Favours For
Keeps
For many modern-day couples, the classic macaron – while extremely delicious – has become a predictable wedding staple. Jacqueline Maya investigates how to choose unique wedding favours that your guests will not only adore, but also utilise and appreciate for many years to come.
Image Credit: STUDIOMAX
To ensure your parting gifts are personal, practical and flavoursome, Melbourne Wedding & Bride explores where couples can look for inspiration, how to personalise wedding favours to suit your theme and individual style, and reveals the latest trends in the industry so these keepsakes aren’t left at the altar – or on the dining table.
Presents For The Present
When deciding what kind of wedding favour to give to your guests, you should first determine the permanency of the gift. Do you want to give them something they can keep in the long term, or something they can enjoy on the day? If you’re after a fleeting wedding favour that brings instant joy, it’ll need to be entertaining, interesting or immediately consumable.
For those who can’t resist leaving their guests with something sweet, filling paper bags with your favourite confectionery is a perfect temporary treat. For a vintage touch, consider hiring a sweet cart for the event so they can choose their own pick ‘n’ mix.
Forever Favours
If you’d prefer to give an everlasting gift, it should be aesthetically pleasing, practical or useable in the future! A handmade sachet of your favourite flowering seeds is a lovely long-lasting option that will keep on growing. Similarly, mini succulents, small potted plants or micro herbs are equally charming gifts that are not only eco-friendly, but will remind your loved ones of your wedding day as the seedlings grow. However, not all of your guests will have a green thumb or the space for larger plants. Be sure to select easy-care or hearty varieties that won’t require a lot of room to grow.
Giftspiration
The most accessible resource couples have for finding all kinds of wedding inspiration are social media sites such as Pinterest, Etsy and Instagram. A lot of these sites allow you to create vision boards, favourite items, and bookmark posts of interest, creating your very own digital scrapbook. However, in addition to these external sources, the best inspiration for your bomboniere should come directly from your own life experiences, individual tastes and passions.
Unique Treats
Your bomboniere should reflect both of your personalities and styles as a couple. While engraved take-home items such as wine glasses, candles or chopsticks may seem like a great idea, remember these are for your guests, not for you. You may think family and friends would love items such as these, but in reality, they can be quite tacky and may clash with their existing décor, leaving them to collect dust in cupboards.
However, you can still personalise wedding favours without them being too gaudy or clichéd. If you and your partner love board games, handing out little bags of scrabble pieces for your guests to play with during or after the wedding is an adorable yet entertaining gift for all ages.
Similarly, if you and your other half are mad for superheroes, you can easily incorporate geek-chic details such as comic book-related wedding favours. Perhaps you or your partner both enjoy creative projects, so crafting a picture book about how the two of you met, or how you got engaged, is a really sentimental gift that guests are sure to appreciate.
Full Theme Ahead
Themed weddings not only provide the chance to showcase your shared interests as a couple, but they also give you the ability to really get creative. For all you Harry Potter fans out there, create your own polyjuice potions by filling tiny bottles of your favourite liquor, such as whisky, gin or tequila. Regardless of what house they’re in, your guests might have a bit too much fun with this option.
Further, if you’re getting married on or near a specific holiday, you can tailor your wedding favours to suit the occasion. Artisanal chocolate eggs would be perfect if your wedding is on or near Easter, while Halloween-inspired sinfully sweet treats are sure to bring out the inner ghoul in all of your guests.
Practical Magic
While gifts are often thought of as ‘luxuries’, they can also serve a practical purpose. If you’re planning a wedding in the warmer months, keep your guests cool with a handmade fan, which can also double as a wedding program. Tote bags
are another extremely useful and durable gift, which have lots of potential for customisation. It’s highly likely that most of your guests will be enjoying a tipple or two on your wedding day. To ensure there aren’t any sore heads the next day, provide your guests with custom-made hangover kits. You can fill them with all the essentials, including paracetamol, Lucozade, eye masks and perhaps your favourite snack.
Many couples are also choosing to donate to their favourite charity in lieu of traditional wedding favours. For added sentimental value, opt for handwritten cards explaining why your charity of choice has such significance to you both.
Favours With Flavour
If you and your partner are self-confessed foodies, the chances your bomboniere will be food-related is highly likely. To make sure your wedding favours tantalise tastebuds, consider alternatives to the traditional treats.
Due to their long shelf life, preserves such as honey, jam or chutneys are perfect thank-you presents for your guests. For those who want to spice things up, leave your guests little bottles of your favourite spices. Alternatively, you can easily source spices from markets or bulk-buy wholefood stores and pour them into jars yourself. Add a personalised label for an extra special touch. But why stop at spices? Mini condiments such as ketchup, hot sauce and infused olive oil are also becoming popular wedding favours.
Your bombonerie doesn’t have to be the most expensive to hold value. Sometimes the simplest gifts are the most thoughtful, and after all, it really is the thought that counts. Further, it’s also important to have a budget in place, and that you’re realistic about what you’re financially capable of.
Personalised wedding favours are a wonderful way to express thanks to your family and friends for making your day as memorable as possible. If you embrace your creative side and individuality, as well as take the time to plan ahead, these beautiful wedding mementos will be cherished by those you hold dear, on the day and well into the future.