Wedding favours are small gifts that you and your new spouse give to your guests as a token of gratitude for being there on your big day. It’s your way of saying thank you and for you to give a little back to your family and friends.
While wedding favours are small and usually inexpensive (don’t worry, you don’t have to gift everyone an iPad), depending on the number of guests you’ve invited, the costs can add up. If your favours cost £3 each and 80 guests are coming to your wedding, the favours alone will cost £240.
In the UK, the average amount spent by couples on wedding favours is £158, which might not sound too bad. But, with the average wedding costing £20,775, it can be hard to justify spending even the smallest amount.
The good news is, there are plenty of ways to save money on wedding favours so you don’t have to spend even close to the UK average. In this post, we’re going to explore the many ways you can save money on wedding favours and still give your guests a token gift of appreciation.
Can you get away with not giving your guests a wedding favour?
There’s nothing set in stone that says you need to give your guests a favour when they come to your wedding. Have you ever been to two weddings that were exactly the same? Every wedding is different, and if one of the ways you’d like your wedding to be different is by not giving favours, then that’s fine.
After all, your guests aren’t coming to your wedding because they know they’re going to get a little treat or keepsake – they’re coming to watch you get married and take part in the celebrations. A favour is a small gesture from you to say thank you, and while it’s a tradition that many couples look to uphold, you shouldn’t feel pressured to if it doesn’t fit within your budget or isn’t something you’re interested in.
10 ways to save money on wedding favours
If you’re keen to offer wedding favours, but you’re conscious about your budget, there are plenty of ways you can save money. Below are 10 tips and tricks for paying less for your wedding favours. You might also want to read our comprehensive guide on how to save money on your wedding, for even more cost-cutting information.
1. Make your own wedding favours
If you have the time and creativity, DIY favours are a fantastic way to save money. There are so many options available for DIY favours, which means you can make whatever suits you, your interests and the theme of your wedding.
Do you love baking? Homemade fudge or honeycomb is quick to make and the ingredients are relatively inexpensive. Do you make homemade jewellery? Charm bracelets or pin badges make for fantastic, low-cost keepsakes.
Use your creative side to come up with ideas for favours you can do yourself. It can also be a fun pre-wedding activity for you and your spouse-to-be to do together.
2. Offer edible favours
Chewy sweets, mints, boiled candy, candy floss, marshmallows, hot chocolate… the list of possibilities for edible favours go on and on. Not only are edible favours huge crowd-pleasers (many will snack on them even before their starters at the breakfast), but they’re also generally a super affordable option. Plus, many edible favours can be made and put together at home, which saves you even more money.
3. Buy your favours in bulk
Rather than offering a range of favours, there’s nothing wrong with ordering in bulk and giving all of your guests the same. So, browse wholesale retailers online or utilise that Costco membership and buy a job lot or two. Something like a small bag of retro sweets is more than enough to get your guests excited (especially the kids!), and doing this will save you a ton of money.
4. Forgo the personalisation
It can be tempting to look for highly personalised favours so your guests have something to hold on to and remember your big day by. Keyrings, mugs, coasters and magnets all make for fantastic favours, but personalisation can really bump up the cost. Your wedding will already have plenty of personalisation, so why not forgo it with your favours and use the budget elsewhere?
5. Go minimalist
You don’t have to go crazy and give your guests much – even just a tiny token will be much appreciated. So, embrace simplicity and go minimalist. Just one small, thoughtful and meaningful favour is all you need – for example, you can pick up a packet of Love Heart sweets for 25p. This also means you’ll pay way less!
6. DIY packaging
If you want to offer your guests something handmade or personalised, why not save a bit of money by making the packaging yourself? That way, you get to gift them something unique but still save a bit of money. For example, sites like TEMU offer 100 small gift bags for less than £4, which is an absolute bargain.
7. Enlist the help of a friend or family member
Do you have a talented friend or family member who could use their skills to help you create unique wedding favours? When you’re getting married, your friends and family will usually be happy to help where they can, and getting stuck in with the favours is a brilliant way to get them involved. As a bonus, it also means you’ll spend less money! Just remember to buy them a drink or two at the reception to say thanks.
8. Donate money to charity
A great way to control how much you spend, but still do something to show your gratitude to your guests, is to donate money to a charity that means a lot to you. Then, you can print a notice to put up at the reception to let your guests know what you’ve done. Your guests won’t mind one bit if they have to go without a bonus gift if they know some money has been donated to a great cause instead.
9. Choose unique, low-cost favours
If you use a bit of creativity, there are ways you can come up with really unique favours that cost pennies to put together. For example, you could buy a big box of wildflower seeds for £20 and then gift them in small bags with a homemade label. That way, you have thoughtful, one-of-a-kind favours for 50 guests and it costs less than £30.
10. Repurpose your wedding flowers
At the end of the night, when things start to wrap up, you may start to wonder what you’re going to do with all the flower arrangements you have that made your venue so beautiful. Well, one option is for you to repurpose them as wedding favours. That way, you don’t have to worry about where you’re going to put all those flowers, and your guests get to take home some wonderful (and expensive!) flowers that will last for at least another week.
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