Wedding Talks: Cheap Wedding Favors

Showing posts with label Cheap Wedding Favors. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

5 Simple Steps to Making Your Own Cheap Wedding Favors

If you think it's just too overwhelming to create and assemble your own cheap wedding favors, don't! Any bride can save herself literally hundreds of dollars if she follows these few simple steps needed to create and assemble wedding favors on her own. With a little bit of planning and effort, you'll find that you can do it too.

Step #1 - Decide your wedding favors budget.

Even when planning on assembling or making your own cheap wedding favors, you still need an idea of how much money you can spend. Let's say that you have 200 guests and you want to spend less than $1 for each, so you have a budget of $200. That's not a bad amount to spend on cheap wedding favors, and should be enough to let you make some very beautiful items.

Step #2 - Start early!

Making your own cheap wedding favors is going to involve a bit more planning, shopping, and work than if you simply picked out favors from a company online. Don't wait until the week before your wedding to make plans or to start shopping. As a matter of fact, you should probably start today, no matter how far off your wedding is! This way you'll be sure to finish and have your favors done in time for your big day, and keep yourself from some undue stress.

Step #3 - Decide what type of favors you want.

For cheap wedding favors, the best ideas usually involve buying something in bulk such as chocolates or Jordan almonds, and then assembling them into take-home packets of some sort. It might also mean purchasing less expensive items and then dressing them up somehow, such as small picture frames or boxes of bonbons that you wrap in silver wrapping.

The decision of which cheap wedding favors you select will be tied in with your budget. If you decide on those small boxes of bonbons, you need to figure the price of the chocolates, the wrapping paper, and anything else you need to put them together. If you want those Jordan almonds in take-home bags, you need to add up the cost of the almonds, the bags, and anything you use to tie the bags with, or personalized labels if you use those. It helps to do some comparison shopping for different ideas you have for cheap wedding favors, and then you can look at the costs for each item and make your decision from there.

Step #4 - Enlist some help.

Your bridesmaids and maid of honor may already be doing a lot of work for you to get ready for the big day, but you probably will need some help when it comes time to actually prepare those cheap wedding favors. It's too easy to assume that you can just zip through an assembly line of chocolate and bags and whatever else, but you'd be surprised how much time these things can take, and how frustrated you get. If your friends are already at their limit with responsibilities, ask your future mother-in-law or future sister-in-law or even the flower girls, if they're old enough. Chances are they would love to pitch in for an evening and see what they can get done.

Step #5 - Make your plan, and stick to it.

Some people are just very hypercritical of their own work, and it's easy to start panicking and assume that your guests will know that these are cheap wedding favors or that you should have opted for something else. But remember, your guests will probably be happy with whatever you choose to give them, and chances are you're just feeling nervous overall. Relax, work through your plan, and reassure yourself that your choice of favors is the right one.

About the Author: Linda Ellison is a freelance writer who specializes in trends and lifestyles. Her previously published fiction works, including the Dana Ford Mystery Series, have been on bookshelves nationwide. Visit www.FavorsAndWraps.com to read more about the latest trends in wedding favors.

5 Quick Suggestions for Cheap Wedding Favors

Many brides wonder if cheap wedding favors will look, well, cheap! But in reality, there are some really simple things you can do to either purchase, dress up, or make your own cheap wedding favors that will leave a lasting impression with your guests. Here are 5 quick and simple suggestions:

Small photo frames.

Go to any dollar store or discount store and do a little rummaging, and you're sure to find small photo frames that are actually quite lovely, and which will fit the theme of your wedding. For instance, if you're having an autumn wedding, opt for nice wooden frames. For more traditional weddings, there are probably silver or gold frames. Small photo frames are a great option as cheap wedding favors because virtually everyone can use them - on their desk at work, on a small corner of their nightstand, or on a bookshelf.

Wooden boxes.

Most craft stores carry small wooden boxes that are either hinged or have a matching lid. These make lovely and cheap wedding favors if you paint or stain them, or are still affordable if they're already finished. Most people have a use for small boxes as storage for their desk or drawers. If you really want to dress them up, print out a personal message in a lovely font and leave it inside. While wooden boxes may seem like cheap wedding favors, they're really very unique and quite practical, and some stores even carry heart-shaped ones for an added touch.

Boxes of chocolates.

Sure, you can spend hundreds and even thousands on designer chocolates or bonbons, but this isn't really necessary. More affordable brands such as Russell Stover, Whitman's, or Fannie Mae are still very tasty, and most have small sample boxes you can purchase for around a dollar each. Or, buy some plain boxes from the stationery or gift supply store and some chocolates from a local baker and assemble your own. These types of cheap wedding favors look better when they're dressed up with some nice wrapping paper and ribbon, which is also usually very affordable.

Bags of candy.

We're not talking about something you buy at the store but bags of chocolates, Jordan almonds, mints, or another candy that you put together yourself. Assembling these types of things are always great options for cheap wedding favors because you save so much money by doing it yourself. If there's a bulk food store near you, get some prices on a few pounds of candy, along with the type of bag you want. Tulle or netting is good, and can be tied with a silk ribbon or one made from crystal beads for an added touch; both can be found at a fabric store. You can use wax paper bags and seal them with a personalized label. When selecting this option for a cheap wedding favor, you might want to purchase just enough for one or two bags and then see how much candy goes into each bag - for example, if it's 4 ounces per bag, and there's 16 ounces in a pound, you know that a pound of candy will fill up four bags. If you have 150 guests, you will need about 40 pounds of candy (it's always a good idea to purchase a bit more than you need just to be sure). If the candy is $2 per pound, that's $80 for the candy alone.

Remember, even cheap wedding favors can start to add up, so do some comparison shopping and crunch some numbers before you actually make a decision.

Personalized candy bar wrappers.

If you choose the right personalized candy bar wrappers from the right company, you're sure to find ones that are perfect for the theme of your wedding and that can be kept in a scrapbook or album for years to come. They work even better as cheap wedding favors if you buy just the wrapper and assemble the bars yourself. They can also be used in place of a centerpiece if you arrange them in a circle in the middle of the table, or can dress up a table without a centerpiece, saving you even more money.

With a little bit of thought and imagination, you'll see that you can find just the right cheap wedding favors that will be appreciated and treasured by your guests.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Some Great Options for Cheap Wedding Favors

The latest statistics show that many couples in the U.S. spend on average around $20,000 for their wedding, including the dress, the tuxedos, the catering, transportation, and so many other things. For many, $20,000 is about half a year’s salary, and all of that for just one day! Yes, it may be the most special day of your life, but still, many couples wonder just how they can perhaps trim a few things in order to bring down that bill – without compromising the beauty of their special day.

Finding some cheap wedding favors that don’t seem all that cheap can be one such way. Wedding favors are meant to be a great way for your guests – and for you – to have a keepsake of your special day, and while you want them to be beautiful and expressive, they don’t need to be expensive either.

The First Step to Choosing Cheap Wedding Favors

The first step in picking out some cheap wedding favors is to think about the theme or design of your wedding. If it’s something more traditional, you want favors that reflect this; if your wedding is more casual, then you may have more options.

Cheap wedding favors for a traditional wedding may include small candy dishes, picture frames, or candlesticks. For more casual wedding, you could tie the favors in with the theme – a beach wedding may be a bag of seashells, an outdoor wedding may be seed packets.

The Next Step – Assembling Them Yourself

The next step is to consider what types of cheap wedding favors you can make or at least assemble yourself. Tulle bags full of Hershey’s Kisses or Jordan Almonds are always a favorite. Do you bake? Homemade sugar cookies in the shape of hearts wrapped in pink wax paper is a special treat.

There are also many items you can purchase if you don’t want edible favors, for example, small soaps, key chains in the shape of a heart, and coasters are good ideas.

Another suggestion for cheap wedding favors is personalized candy bar wrappers. Many companies that offer these products will allow you to just purchase the wrappers and foil by themselves, and you can buy your own candy bars and wrap them yourself, saving you quite a bit of money.

Most companies that offer candy bar wrappers have a variety of designs available that will match your wedding’s theme. You can check leading wedding websites such as The Knot, Wed Alert, and Favors and Wraps; these also have personalized wrappers available as well, and of course their inventory is always being updated with new items.

So if you’re looking to trim a few dollars from your wedding bill but don’t want to look as if you’ve compromised anything, cheap wedding favors may be an option, if you’re willing to take some time to shop and compare.