Do I have To Give Wedding Favors

To give or nor to give - that is the question!

It is not written in stone that you have to give wedding favors. It's your wedding, you are on a tight budget and it's your decision alone to decide to give or not to give.

But it is an established fact that most guests enjoy receiving something - the quirkier the better but no-one is going to go on a sulk if they you do not give something.


Why give wedding favors anyway? What purpose do they serve? Surely, it is only a modern innovation. My mom says that all they did was send thank you notes after the wedding.

Wedding Favors are not compulsory but most guests will expect to receive a wedding favor when they attend a wedding because it is such a common practice that most of the weddings they have attended have included a wedding favor.

Another reason why guests expect to receive a wedding favor is because the wedding favor is so the couple may express their gratitude to the guests for attending the wedding and reception. Although the couple will likely still send out thank you cards to all of the guests after the wedding, giving a small wedding favor is another way the couple can thank their guests for their support.

But all the guests are your friends (except, perhaps, Aunt Crabbyface who hates you) and whatever you decide will be OK with them and they will still have fond memories of your wedding with or without wedding favors.

Still it would be nice to give them, wouldn't it.

Why would a couple even consider not giving wedding favors at their wedding. The short answer to this question is money. The couple may be on a very tight budget and the purchase of wedding favors for each one of the guests will cost more than they can afford.

This is a very real concern as it is important to realise that although each wedding favor may be fairly inexpensive, this favor price must be multiplied by the number of guests in attendance. For example you may select a favor which costs only $2 per favor but if you are expecting 400 invitees at your wedding then the costs of the favors alone will be $800 which may not include even the costs of shipping or wrapping the wedding favors.

Budgets are important but we think the couple should include a an item in their budget for wedding favors before the planning begins. This will help to ensure there is enough money available to give each guest a wedding favor as an expression of gratitude.

Worried about budget constraints? Remember that wedding favors don't need to be costly or excessive.

A simple way to make wedding favors more inexpensive is to give a wedding favor of a single flower to each guest. If you are already planning to have floral centerpieces you may discuss your options with your flower store in advance. You will likely be able to manage an inexpensive price for this favor because you are already purchasing your centerpieces from the florist.

Selecting one flower used in the centerpiece and having your florist supply enough of these to give as favors is a really nice way to link the centerpieces and the favors together. Alternately you might prefer to give each of your guests an artificial version of one of the blossoms used in your centerpiece. These can be rather inexpensive and can also serve as a lasting reminder of your wedding.

Another way to keep wedding favors more affordable is to discuss your options with wedding favor distributors carefully. Many of them likely have closeout items available as well as discount items. Closeout items are items which have been discontinued but the distributor may have enough in stock for all of the guests at your wedding. Additionally, they may be willing to offer you a discount if you are purchasing a large number of favors.