Are you giving wedding favours?

ClubDead

Personally I don't like them and think they are a waste of money but I've had a few invited family members ask me what favours I've chosen. For this reason I now feel under pressure to include them. I think I'll just go down the charity route.

What are you doing? What's your opinion of favours?

rainbowtrout

Just tell them you are not having favours. By and large they are a waste of money and get left behind on the tables at the end of the night.

kandr10

Yeah don't feel pressured. They're probably just making conversation. Not really done to the same extent as years past. Don't do it if you don't like them.

amor3

Think I'm gonna do a donation, if not, i won't be doing them at all. The last wedding i was at didn't do favours or donation and i never noticed at all til i was thinking about my own, i personally think it's an unnecessary expense but totally up to you so don't feel pressured.

aaakev

My fiancé bought a load of plastic sweet jars on eBay, the kind that you would see in old sweet shops. They came with the paper bags and thongs and will be filled with all the good stuff we used to get in 10p bags!! We are going to have them all on the one table so people can mix and match. All in all it'll be about €80

Edit. This is it

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=271659869260

amdublin

aaakev wrote: »

My fiancé bought a load of plastic sweet jars on eBay, the kind that you would see in old sweet shops. They came with the paper bags and thongs and will be filled with all the good stuff we used to get in 10p bags!! We are going to have them all on the one table so people can mix and match. All in all it'll be about €80

Thongs at a wedding :eek:

I think you mean tongs :pac:

Seriously - op - some people like them for their wedding, some people don't. Generally you find the guests don't care and they are just left on the table (unless they are mini bottles of whiskey or baileys )

Either don't bother with them or do the charity thing as you said.

aaakev

No, I mean thongs ðŸ˜ðŸ˜‚😂

BabysCoffee

ClubDead wrote: »

Personally I don't like them and think they are a waste of money but I've had a few invited family members ask me what favours I've chosen. For this reason I now feel under pressure to include them. I think I'll just go down the charity route.

What are you doing? What's your opinion of favours?

If you decide to get favours, don't get anything personalized with your names and dates of the wedding. Your guests don't need a candle with you and your hubby's name on it!!

BabysCoffee

Thongs for all the guests!!!

Perfect!

Leave some bubbles on the tables, **** 'em. :pac: Maybe some disposable cameras they can leave behind if you feel like you have to do something. When they can't be deleted you'll get more candid photos than what turns up on facebook. :P

Faith

Nope, I think they're a complete waste of money personally.

I've actually never realised that sweets were meant to be favours. I thought they were considered like canapés or night-time food until recently.

braddun

it must be American


wedding favours used never been given out at irish weddings




Wedding favors are small gifts given as a gesture of appreciation or gratitude to guests from the bride and groom during a wedding ceremony or a wedding reception.

The tradition of distributing wedding favors is a very old one. It is believed that the first wedding favor, common amongst European aristocrats, was known as a bonbonniere. A bonbonniere is a small trinket box made of crystal, porcelain, and/or precious stones. The contents of these precious boxes were generally sugar cubes or delicate confections,[1] which symbolize wealth and royalty. (In this era, sugar was an expensive commodity and was treasured only among the wealthy. It was believed that sugar contained medical benefits).[citation needed] As the price of sugar decreased throughout centuries, the tradition of providing gifts to guests reached the general populace and was embraced by couples of modest means.

As sugar became more affordable, bonbonnieres were replaced with almonds. For centuries, almonds were commonly distributed to wedding guests to signify well wishes on the bridegroom’s new life. In the thirteenth century, almonds coated with sugar, known as confetti, were introduced. Confetti soon transformed to sugared almonds, which later evolved into the wedding favor for modern day weddings. Traditionally, five Jordan almonds are presented in a confection box or wrapped in elegant fabric to represent fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness. The bitterness of the almond and the sweetness of the coated candy are a metaphor for the bitter sweetness of a marriage.

Today, gifts to guests are commonly known as wedding favors and are shared in cultures worldwide. Wedding favors have become a part of wedding reception planning, especially in the United States and Canada. Wedding favors are diverse and usually complement the theme or season of the event. Classic favors can range from the classic sugared almonds or individual chocolates to candles and scented soaps. Modern gift trends include: CDs with the favorite music of the bride and groom, shot glasses filled with colored candy or silver picture frames with a photo of the couple. Gifts may also be personalized with the couple's names, initials or wedding date.

annoyedgal

Complete and utter waste of money in my humble opinion. Not a fan of the donation route either. Have never missed favours at a wedding.....ever!

tinkerbell

Waste of money. Just do a sweet table instead - everybody loves sweet tables. What's not to like? Loads of sweets! Yums :pac:

solerina

Waste of money. However lots of people are doing the sweet table / photo booth as an extra at their weddings recently, either can act as favours as they are an extra, but none are required and wont be missed if they aren't provided !!

hattoncracker

We are doing favours. My OH is of Italian heritage, and it's a big thing in his culture. We got little keys that are actually bottle openers. They're very cool.

BabysCoffee

hattoncracker wrote: »

We are doing favours. My OH is of Italian heritage, and it's a big thing in his culture. We got little keys that are actually bottle openers. They're very cool.

Nice favours!

I paid 12 euro for a branded one of these - is that how much you are paying?! :eek:

hattoncracker

BabysCoffee wrote: »

Nice favours!

I paid 12 euro for a branded one of these - is that how much you are paying?! :eek:

Oh goodness no! It was like €100 for 125 of them that come with a little envelope and a little tag with our names and the date of the wedding on it.

I've been to a fair few weddings, easily 30, probably more.

I only remember 3 wedding favours.

One where a photographer came and took pics of each couple/group after dinner and then came back later with key rings of the photos for everyone and the date on the back. Was quite nice. Still have the keyring years later.

One in Italy where the ladies where all given flip flops to wear later on dancing.

And the third was scratchcards, which I only remember because someone won a big amount on one.

I really think favours can be an awful waste of money (although I like the bottle opener idea!) so if you weren't planning on doing them then I wouldn't bother. If I was getting married now, I wouldn't be adding the extra uneccesary expense.

A wedding I was at last year had the pick and mix table and it was a great hit. They also had a table in the ladies toilets with anything a woman could possible want throughout the night from blister plasters/hair clips/wet wipes etc etc.

I've been to a wedding with the photo booth too which was good craic.

Sorry, didn't mean my post to be a long one!

amdublin

I like the bottle opener idea. A useful present.

I am surprised with your fiance being of Italian origin you are not doing sugared almonds? They are the traditional wedding (good luck) favour aren't they, and correct me if I am wrong they are an Italian tradition in origin?

As an extra I like the photo booth idea! I was at a wedding and they had a box of props, plus a polaroid camera with a big stack of polaroid film and an album where you stuck the polaroid photo (pritt stick provided) and wrote something.

bee06

We had favours that were linked to our engagement story but probably cost less than 50 euro. Wouldn't have spent any more for them. Was at a wedding this week and only realised they had no favours when I read this thread. If you don't want to do them, don't. Most people won't notice.

Penny Dreadful

ClubDead wrote: »

Personally I don't like them and think they are a waste of money but I've had a few invited family members ask me what favours I've chosen. For this reason I now feel under pressure to include them. I think I'll just go down the charity route.

What are you doing? What's your opinion of favours?

I think they're a huge waste of money and didn't have them at my wedding.

Radioheader

Huge waste of money in my view, we certainly won't be doing them.

lazygal

We didn't do them. I don't like them and I don't see the point, especially charity ones. We donated some of our wedding money received as gifts to a charity we support, but there was no need to advertise this with keyrings or whatever. If there's one thing to cut its these. Unless you can eat them at the wedding, they'll only be left behind.
I wouldn't do a sweet table or other gimmicky stuff either. Just put the money behind the bar. People will appreciate it more.

pwurple

What's the bottle opener love about? I think I've gotten about six from Christmas crackers over the years.

Sammy2012

Had a very busy year of weddings last year...we were at 7 and there was no favours. Lots of sweet tables and photobooths though so would go with one of these of i was you.

Gee_G

I'm not getting married until November but a lot of my friends had wedding favors and every one of them said if they were to do it again they wouldn't bother!! I think they're a waste of money to be honest!