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Original poster

Alternative wedding favours

72 replies

abeanbaked · 12/02/2022 22:04

Is this a shit idea? Planning on asking all guests favourite songs on their invites, playing them throughout the day at the wedding, printing a card for each guest with a QR code to a Spotify playlist of our wedding songs - all of our guests suggestions. I was going to get everyone either a small gin bottle or whisky bottle but, it's a wedding, we're going to be drinking all day and it's bloody expensive! The last wedding I went to I got macaroons as a favour and I woke up with them all smashed up in the bottom of my bag 🤦🏼‍♀️ does anyone appreciate favours that are consumable really?

OP posts:
RampantIvy · 13/02/2022 08:02

When did wedding favours become a "thing? I don't think I have been to a wedding where there were any.

cheekyasfish · 13/02/2022 08:14

Sounds like unnecessary faff that nobody wants or needs

Don't want favours? Dont have em

Mostly they're a waste of something

bcc89 · 13/02/2022 09:29

In the nicest way possible, no one wants a reminder of your special day. They will enjoy the day and then they won't think about it again.

Instead of favours, we did shots for everyone for after the speeches! All our friends and family are drinkers and the kids had a fruit juice "shot".

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Weddings
LER83 · 13/02/2022 09:57

I just did little packets of seeds, and made a donation to GOSH and got little charity pin things. Quite a few were left behind. I would just dish out the centre pieces/flowers/balloons etc to anyone who wants them so they aren't wasted.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 13/02/2022 10:02

I think I'd find 'We've donated to charity' cards etc pretty naff too. Donate if you want but don't shove it in people's faces.

Agree 're the nobody will think about your wedding much afterwards too. The more I think about the Spotify idea, the more I think it's a bit self indulgent and wanky.

Honestly, just make the room pretty, the food and music good and the drinks affordable.

RampantIvy · 13/02/2022 10:05

Honestly, just make the room pretty, the food and music good and the drinks affordable.

I agree. The best weddings I went to had plentidul food and drink and a comfortable room temperature. We once left a wedding early because the room the reception was in was freezing.

boringcreation · 13/02/2022 10:06

Don't bother with them and DEFINITELY don't get mini bottles of drink as favours. Happened at one wedding I was at and everyone was so drunk by the time the speech's started so people were talking loudly and no one was listening to the speeches. It was awful

FancySusan · 13/02/2022 10:08

I agree that people don't want a 'downloadable memory of your day'. They want a nice time seeing you get married and enjoying the wedding.

CatOfTheLand · 13/02/2022 10:10

I love wedding favours but I'm in the minority.

We did Lego men (cheap from AliExpress) for ours and they all got taken.

My friend put everyone's names on a vintage champagne glass and used that as a place name / favour which was cute.

As a general rule, it needs to be able to fit in to a man's pocket and be something you don't mind having 20 of it they get left behind.

RuthW · 13/02/2022 10:13

I went to a wedding where the bride was obsessed. She had seeds to remember her mum, drinking glasses with the couple's name on, personalised playing cards, personalised coasters, personalised love hearts, colouring books for the children and sone other things. They were mostly left all over the tables at the end of the night. Don't bother.

Batfinkwings · 13/02/2022 10:25

Wedding favours seem to be out of favour. I don’t remember having them at the past few weddings I’ve been to.

Some of the nicest I’ve seen have been those that double as place names. The engraved glasses that @CatOfTheLand mentioned sound lovely, although might be a bit pricey to do.

Friends of ours who are big readers had nicely designed bookmarks printed as with each guests name on, which can’t have been too expensive, were lovely, useful and easy to pop in your bag and remember to take home with you.
Other friends got married near the beach and their place name markers were shells with each guests name written on in nice calligraphy. I’ve seen these on display in a few friends houses since as they were a pretty, decorative item.

flashpaper · 13/02/2022 10:31

My wedding favours were chocolate gift tags that doubled up as seating place cards. Everyone took theirs home, maybe because I'd have known who hadn't taken them!

RampantIvy · 13/02/2022 10:32

I wouldn't want to take home any of the favours listed by previous posters. I just don't need any more clutter in my life.

TidyDancer · 13/02/2022 10:35

The only wedding favourite I actually remember getting was when the couple had little pin badges at every place setting saying they'd made a donation to a cancer charity. I thought that was lovely because the groom's lovely mum (my relative) had died of breast cancer when he was a teenager. Can't recall any others specifically so it was either that no one had them or they were just not memorable at all.

I would avoid anything personalised (with respect, the day isn't going to be as special to other people as it is to you) and I'd be careful with homemade food/drink (it would probably get wasted and cause offence). I'd just get some sweets or charity donation. Won't require massive effort or huge wasteful cost.

TidyDancer · 13/02/2022 10:36

*favour not favourite!

Remmy123 · 13/02/2022 10:52

Don't bother with any of that stuff - keep
It simple

RampantIvy · 13/02/2022 10:56

While I appreciate the sentiment in providing support for children in poor areas of the world, I wouldn't want a keepsake to clutter up my house. I would leave the stone heart behind.

Salamander91 · 13/02/2022 10:56

We set up a little pick n mix station for ours so people could take what they wanted or not if they didn't want any. It was pretty reasonable using wholesalers.

MsSquiz · 13/02/2022 10:59

We had chocolate bars & lollipops made by the lady who made our cake and dessert buffet.

The chocolate bars were either white choc and raspberry or milk choc and orange for the adults, and the children all had lollipops.

I think there was only a handful of bars left on the tables at the end of the night out of 125 guests

TeeBee · 13/02/2022 11:02

I would g bother with favours at all. Just a lot of wasted tat. How about spending the money on a cocktail each or a sweet bar/bags of sweets (trust me, the adults will eat these as much as the kids).

AffIt · 13/02/2022 11:16

The only wedding favour that has stuck in my mind and continues to be of use is a tea towel printed with the names of the bride and groom and the date of the wedding (it's a very, practical linen cloth and makes an excellent glass cloth).

It was an absolutely brilliant wedding between two people I'm very fond of and it genuinely makes me smile to use it. I'm not sure if I'd feel the same if it was from a couple I'm less close to, though, if that makes sense.

To be honest, I wouldn't bother. I think people are becoming more concerned about 'waste' and really don't expect them as things anymore.

user1493494961 · 13/02/2022 11:31

A colleague went to a wedding where the wedding favour was a £1 scratchcard, I think she won £10.

bombombo · 13/02/2022 11:45

We also did scratch cards - definitely none of those left behind Grin

BritInAus · 13/02/2022 11:54

I hate wedding favours. Totally unnecessary. Especially personalised things like one shot glass / champagne glass. I have a set of matching wine glasses, a set of matching champagne glasses etc - I don't want one 'personalised' glass...