Do Yourself a Wedding Favour—A Different Perspective

By Jennifer Clark
Guelph, May 25, 2007

Be honest now, you think the toughest part’s over, don’t you? Thought you’d never survive those sleepless nights preparing the perfect poem, but you did. Thought your credit card would max out when you purchased the ring, but it didn’t. Thought you’d never work up enough guts to get down on bended knee in the restaurant, but you managed somehow. And she said yes. Now it’s just sit back, relax and let the bride-to-be, two excited mothers and half a dozen aunts take over, right?

Huh. Yeah. Well.

See, the thing about the fairer sex is, most have been daydreaming about their wedding from the time they were old enough to say, "I want." In every little girl’s daydream, the weather’s always lovely, ice swan sculptures don’t melt and the jazz quartet never plays out of key. In short…the perfect wedding.

Thus, one must really not be too hard on the bride when reality serves up a host of wedding planning nightmares. While crisis management of the handholding sort is admirable, you’ll certainly earn more brownie points if you are able to offer more. Since most grooms aren’t too bothered with details, imagine the appreciation when you offer to look into a specific area of the wedding.

Our suggestion? Wedding favours. Offer to take charge of this conventionally female-coordinated aspect of the plans. Fret not; it won’t make you any less of a groom either. In fact, we dare wager that if you pull this off well enough, your bride will be blushing for all the right reasons.

Given the fascinating (or alarming) array of choices in the market, a good place to start with would be to check with your bride. Perhaps she already has a particular something in mind. If you’re lucky, it’ll be something as manageable as candles in glass holders. If you’re luckier, she could very well want each holder to be hand painted. Perfecting the latter request would be a feat worthy of much female adoration.

Should you have a free hand in deciding, you could choose to draw inspiration from the wedding theme. Wedding planners say destination weddings are the latest rage. So, if you are planning a sunset beach wedding, you could look at favours such as hand soaps in the shape of seashells. Or if you’re the practical sort, citronella-scented tealight candles that guests can light once the sun goes down. Not only will the candles create a fairytale ambience, the bugs will be kept at bay too!

 

Even if no particular theme has been selected, understanding your bride’s psyche will enable you to select the ideal wedding token. If she adores the great outdoors and all things natural, consider favours in the form of tiny pots filled with a decorative houseplant or favours that incorporate recycled paper. However, if she’s quite the trendsetter, go for fun favours such as miniature confectionary versions of the bridal couple.

Your bride will also be that much more starry eyed if you give some thought to presentation and display. For example, personalized favours would show the extra effort you’ve put in. This can be done by engraving the individual guest’s name on the favours or by attaching a handwritten tag. Alternatively, you may want to have the bridal couple’s names and wedding date printed on. Also, bear in mind this simple rule when it comes to packaging—complement rather than compete with the wedding colors.

While you won’t go far wrong with the classic method of getting children to distribute the favours from baskets, a slight stretch of the imagination could work wonders. Most table settings provide for centerpieces but you could choose to make this out of your favours’ display too. Not only will your guests have a conversation piece, think how much you’ll save! This works especially well with packaged favours—stack up the boxes to make a centerpiece and guests can take them home after the reception. However, if your bride (or her mother) absolutely can’t do without that gorgeous centerpiece, then another brainwave is to use a favours tree. Just because you’re not having a Christmas wedding doesn’t mean you can’t put the family evergreen to good use! Be warned though, this is only practical if the gifts are lightweight enough to be strung up. Or you could always revert to another firm favourite—hang favours on the reception chairs. You’ll have more space on the table for the edibles while dressing up the chairs too.

Need more ideas? Scour the Internet for relevant sites or if the budget is so inclined, talk to the professionals. Be brave! Do the research and bounce thoughts off your married pals. Even a casual chat by the water cooler could unearth fresh ideas. Then, gather around enough hands to make light work of the packaging process. While we don’t promise your buddies will ungrudgingly trade their Buds and EPL for a pair of scissors and French lace, close female friends of the bride are usually more easily persuaded.

So, give it a go! When you look back, you and your bride will always have this to remember—that you made the extra effort to contribute. And if after all that, the wedding favours turn out a few brushstrokes short of perfect, hold her hand, gaze into her eyes and whisper, "It’s okay, darling. They say the marriage is more important than the wedding anyway."

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