When prioritising what you want to spend your money on for your wedding, little extras such as favours make a nice touch, but can often be just done for the sake of it, spending money on something with little thought. So here are some ideas for thoughful and personal gifts that cost less than £1 per guest:
Sew little fabric bags for each person for them to fill up at a candy bar during the reception (use left over fabric that has been sitting at your mum's house since you were 5). Sew the persons name onto the bag, or add a luggage tag, and it can double up as a place card. Borrow storage jars of different sizes from friends, or search for them on freecycle, then visit the local cash & carry to fill them with different types of sweets - it makes a really colourful display. (Image above via Amy Atlas Events, NYC)
Time per favour: 15mins
Cost per favour: 5p for fabric, 2p for luggage label, 50p for sweets
Is your mother-in-law-to-be green fingered? Ask her to plant bulbs in little pots for each guest. A couple of narcissus bulbs would be perfect. The plant-tag with care instructions sticking in the soil can double as a name card. You will probably need a roll of sandwich bags available for guests to carry it home without spilling soil everywhere...
When the plant flowers later in the year (and every year after that) they will remember you both and your fabulous day.
Time per favour: 15mins
Cost per favour: 50p for mini plant-pot, 30p for bulbs, 5p for label
Home-made with love: For domestic goddesses, consider a homemade favour. If the thought of a weekend in the kitchen sounds like bliss, then why not make a batch of fruit jam for your wedding guests? Buy mini jam jars from www.freemanharding.co.uk, and add a handwritten label. (Or if you are uber organised, ask friends to collect up all their glass jars for the months before the wedding)
Time per favour: 15mins
Cost per favour: 5op for fruit, 2op for jar tops, 5p for labels
Give a charity donation of £1 on behalf of every person - print them each a little card telling them which charity. If you have time you could make it one that is specific to them, or theme it around each table. Again, the little card can double up as a name placecard (see a theme developing here?)
Cost per favour: £1
Seed cards - a little book of 10 plantable forget me not seeds - 10 books for £9.99 - from Confetti.co.uk. Or you can get personalised ones - 50 for £39.99 - so if you know you have 100 guests it actually saves you money. If you have 90 guests, or 130, then the extras you could send to relatives or friends who couldn't make it on the day along with their thank you card. They will feel so loved and appreciate the thought...much easier than sending cake to put under their pillow!
Cost per favour: Max 99p
Mini paper bags and cones are so easy to make - save £'s by making them rather than paying £1 each for fancy boxes and then having to pay on top for the contents... fill them with sweets, confetti, rose petals, chocolate, love hearts... you are only limited by your imagination.
To make a mini paper bag, get a book about the same size as the bag you want, wrap the paper (colourful, or in your theme colours) around the book as if wrapping a present, but leave one end open. Ta Da! Tape a little string/ribbon handle on the inside if required.
Time per bag: 5 mins (max!)
Cost per favour: 2p for paper, 5-10p for handle, 50 for contents...
Try to make the favours personal to you as a couple, or to fit with the theme of the day to make guests remember it, and to show them your appreciation for their presence (and presents!)
What other ideas have you come up with? Or which will you be doing? Leave us a comment below...