One of my coworkers recently asked me a question that’s been popping up quite a bit due to the economy:
“Do I really, absolutely have to have wedding favors?”
Typically I tell them, it’s your wedding, do what you feel like it.
But wouldn’t it be considered rude not to have them? Everyone else had favors at their weddings and it seems rude if I don’t provide them.
Again, honey, it’s your wedding.
Personally, I don’t see the big fuss with wedding favors. Back in 2006, when a huge chunk of friends got married, I remember a fist fight damn near broke out because two mutual friends wanted the same favors. Another wedding I went to (also in ’06), I got an ice cream scoop with hearts on it (and yes, the reception was ice cream themed. Not that I cared, seeing as I love me some ice cream). I will admit the ice cream scoop was cute, but it broke after a few months.
If you really want to leave your guests a souvenir, the one item that I keep hearing repeated is the wedding invitations. Everybody saves the invitation. Belles like to put them in the scrapbook, while the gents like to put them in a memory box/drawer (a majority of my 20-something guy friends admit to having one).
While I’m thinking about my guy friends, one of my absolute dearest friends Alex (we’ve known each other since the third grade), asked me to pass along a question:
What’s up with the personalized wedding glasses?
The personalized wedding flutes/steins/whatever came up as one of the reasons why people didn’t see the need for favors. Several friends mentioned they never bothered to take the personalized glasses home, usually not knowing what to do with them, or afraid kids or pets would knock them over. I will openly admit to having mine in a box in my storage unit. However, I do have everyone’s wedding invitations saved in my scrapbook, along with photos from the wedding.
The favors that folks seem to like the most are anything edible, and CDs that have songs special to the couple. I’ve gotten several of these over the years, and I really enjoy them. One of my favorite things to do with the CDs is to add them to my iPod, underneath the album of “Friend’s Wedding!” The song my sorority sister danced with her husband to for the first time is a better reminder of the wedding than an ice cream scoop.
(I will also openly admit to putting the songs in a playlist on iTunes named “Nostalgia.” This includes songs from the weddings, songs that really remind of times in college, a song my sorority may have danced to for a Greek Week skit, etc., and when I’m feeling down, I’ll listen to it.) (Don’t laugh, I know others who do it too!)
In the end, if you want favors, go for it. It’s your wedding! But if you’re worried about money, don’t worry about them, put it somewhere else.
Tags: Budget, CDs, invitations, personalized, wedding favors, Weddings, wine glasses
