Would It Be Inappropriate Not To Give Favors To Our Wedding Guests?
My fiance and I are on a tight budget (as everyone is when it comes to weddings), and we discussed possibly foregoing the wedding favors. This would save us about $200 or $300. I would like to give the favors because I think they can end up being really cute, but I think it might be an unneccessary cost. I also think that a really good meal, an open bar, and a tasty peice of cake is nice way of showing your appreciation to your guests. I’ve been to a few weddings where they haven’t given out favors, and I was never offended by this. Would it offend you to go to a wedding and not get a favor?
I don’t care about the favors in the least. I go to a wedding to see the people I care about, or the children of friends I care about, get married. The ceremony is the most important part. All of the rest is just for show, and I really find it distasteful to overspend on things that will just be thrown by the wayside.
So answer is – I would not be offended and would probably actually be thinking you were pretty smart to not spend money on silly favors.
A cute, and cost effective, idea I’ve seen is to have a banquet attendent serving guests cups of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, for the ride home as they leave. If you wanted to you could bake a cookie or somehting to go with it. Wrap it in plastic wrap and use computer printed labels that say “timmy and susie 4/15/17″ or whatever. Its a thoughtful way to end the night and because its edible, its pretty practical. Dont feel obligated to give people the plastic swan full of mints.
I agree with the first answerer. Though I agree with you that the meal and bar is enough, it’s really nice to have that ‘little something’, too.
Buying some pretty little mints, putting them in a piece of tulle and tying them with a ribbon with a little thank-you tag attached – doesn’t cost much, and is just pretty to have at each table setting.
To be honest, I wouldn’t be offended, but it would seem odd. Your guests have bought you a gift, and they have probably bought new clothes or shoes for themselves or family members. They also gave up a day of their lives so that they could attend your wedding. Many of them have probably spent $300 to celebrate your wedding with you. A token of appreciation, even a cheap one, is nice.
I’ve been to 3 weddings in my lifetime, and all used cheap favors, but personally, I wouldn’t care if I got any or not. It’s not about pleasing the guests, it’s about your love for each other lasting a lifetime. Forgo the favors, a simple thank you for attending card will do.
I hope this helps.
Skip the favors. 9 out of 10 favors are lame and either get thrown away or relegated to the bottom of a junk drawer. Easy solution? Buy a few bags of Hershey’s kisses and put them on the table around the centerpieces. Not much money, your guests get their little chocolate fix, everyone is happy.
No because too many favors just end up in the junk heap anyway. It is best to focus on what you find really important, so save that money. You guests will appreciate the good food and special touches you put on your wedding throughout the way.
I really think that a little favor is a really nice token of your appreciation. You don’t need to spend $200 or $300 though. Just some candy in a little bag is a nice way of letting your guests know that you thought of them.
Favors are totally optional and most people agree on this and are not offended because the couple didn’t give anything. I’ve never seen favors at any wedding I’ve attended and didn’t miss them either.
Hi and congratulations!
Favors are completely OPTIONAL. No, I would not be hurt in the least to not get a favor. Save your $200-$300 and put it towards something else.
here is a way to spend well under 100 bucks on them. Buy Organza bags and put chocolates in them as favors.
I think it would show some class to give a little something.
Absolutely not, it is perfectly fine not to give out favors. Do your wedding however you would like.
yes , if not why u invited them
Many people skip them because of costs.. HOWEVER… I’m of the ones that think that a favor shows appreciation to your guests and that you really care about them by giving that little extra.
All of the weddings that I’ve attended have given favors… and I appreciated all of them… it just shows politeness and care.
Now, one wedding that I’ve just attended gave those “donation to charity” favors. I found them obnoxious, because if you are really a philantropist, you do not need to advertise how humanitarian you are.. I felt offended by it as I gifted $350, my husband rented a tux for $160, transportation and hotel was $600, shower gift $50.. and on top if that cash bar (rude) and NO favor really upsetted and offended me. My husband couldn’t care less about it. I’m more of a traditional train od thought, so I would say, you will get mix reactions at no favors on the tables.
Again, I’m a more traditional person and I like the favors. I undertsand that people have to cut cost somewhere and this is just an added expense that is optional, but in my opinion, being gracious to your guests is worth the extra expense.
Good luck
I honestly prefer NOT to get a wedding favour at a wedding, They are usually so cheap anyway, because it can be such an added expense that it’s not really a personal thank you, it’s just some knick-knack I don’t really want with the date on it, given out of the “need” to give it. A more personal thank you would be a personal thank you told to me by the bride and groom.
Honestly, save your money. Most people probably won’t even notice if there aren’t favours anyway, unless you point out the fact.
And you’re right in that your guests will spend time and money on a gift and attending your wedding. And you thank them by providing a great meal, open bar,etc. which means a lot more than some dollar store frame with your picture in it (I personally don’t want a picture of some other couple for my mantel anyway).
You will also be sending all your guests personalized thank you cards for their gifts and attendance anyway. I find the favour an unnecessary (and cheap) thank you.
Good Luck and Congrats!
Personally, I wouldn’t be offended if I didn’t get a wedding favor. It’s true that so many of them really end up in the trash at the end of the day. My hubby and I put out Peppermint Patties because the wrapper matched our color scheme and we thought it would be nice for everyone to have an after dinner mint. However, we actually had a really interesting thing happen with the REAL favors.
Because we were married so close to Christmas, we set baskets in the middle of each table filled with silver bulb christmas ornaments and blue Sharpie markers. Our intent was that everyone leave the reception with a self-decorated Christmas ornament. I don’t remember the exact wording, but we had a little card in the middle of the table letting guests know that they could decorate Christmas ornaments if they were getting bored. Well, when we went to clean-up, we noticed that almost everyone had left their ornaments–with messages to us! People drew caricatures, wrote poems, signed their names, etc. It was so AWESOME! Now, every year, we have a tree decorated with our wedding ornaments. Part of our tradition on our anniversary is to decorate a tree and it kind of kicks off the Christmas season for us, too. Some of our dear friends and relatives have passed away, and having their little message to us is a way of keeping them close to our hearts during the holidays. Putting up our tree always evokes a tear or two.
Nah! not needed. Just put a place card out saying a donation has been made to *insert charity* on your behalf. Just make one donation of like $100 and they don’t need to know how much was made on their behalf.
Look the guests already get free dinner and free booze all night. Now they want a mini-gift that will get tossed or sit in the car for months and forgotten about? It’s a ridiculous “tradition” so I say FORGET THEM! lol
EDITL if someone asks (which would be rude as well to ask “hey where’s my favour”) tell them you are trying to be environmentally friendly and make a joke about saving the dump 150 ugly pieces of garbage or something.
I personally would not be offended. That being said, I do think it is always appropriate to go the extra mile to thank your guests. Remember on YA you are not getting a good cross sample of wedding guests. Most people that respond here are either planning a wedding, hoping to, or have recently planned. I would assume our average age would be somewhat young. I think some older guests might feel differently. I also agree that they do not have to cost 200-300. My friend ordered cute bags from oriental trader, and filled them with kisses. It cost $22 for 110 guests. We just did them last night
Best wishes with your wedding, I hope you have a gorgeous day!
You’re going to get a lot of people answering that say favors aren’t necessary. It is absolutely true that giving everyone a little personalized box with your names on it is probably going to get thrown out eventually.
However, I personally find favors to be a polite and thoughtful way of showing guests that you appreciate all the time and money they put into getting there to support you on this wonderful occasion. And as a guest, I honestly look forward to the favor. Not to see how expensive or interesting it is, but it’s just an integral part of the wedding for me. I really see it as a politeness and etiquette thing. If you have any doubt whatsoever, I would include something for your guests.
You can absolutely find favors for less than $200! If you buy a bulk bag of M+Ms, buy some tulle for $5 and tie it with ribbon from Michael’s, you have all the favors for probably $10-15.
Or you can order 144 interesting items from Oriental Trading (they can sell things by the gross) and personalize them yourself.
We’re personally giving away personalized toothbrushes and chocolate computer lollipops since I’m a dental student and he’s an IT person. The toothbrushes were like $90 for over 100 of them. So if you can find something that’s associated with a hobby (golf tees, CDs, etc.) you can usually get a whole bunch of them for cheap.
Or better yet: print out a bunch of small engagement photos and buy a bulk set of frames. Probably $20 for the whole thing and very personal (and can easily fit into a guest’s home without being some awkward big glass heart or something.)