to transport home, so take your guests into consideration when deciding on favors. (I once took an entire live-plant centerpiece home from a wedding and replanted it in my garden--once the bride gave the go-ahead for people to take them home. I no longer have a garden, so have no use unfortunately for live-plant favors or centerpieces myself.)

Think long and hard about personalized favors. They may be important to you, but what about the frequent wedding guest who has a cupboard full of mismatched wine glasses, shot glasses, votive holders, and coasters with other peoples' names on them? Those get put away to collect dust, and then eventually thrown out. If you must personalize something, invest in personalized ribbon or paper for wrapping the favors in.

As someone who loves planning parties, I love the idea of the right favor. But as Vicky said, they are not going to make or break the wedding, so think about them carefully. Especially if you are on a tight budget, where do you really want that money going?

But They Are So Cute!

Favors

To have or not to have; that is the ultimate question. On the other hand, it may just seem that way when you are planning your wedding and inundated with bridal magazines galore. Those cute beribboned boxes are advertised heavily there, sucking you in, making you think your wedding is not complete without personalized cookies. Martha Stewart, a wedding genius in many respects, has cornered the favor idea market. Maybe your friends are also in the throes of planning their weddings and the emphasis on favors is strong. It’s true in some areas of the U.S. (like New Jersey) favors, be it a tiny box of chocolate or a bookmark, seem quite important. Personally, I don’t think they are. I think that while they can be quite personal, in the end no one really cares about the favors but you. If you are crafty and have the time, go for it. If you have the extra budget and want to shower your guests with tiny votives or monogrammed matchbooks, fine. Have at it! However, having or not having favors does not make or break a wedding. Don’t be pressured by heavy-duty marketing or a relative into thinking it will. Bad food ruins a wedding. Sloppy drunk groomsmen can tackle that no problem. Bud vases or picture frames to take home do not.

I’d like to get the ultimate DIY girl herself to weigh in on this issue so Stephanie please take the floor and favor us (I couldn’t resist) with your opinion.