Ideas for Bridal Favors

Creative wedding favors can range from food-focused to eco-friendly

By Elisa Drake

Photo by iStockphoto.com

Bridal favors serve as both a takeaway memento of your big day, as well as a small thank-you to your guests for sharing it with you. So while your family and friends shop for your wedding gifts, you can start thinking of ideas for your bridal favors. They come in all shapes and sizes and suit all budgets and styles. The important thing is to make it meaningful, rather than mundane.

Edible

If there's a particular food that's iconic to your hometown (e.g., pecans from Atlanta, Garrett Popcorn from Chicago), that's always a favorite favor. Package them creatively in anything from monogrammed boxes to toile tied with ribbon to petite Chinese food boxes. A twist on the edible favor is a sweet endings table. Place a huge assortment of candies in a decorative bowl on each table with a silver scoop; then, give everyone a cute container to scoop in their own takeaway treat.

Donations

A donation to a cause that means something to the couple is a popular alternative to typical bridal favors. Place a fancifully written note on each table to indicate that a donation has been made in each guest's honor. If you want to give guests something as a take-home token as well, connect it in some way to the donation. For example, at one wedding, a couple chose a charity whose donations go to help purchase a farm animal for an underprivileged recipient in a Third World country. The couple then gave the guests custom chocolates in the shape of the animals.

Eco-Friendly

With growing attention to environmentally conscious events, bridal favors that take the concept to heart can make a powerful statement for your guests. An easy idea for this is to give each guest, or each guest couple, a potted herb or tree sapling. Or calculate the carbon emissions your wedding cost -- taking into account guests who took long flights and those who drove -- and then pay it back to companies who fund projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Frames

Frames are one of those bridal favor ideas that might seem boring, but if you do it right, they can be a useful and memorable gift for guests. Place them on the table at each guest's place setting. If you have a photo booth of some kind at your wedding for guests to use for snapshots, a favor frame is the perfect pairing.