"Do I need to give wedding favours?"
It is a question that is often asked when it comes to wedding planning, especially given it can seem like an unnecessary expense or hassle to source on top of everything else. Ultimately is it is entirely up to you as it is your day after all...but here's why I am a fan of the favour!
Firstly, the history behind the tradition is quite lovely; it is said to have come from 16th century French aristocracy, who would give guests "bonbonnieres" - a jewelled box filled with sugared almonds. The belief was that sugar had health-giving properties (if only...) and the gift was therefore a kind of symbol of care and well wishes for all guests; I like the idea behind the gesture. Secondly I think, done well, wedding favours can really add a lovely bit of detail to compliment your wedding decor and style.
So if you are finding yourself in the "do or don't we" wedding favour debate, I've put together a little collection of images to inspire you along with a few top tips on which (in my opinion) make the best kind...
Think of a wedding favour as a lovely little detail that sets off your table styling.
A single macaron favour can be a beautiful addition to an elegant English garden themed wedding or, if your wedding style is more urban hip, how about a single lollipop favour like the one I found from The Little Lollipop Shop. Another idea that I love are these copper cups featured on Style me Pretty; given you will most likely have to invest in buying or hiring your glassware, why not give the gift of a drinking vessel?
Copper and metallics are also very on trend right now!
Give guests something they can consume on the day!
Most people don't really want something that they need to carry around with them for the entire day and, lets face it, after one too many glasses of Prosevvo, there is a high chance that they may well misplace their gift and that is why I'm a big fan of the edible favour. I love this glass filled bottle of rock salt, or a single shot of alcohol digestif, sound on favour fairy.co.uk, because no good party started with a salad...)
If you don't go edible, go low cost but beautiful.
Most couples don't want to spend a fortune of favours and, given a fair few guests are likely to lose them, i don't blame them! If you don't want to go edible then opt for beautiful but inexpensive ideas. These gold dipped feathers from bides magazine.co.uk would look stunning as part of a glitzy flam or even urban chic wedding style and test tubes filled with coloured bath salts from Herbivore can add simple style to a beach wedding theme.
Double up and use them as table place names
There's a growing trend towards not actually using place names and just allocating guests a table but if you are sticking with a traditional table plan, you'll need place names, so why not incorporate a favour? I like the idea of a miniature plant with name card like the one pictured from a styled shoot featured on Bridal Musings.
In a world where tradition is less an less relevant, I am not always an advocate of sticking with the done thing, but the gift of a wedding favour is one exception to my rule!
Image references and credits: Plant pot place names taken from Bridal Musings, Image by San Shawe of Sanshine Photography; copper cups from a real wedding feature on Style me Pretty, image by Blaine Siesser Photography; rock salt favours by Sarah at Park Road Photography; shot favour from favour fairy.co.uk ; gold dipped features from brides magazine.co.uk; bath salt favours from Herbivore; place setting from lemagnifqueblog.com, image by Ashley Tingley.