be smart about wedding favors

when it comes to wedding favors, my usual advice it to totally skip them.  people usually don't want them, and often don't even take them home.  if they do take them home, they usually throw them away soon after the wedding.  furthermore, wedding favors are a bit boring, and there is often little variety with what people give out.  this means that favors can be several hundred dollars down the drain with little purpose.

however, i didn't follow my own advice.  we had favors at our wedding. 

why? because for us wedding favors fit with the main theme of our wedding: pointing people towards Jesus Christ.

i got the idea to make chocolate fortune cookies from an old martha stewart wedding book.  i love to bake, so this seemed like an appropriate favor to give out.  also, since the cookies were chocolate brown, and we used pink paper for the fortunes, they fit with the color theme of our wedding.

the key to these favors was the idea i had to put bible verses about love inside each of the cookies.  specifically, each of the verses pointed out that love is solely from God and not us, and that we learn what love is by understanding the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross to pay the price for sinners.  our hope was that people would see that our love for one another did not come from within us, but it was enabled and empowered by God.

we spent very little on our favors, since i made them all by hand (and it was another fun memory making them with a friend!).  in the picture on the right you can see one of our table settings.  the fortune cookies are in the clear plastic baggies.
 
an alternative wedding favor idea is to donate money to a charity in lieu of wedding favors.  this was our second option, if we had not done the chocolate fortune cookies.  however, this is becoming a bit faddish these days, and i am wary of fads.  furthermore, it maybe a temptation for you to feel very righteous and holy for giving away money and letting everyone know about it.  but if you pray and move forward with this with the right heart, it could be a great option.  and if nothing else, the charity you give to will really appreciate it.

all this being said, skipping the favors still is probably your best bet.  its an easy way to save money without really having an impact on your wedding.

did you have favors at your wedding?  what ideas do you have for frugal favors that serve a positive purpose?

[this post is a part of a series on God-centered, frugal wedding planning.  you can view posts with other ideas here here here here here and here]

go on to the last part here...