Weddingbee Blog

I love love love my match boxes!!!! They are so cute!! However, I’m not a huge fan of my candles. The candles are actually a decent size, and I love the smell of them, but the personalized stickers didn’t come out so well. I used the same “double happiness” chinese symbol that I used in the invitations, but in a different style of calligraphy. I’m wishing I used the same one, so that it would be more consistent. I don’t know what I was thinking.

However, each favor came out to less than $3 per person, and you can’t beat that! I’ll just have to live with the stickers.

Here they are individually. I chose the gold organza bags because it was the only color that most closely matched my color scheme. In hindsight, I probably should have gone with just plain white. Oh well.

Here they are all wrapped up to go. The organza bags I bought have a 1 inch square bottom to it, so that you can stand it up straight.

Now all I need to do is make cute little favor tags, and tie it to the strings.

Paper-Source has teamed up with the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Illinois to bring you Wedding Wishes Letterpress Favor Cards.

These table cards can be used in place of favors (also available in favor card size):

or included with your invitations.

More designs are available. Call 888-Paper-1 to order.

thanks daisy028!

Blue Rainbow Design contacted me and has generously offered our readers a 5% promotional code. YAY~!

This special offer does not have any minimum purchase required and has been issued by their Marketing department especially for us. Double YAY~! I’m not gonna tell you how, but this code has special meaning to me~! Oooh, I’m a happy bride tonight.

BRD100706MS

I saw these adorable stickers from Tinyprints featured on Hostess with the Mostess - a new blog I discovered via decor8 (another one of my daily reads). These pretty designs are the perfect way to personalize and jazz up your wedding favors.

Tinyprints even lets you play around with fonts and ink colors and print preview it all online. 24 2.5×2.5 stickers go for $20; 34 different designs to choose from.

Thanks to Mrs. Bee’s post about free samples, I received and fell in love with the Perfect Pair salt and pepper shakers:

Unfortunately, My Wedding Favor’s prices are not fantastic:

1 - 11 Price: $3.29
12 - 23 Price: $3.09
24 - 47 Price: $2.92
48 + Price: $2.75

Blue Ribbon Design beats their prices with a stick:

1 + Price: $ 2.85
12 + Price: $ 2.35
24 + Price: $ 2.18
48 + Price: $ 1.98

This website also offer FREE personalized tags:

Diamond Heart Circle

TAG DESIGN OPTIONS :

Baroque Garden

Classical Contemporary

Browsing their website, to my delight, I also found:

for the whopping low price of:

1 + Price: $ 1.24
25 + Price: $ 1.14
49 + Price: $ 1.08
96 + Price: $ 0.98

The salt and pepper shakers are far more practical but I HEART APPLES~!!!!! what to do, what to do?

I cannot decide about favors for the wedding. Originally I had thought we would do cookie favors. I actually said I would BAKE Mexican wedding cookies the week of the wedding and package them up all cute like because I am that nuts. More sensible people (my Mom) talked me out of this idea, thankfully. I also loved the idea of the boxed cookies by One Girl Cookies (Brooklyn represent!) so I thought that might be a good plan.

However, I recently read some wedding article that suggested if you want to cut back on wedding costs, don’t do favors because it is an easy way to make things add up quickly when you are trying to stick to a budget (that’s us!). This same article also mentioned that favors are more likely to be left on the table at the end of the night than make it home with your guests.

“I would NEVER leave cookies on the table!” I thought, as I defended my favor plan to myself. Then last weekend we went to a wedding in Ohio and sure enough at the end of the night, the delicious little candy favors the bride had so thoughtfully created were all stranded at empty place settings as the guests headed back to their hotel rooms empty handed. “For shame!” I thought, but then I realized this is the reality of favors.

So now I am faced with the decision, go with the cookies and sadly collect them at the end of the night as guests abandon them or make a donation to a charity of our choice? That sort of ruins the joke I was going to play on my Republican cousins by leaving a note on their plates that read: “A donation has been made in your name for the Hillary 2008 campaign” and then hand them their cookies after a few raised eyebrows. However, some organization could probably use a real donation more than our guests could use some baked goods, no matter how crazy delicious the cookies might be.

So folks, my question is: what type of favor would you not leave on the table at the end of a wedding?

I got this email from Mr. Butterfly just now. He did all of the research and came up with the ideas all on his own!!! *tear*

Hi —

I was thinking about groomsmen gifts and I thought maybe we try something a little more creative? First, each groomsmen would get one of those silver plated business card case holders with their full name on it, like below:

This is $20.95 which includes the cost of engraving.

Then, when they open up the case, they each find a set of personalized business cards with their role in the wedding. The design of each business card would reflect what they do or their personality. So for example,

(Matt is in accounting.)

(John likes cars.)

We could even play with the title…like Chief Executive Groomsman, or Senior Vice President of Ushering

100 cards costs $5.95 to print. So total groomsman gift would be under $30.

What do you think?

I’m so touched, I think I might cry.

I think compasses are so cool. In fact I think every cell phone should come with a compass so Manhattanites can know which direction they’re facing at all times.

engravable Dalvey Pocket Compass - $65

A great idea for a unique groomsman’s gift.

I just ordered my 3 free samples over at My Wedding Favors. I’ll be giving them away on weddingbee of course!

Since hundreds of you probably ordered the free samples, I decided to check out the site and found some favors I’d like as a guest.

love beyond measure tape measures available in round or heart shapes - $1.50; leather photo bookmark - $.99

wine bottle charms (available in several other designs) - $3.00; sachet set - $4.50 (for a bridal shower)

mini snow globes - 6 for $18; just because I like ‘em.

Cute placecard holder ideas…

Ever since I started planning my wedding, my friend and I have been discussing what to give out for favors. Actually, we started discussing this before I was engaged. Yeah - I was one of those who started planning my wedding before the ring.

Anyway, just like invitations, there are so many choices when it comes to favors. Should I get something edible? Something people will actually use? How about a donation to a charity in their name? Or, combine the favor and place cards into one, and put the place cards in a small frame. I liked all of these ideas, but none of them really stood out to me.

Then I started reading about personalized match boxes, and how popular they are with the guests on some of the knot bios. Every time I go to a restaurant, if they have a match box (not a match book), I will take a handful. I love match boxes. I ran the idea by Mr. Butterfly, and he thought it was a great idea except for one thing. He thought that match boxes alone were not enough. So we decided to give away the match boxes with a personalized candle tin - that way, they “go” together.

So, onto researching prices. I think Miss Spider is rubbing off on me, because I created a simple comparison chart too!! I need at least 200 match boxes - 2 per guest plus some extras for me to keep. Then I need at least 100 candles - 1 per guest plus some extras again.

Party Innovations
200 match boxes for $113.50 = $0.57 per box

Weddingthings
200 match boxes for $150 = $0.75 per box

Party Block
200 match boxes for $99.80 = $0.50 per box

4imprint
150 candle tins (minimum order) for $347.50 = $2.32 per tin

Favor Online
100 candle tins for $149.00 (includes 10 cent charge per candle for personalized image) = $1.49 per tin

So, my final decision? 100 candles from Favor Online plus 200 match boxes from Party Block for a total price of $2.49 per guest (1 candle and 2 boxes). With shipping charges the price goes up to $2.68 per guest, but all in all, I think it’s a fantastic price!!

I will buy the match boxes and the candles, along with organza bags and some ribbon - and it’s a DIY project that even I can do! Favor Online also has an option to include organza bags for 35 cents each to hold the candles. I just have to call and find out if it’s big enough for me to stick two match books in it as well.

One more thing checked off from my list! Yay!

I met the lovely designer Tara Boone through my Ladies Who Launch meetings. Tara designs cosmetic bags, handbags, wallets and travel duffels in fun colorful prints. But my favorite fabric she carries is actually the sponged silver leather which has a gorgeous, super soft, distressed quality to it (I’ve seen the bag in person).

Tara’s work has been featured in New York’s high-end department stores, Daily Candy, countless fashion magazines, and tv programs. Her make-up bags and travel duffels would make wonderful gifts for bridesmaids or the bride-to-be!

These bride and groom pez dispensers would make adorable wedding favors! Kitschy, nostalgic, and fun. Unfortunately they’re one of the most popular pez designs, so these limited editions go for $30/set.

(image via: pezlist)

Forgoing the traditional flower and candle centerpieces, you can get really creative with centerpieces that double as favors. These are some wonderful ideas from Better Homes and Gardens.

Looking for a truly unique gift for your bridesmaids? Fragrance For You offers fragrances you customize yourself, label, then present in handmade Thai silk bags.

$16.11 for the first four, bulk discounts apply.

CD’s are a popular wedding favor, and increasingly nontraditional save the date and invitation. Cleartray offers beautiful and affordable CD’s, DVD’s, and packaging that you can customize with your own design.

Here are some wedding themed examples:

They offer the option of buying just the sleeves or the cd’s/dvd’s. What a fabulous presentation your friends and family are sure to love.