What are the best and worst wedding favors you have ever received? I want to give something that people will actually use and not just throw away. Also looking for DIY favor ideas if possible. Thank you!

Hi Misty,

We made chocolate caramel apples for our wedding. I wanted to make something that people would eat so hopefully they wouldn't go to waste. We did make more than we needed so ended up with a lot left over, but I did get a lot of compliments on them after the wedding. I am a fan of the candy bar, but like the cookie bar even more so for some reason! We almost went with a donation to animals in the name of our guests because we are huge animal lovers. I love the pink envelope project too for a donation option to benefit breast cancer awareness.

My Favorite Favor: was a cd that my friend made with songs chosen by each of the wedding party. It was cool because it gives you a mixed cd of different songs that you may not have chosen. Oh wait, we did get a towel monogrammed with the bride and grooms initials on it (it was a beach wedding so the towel was actually a cute idea). and rolled up. They were such nice thick towels that me and my hubby fight over them...ha ha

Least Favorite: is anything with the bride and grooms name on it...which is a catch 22 for me because I LOVE monogrammed personalized items with my own name (and we loved the towels)! ha ha, but I dont really need a magnet, bell or candle, etc. laying around!

Thanks Jenn. I saw your apples in your review, very cute! I do really like the cd idea too, uuuuggghhhh so much to think about. I saw the label website on the blog and they have some super cute ideas too. I will let you know when we decide

Just attended a wedding last month and they gave out really cute key chains. The groom was from South Africa and that was where they were made...really great idea. I saw some of the guests fighting over them...I have used both of mine. Think its a good idea as long as they are not monogrammed.

Interesting! What did the key chains look like?

I've taken home engraved shot glasses, picture frames, candles, you name it! I've never had anything absolutley horrible though (thank goodness!). It is unfortunate that most favors end up tossed or hidden away after weddings. That's why I love the edible favors, and I don't mean the Jordan almond kind! Although we did use those in ours, but let me explain why...
My husband is part Italian and I am part Japanese, so wanted to combine the two cultures together by putting 5 wrapped Jordan almonds (Italian tradition of each almond signifying health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and longevity) inside a sake cup. We did a spin on the Japanese wedding ceremony were the couple's families share a sip of sake from one cup to unite the two families. After that, everyone was poured a shot of sake and we toasted. So, an old traditon with a twist!

jz2...I love that you used both of your cultures in your favors! What a unique way to spice up a traditional favor of jordan almonds! You have to be careful to not break a tooth on those things...ha ha But I love what they symbolize. You have to post some pics of your wedding soon!!!

jz2...the key chains were of animals...Makes sense since they're from South Africa...cute idea.

This is a funny discussion about favors because I recently went through similar turmoil deciding on items for my February wedding. I really wanted something personalized, but I knew that nobody REALLY needs a knickknack with two other people's names and a random date on it. Originally we wanted to do a candy bar but when some of our funding fell through, we decided on edible favors instead. It really worked out because most of our guests were from out of town so the less they had to take home with them the better. We got our wedding favors online from a store called Moments of Elegance because a friend told me that they do chocolate dipped personalized fortune cookies (my husband is half Chinese so this made him and the mother-in-law pretty happy). They were great! My husband and I got to come up with 4 different sayings or wording that was special to us, to have printed on the fortunes. We used a poem for one, one of our favorite song lyrics and then we each took an excerpt from our personal vows for the other two. It was unique and personalized and nothing went to waste!