Are Wedding Favors Necessary?

This is going to be the shortest blog ever, because the answer is no. Wedding favors are not necessary.

I don't really know when this tradition came into existence, but if you think about it, it’s kinda messed up! You as the wedding couple are shelling out anywhere between $5,000 and $50,000 (and maybe even more) for all of your friends to come celebrate with you. You're feeding them, you’re providing them drinks, and then they want you to give them gifts as well? It doesn't really make sense to me! 

Wedding favors are traditionally seen as a way for the couple to express gratitude to their guests for coming to the wedding, as well as give their guests a physical reminder of the day. However, favors have progressively gotten out of control, and they’re getting to be bigger and more expensive. We’ve talked about ways to save money in other blogs, and the number one way to save money on the wedding is to get rid of your favors because people don't always take them home. Your guests may just forget about them and leave them there. Then, all of a sudden, you're stuck with 70 koozies that have your name on them – what are you going to do with those?

The money you spend on favors could instead be spent towards something that is actually going to affect your wedding day in a more substantial way, or going to help you and your guests enjoy your day as it’s happening. So what are your options? Why not hire a photo booth? You can pop it in at the reception space, they can get their photo taken and have it either printed or texted directly to themselves. So that's a way for a souvenir to happen that doesn’t leave you with a bunch of leftover items. If you are set on giving a tangible item to your guests, get something you can use, too! My favorite example of this is a couple who had little seed packets printed with their names and wedding date on them. Guests could take these home as favors, but if the couple ended up with extra, they just had fresh herbs whenever they wanted. Win-win!

If you’re loving these tips and you’re ready to boogie with me at your reception, get in touch!