Ideas for wedding favours

Drink Me

Drink me! Drink me! Who doesn't love a bottle of spirits next to them at a wedding? Imagine my joy when I saw that our Creative Director Adam had Hendricks Gin favours when we attended his wedding in September. They went down a treat! My absolute favourite though has to be miniature bottles of champagne, those that come complete with silk bows and labels adorned with beautiful caligraphy. They look immense and frankly, I'd jump at the chance to be a quest at any wedding offering them. Whilst they might be a tad on the pricey side, it's worth seeing if you can bulk-buy the alcohol to get a discount.

Get the kids involved

Obviously we're not suggesting giving the kids champagne, but why not involve them some miniature bottles of old-fashioned lemonade? They'll love feeling all grown up at the wedding, whilst the adults tuck into the real grown-up stuff!

DIY wedding favours

If you're a wizz in the kitchen and have a glut of sloes or damsons, it's worth considering making your own gin/cordial which you can bottle up into teeny bottles. Finish them with a luggage label scrawled with your guests' names. You'll have fun making it and could even save a bottle to toast to each other on your 1st anniversary.
Ideas for wedding favours: Colour Pop Bottles: Image by Style Me Pretty // Pretty Champagne Bottles via Five Fifteen // Lemonade Bottles via Cecelina Tornberg Photography // Pink Champagne by Leslee Mitchell Photography // Gold Champagne by Arielle Doneson Photography // Hendricks Gin by Ann-Kathrin Koch Photography // Jager Shot by Kerrie Mitchell Photography // Sloe Gin by John Barwood Photography

Grow me

With the desire for more sustainable living in our day-to-day lives, it's no surprise that we've seen a huge surge in the popularity of eco-friendly wedding favour ideas that use recycled materials and natural components. If we're recycling, growing our own, and attempting to be carbon-neutral, there's no reason why we shouldn't apply the same principles to our wedding day too. Gifts of seeds in brown paper packages customised with a sweet message and plants potted up in terracotta or antiqued pots, lovingly placed at each table. We're seeing more and more of these green gifts and we think it's fantastic!

Double-duty wedding favours

These green gifts are, in my opinion, the perfect example of double-duty wedding favours – personalised treats for guests that double up as a place name too, all whilst adding interest and vibrancy to the tablescape at the reception itself. Presentation is key when it comes to nailing this particular theme. Burlap wraps around conventional pots add a rustic twist, recycled tin cans add an industrial vibe (just make sure you drill some drainage holes in the bottom), and everyday seed packets are taken to the next levels if presented in a battered wheelbarrow - perfect for the gardeners amongst you. Not only is this type of favour kind on the pocket, but folks then feel honoured that you’ve taken the time and effort to really provide something special for them on your big day.

Ideas for wedding favours: Burlap Wrapped Plant: Image by Live Eco // Wheelbarrow via Jason and Anna Photography // Tin Can via Jessica Reeve Photography // Individual Green Favours by Diane Hu Photography // Stacked up Plants by Adriana Morais Photography // Place Setting by Amy Fanton Photography // Seed Packet by Wedding In A Teacup // Mini Succulent by Ann-Kathrin Koch Photography

Use me

You can't beat a favour that has some use after the confetti has blown away and the last of the fizz has been consumed. Favours that have an element of longevity, much like the green and gorgeous favour ideas above, always seem so much more budget-friendly from a cost-per-use perspective. I love the idea of customised pencils – inscribe them with your wedding date or even a phrase that means something to you as a couple and then ask your guests to fill up your guestbook with their new writing implements. If you're feeling flush then you could also pair the pencils up with a small notebook too. And if you're a summer bride, provide fun shades for each of your guests and a personalised camera for the table so they can snap photos of other friends and family wearing them.

Winter vibes

Marrying in the winter? Why not hand pour candles into mini jars and garnish with evergreens for a romantic flourish? Bottles of bubbles go down well with big and little kids alike. Again, opt for customised designs to provide the personal touch. I love these vintage inspired clothes pegs in the moodboard below, it's not something I've seen before. On my own wedding day I gave my guests antique champagne saucers that I'd collected over the course of my planning journey and five years on, they're still talking about them which makes me feel all gooey inside.

Ideas for wedding favours: Pencils: Image by Knot & Bow // Sunny Shades via Cassidy Brooke Photography // Champagne Saucer by Ann-Kathrin Koch Photography // Clothes Pegs by Michelle Boyd Photography // Bubbles by Therese Winberg Photography // Candles by Evermine

Eat Me

Typically wedding favours do tend to centre around those of the food variety and my own experience is no exception. You name it, I’ve had it – we’re talking macaroons, sweets, fudge, and jam. Not anything savoury as yet though. All utterly delicious and universally loved by guests and happy couples alike. Lately though, I’ve seen more unusual takes on the foodie theme, no doubt inspired by our cousins over the pond, including everything from s'mores kits, pickles in customised jars, bags of coffee beans, and even specially picked tea. I love how couples are becoming more inventive with the gifts they share with their guests.

Foodie ideas

If you're lacking ideas for wedding favours, why not look to the season you're marrying in? For a summer wedding, a tiny punnet of fresh cherries would look adorable in a customised paper bag or punnet like in the moodboard above here. Equally, Christmas nuptials call for a tin of a mulled wine mix and a homemade mince pie in a sweet box. I'm always smitten with foodie favours that have been set up as part of the overall wedding decor. Display of jars of jam for example, paper bags of almonds and cellophaned fancies piled up in towers. Don’t feel that you are obliged to place these treats at guests’ place settings – instead, showcase them wherever you feel they will be shown off to their maximum advantage. Add the final flourish to your favours by taking the time to customise them with your names and your wedding date. For jars of jam or honey it's worth investing in some bespoke labels or stickers which you can apply to a standard jar and immediately they become something special. For my own wedding, I opted for sugared almonds – yes such a cliché but I love them – and popped them into metallic bags that were attached to my guests' name tags shaped like a shield. It just made a conventional wedding favour that little bit different.

Ideas for wedding favours: Almonds via Evermine // Coke Favour via Elyse Hall Photography // S'mores via Wilkie // Pickle Favours by 100 Layer Cake // Dark Pickles by Nordica Photography // Coffee Beans by Mullers Photo // Cherries by Chantal Andrea Photography // Honey by Anushé Low Photography

Ideas For Wedding Favours - That Your Guests Will Actually Love

Lauren Gautier-Ollerenshaw