How to Save Money and Personalize Your Day with Handmade Wedding Favors

Wedding favors set the tone of the day at a wedding reception. Wedding favors are a small way for you to show your guests your appreciation, communicate your love, reception theme, and display wedding colors as part of wedding reception décor.

Commercially sold wedding favors can be quite expensive, but there are many favors you can craft yourself, perhaps with a hand from your bridesmaids. Wedding favors can range from the traditional to the truly unique. By crafting and preparing your own wedding favors, you can customize wedding favors for your day to showcase something you love about yourselves as a couple.

Here are several wedding favor ideas to consider.

Mints

Mints are easily displayed in any imaginable small container. Favor companies offer a variety of tins and boxes that can be personalized with colored or printed ribbons to coordinate.

Small glass vases, colored drawstring organza bags, or a simple tulle circle gathered and filled are all options for creating wedding favors with mints. You can choose to purchase bulk bags of dinner mints as fillers, purchase individual mints from favor suppliers in personal size servings, or wrapped singly. Choices of white packaging, colors, or a 'Thank You' message are available, among others.

Mints are a traditional wedding favor choice. Mint wedding favors are much appreciated by wedding guests as a small treat and breath freshener throughout the wedding reception.

Chocolates

Chocolates are another traditional wedding favor that are well received and much appreciated by wedding guests. Wedding favors made with chocolates can be personalized with package decorations and embellishments.

Chocolates to fill wedding favors can be bought from a gourmet chocolate shop, other commercial options, or you can make your own. Truffles are a good chocolate choice for wedding favors which can be bought or made at home. Molding chocolates yourself (or hiring a candy maker) is an option when you are seeking a theme-related chocolate. Chocolate molds and supplies are widely and inexpensively available in a vast array of themes. Choose a mold that suits an interest of you as a couple, traditional wedding themed bride and groom molds, hearts or 'love' doves.

You need only one or two chocolates per person. Guests appreciate the treat that can be eaten when guests arrive at the wedding reception, before hors d'oeuvres are served, or as a treat later on when your guests may be looking for a little something.

A variety of boxes are readily available for packaging chocolate wedding favors, or chocolates can be wrapped in circles of colorful tulle or cellophane.

Melt and Pour Soaps

Melt and pour soap crafting provides attractive, inexpensive wedding favor options that are easy to personalize. A variety of soap molds in miscellaneous or wedding themes provides many options for crafting personal melt and pour glycerin soaps to tie into the theme of the wedding day. Soaps are also useful as favors for baby and wedding showers (an appropriate match for the day). Molded heart shaped soaps wrapped first in clear plastic (to preserve soap) then in a tulle circle gathered at the top and finished with ribbon are ideal wedding favors. Soap wedding favors can be nicely packaged in boxes or colored cellophane, too.

Candles

There are many wedding favor options for working with candles. You may choose to mold your own votive size candles or buy them at your favorite candle store.

Candle wedding favors can be simply wrapped in cellophane or tulle as they are, or you can craft a more personalized favor by decoupaging candles or votive cups. Favor suppliers offer customized candles and votive cups that are detailed with your names and specifics of your wedding day.

Sachets

Small, individual sachets of potpourri or cone incense make useful and great smelling wedding favors. Use them to enhance a garden theme wedding. Guests will appreciate having favors that serve a purpose after the wedding day.

Potpourri and incense can both be made at home. Easy sachets for packaging can be made with a little sewing know-how, or by tying fillers up in tulle. Drawstring organza bags sold for favors or jewelry crafting are an instant way to make a potpourri sachet or package incense cones.

Votive candle holders or small vases topped with tulle and tied with ribbons in your wedding colors add interest with your container choice, and the netted tulle allows the scent to escape.

Potpourri sachets will nicely scent your wedding reception, but if overpowering perfume scents from hundreds of favors are of concern, potpourri can be wrapped first in plastic, or place a small section of plastic wrap under decorative tulle on containers. Giving small bags of home made potpourri in attractive cellophane 'treat' bags solves the scent dilemma.

Whatever your choice for wedding favors, there are many packaging options available. Small favor boxes are available in bulk from several companies. Many come with ribbon closures, or you can add your own in ribbon that coordinate with your wedding colors. Personalized ribbon can be ordered with the name of the couple and date of the wedding for tying packages. Small silk flower heads, buttons, beads, charms, and other decorative accents add interest and a nice touch to wedding favors of any kind. Be sure to include a tag or label with your names and wedding details. A favorite quote or personal message from the couple will make the favors at your wedding something truly memorable as well.

Above all, remember to enjoy yourself, but do not break the budget and add to wedding stress. Wedding favors should be all you want them to be- fun, elegant, personal, or traditional, but they are meant only as a small, token thank you, and so you should choose wedding favors you can readily afford.