You don’t need to spend a lot of money on wedding favors. If you are on a budget, there are several ideas that you can easily make yourself
To make potpourri sachets, cut circles from pieces of tulle or lace fabric. Sprinkle a handful of potpourri in the center of the circle, then gather the edges into a topknot and tie it securely with a ribbon. If you would like them personalized, print the names onto a piece of parchment paper, then cut the names out, punch a hole in each name card, and tie it to the sachet with the ribbon.
You can also use the idea above, but fill it with seashells or candy instead of potpourri. Some candy stores sell candy in bulk. You can choose from many different kinds for your wedding favors. Some dollar stores sell packages of pretty soap. These small bars of scented soap can be used as wedding favors. Candles are also a nice favor. No one will know that you bought ten of them for a dollar. These pouch favors double as wonderful place cards if you personalize them.
You can make your own soap to give as wedding favors. Handmade soap is not difficult to make and is very inexpensive. You can make a gallon of homemade soap for about $5-8. Check out my recipe for making your own soap from scratch.
Are you having an Asian themed wedding? Even if you are not, you may like this idea. Fold paper cranes from beautiful origami paper and make them your wedding favors. They also make wonderful place card holders. You can fold extra cranes in various sizes to use for decorations at your wedding or as cake toppers. Paper cranes are considered good luck.
Some candy stores sell heart-shaped lollipops, especially around Valentine’s Day. Stock up on them when you can. With a simple ribbon and a name card, they make adorable wedding favors.
Fruit makes a nice wedding favor. If pears are in season, you could buy lots of them one or two days before your wedding. Tie a ribbon around each one with a couple of plastic rings tied in the bow along with a note that says “Thank You (from a great pair).”
If you are electronically inclined you can try a cute idea I saw at a wedding I recently took photos for. The bride and groom made a compilation of their favorite songs at home and put them onto CDs. They hand-stamped them with photos of themselves that they printed off of their computer and gave them away in paper CD sleeves.
Have you seen those personalized candy bar favors that are sold online? You can make them yourself. All you need to do is type what you would like and print it out onto sheets of nice parchment paper. You can also sometimes print pictures or clipart as well. After printing them, cut the paper up into labels. Remove the regular wrapper from the candy bar and add your own. You can secure them to the back with just a dot of glue.
Christmas tree ornaments make delightful favors that guests can keep forever. Buy the shiny glass balls in packs and use gold or silver glitter glue or a paint pen to decorate them. Some clear glass and plastic ornaments are hollow and you can put things inside. Add a little tinsel, glitter, or fake snow and a couple of plastic wedding rings for a cute favor. Don’t forget to write your name and the date of the wedding on each ornament.
For a springtime wedding, make some cute flower pens. Remove the plastic cap from the end of a plain Bic pen and insert the stem of a silk flower inside. Starting at the bottom, wrap green florist’s tape around the pen so that the entire pen is covered, all the way up to the flower. Secure with a little glue if necessary. You can use lots of different kinds of flowers and display them in little vases on each table instead of using real flower displays to decorate.
Can you sew? Handkerchiefs make wonderful wedding favors. Use very thin cotton cloth and sew the edges tightly. If your sewing machine is capable of embroidery, you can embroider the receiver’s initials or a flower pattern on each handkerchief.
Party crackers make neat favors. Save up your toilet paper rolls to make these. Fill a toilet paper roll with small items such as candy and wrap them with a piece of gift wrap or tissue paper. Tie the ends with a ribbon and add a place card if you like.
For a springtime wedding, use flower bulbs as wedding favors. You don’t need to wrap them at all. Simply tie a beautiful ribbon around each one.
For a Christmas themed wedding, give tiny sprigs of mistletoe as gifts. Your guests will have lots of fun holding the mistletoe over each other and the bride and groom. Simply tie a pretty ribbon at the top of each sprig so that guests can take them home and hang them over their doors for the holidays. Mistletoe can be picked fresh at any time of year but it is easiest to find in winter when the leaves have already dropped from the trees.
Make pretty bookmarks by pressing dried flowers between two sheets of clear shelf paper. This takes some work to prevent bubbles. Punch a hole in the top and tie with a silk ribbon.
Wishing stones are a lovely keepsake. You will need some polished river rocks and a gold or silver paint pen. Paint a word on each stone. You could use inspirational words such as love, beauty, inspiration, forever, dance, wish, dream, or hope. Give the stones plain or wrap them in tulle. If you like, you can write your name and the date of your wedding on the back.
