Wedding Favors Made Easy

Thirty years ago, the wedding favor of choice was a white book of matches imprinted with the happy couple's names and wedding date. Today, as I have come to discover, options are almost limitless. If you are planning a wedding in the next few months and are looking for ideas for wedding favors, here are just a few ideas from the dollar store.

I found two sizes of bonbonniere bags in the card section at Dollarama. And what is a bonbonniere bag, you may well ask? I know I did. It's pronounced "bonbon yer" and comes from the French word for candy, "bonbon." So the definition of bonbonniere is "a container for candy." Very well then, the 3" x 4" bag is the perfect place some foil-wrapped chocolate. We attached the tag by threading a needle with white thread and passing it through the corner of the label and around the ribbon on the bag.

Eight 3 x 4 inch bonbonniere bags are $1.00. Our research shows that chocolate will keep well for six to twelve months. Ingredients such as nuts will shorten its shelf life. Store well wrapped chocolate in a cool, dry place; 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal.

Another option for these handy little bags is to use them for small heart-shaped candles (4 for a dollar). If you're a nature buff, how about presenting your guests with one of these engraved stones? They come in a package of 3 for a dollar.

People use small frames as place cards that their guests can then take home but you could simply insert a slip of paper with the bride and groom's names and date of the ceremony, as well. Self-sticking fabric hearts come in a package of 20 for a dollar. Look for different styles of frames in white or silver. I've seen some small round frames that looked very wedding worthy.

Candles are popular as wedding favors. The glass votive candleholders shown came in a package of 2 for a dollar; candles extra. The combination gel and wax flower candle would make a nice showing at each place setting, too. It cost a dollar. You could set them out as they are or dress them up using the larger bonbonniere bag. These bags are 5" x 6" and come in a package of 4 for a dollar.

To make the labels, set your computer's word processor as though you wanted to make a sheet of return address labels and choose a pleasing script. We used "Script MT Bold." Instead of a sheet of address labels, print on an 8 x 11 ½ inch piece of white card stock. We then used our dollar store paper cutter to separate each individual label. As the French say, "Voila!"