Anyone not doing wedding favours/ wedding party gifts?

We aren't having favours; we are donating the money to Macmillan in memory of OH's mother. Whilst I like favours, they just seem to end up as clutter - if they aren't food
We are putting a sign on each table saying we've donated the equivalent in cash to Macmillan; it also allows us to remember his mum on the day

What I am planning on doing though is making all our centrepieces dismantleable (is that even a word?) so that should people wish to, they can take away something to remind them of the day. We're having an Alice in Wonderland theme (YAY YAY YAY!) so centrepieces will be towers of crockery with flowers in, clocks/pocket watches and stacks of old hardback copies of Alice that I'll re-cover with craft paper over the next few months. Well, that's the plan anyway!

When we first started planning we didn't want to do favours, we thought they were a waste of money as most of the weddings we have been to the gifts were always those sugared almonds which neither of us like (sorry to anyone who are having them!) and so many get left behind. When we went to look at our venue they actually said this year favours weren't quite as popular with lots of couples choosing not to have them....

However, then I saw the suggestion of having candles for the ladies and miniature alcohol bottles for the men and I have changed my mind and surprisingly the OH has too! We like the idea of thanking the guests with a small gift and plus if some don't take the gift then neither of us would mind having candles and bottles to use ourselves!

thats a nice idea.

No favours as such. Just charity donations to Great North Air Ambulance and Yorkshire Air Ambulance (as both bride and best man made use of them last year!!) - I think there will be charity pins and we'll put little notes out on the tables to explain what we've done.

We're not having them because we're not having a wedding breakfast, just an evening reception. We're just going to give out cake! Not sure what to do about gifts at the moment as we have a huge amount of peopke to thank!!

We are umming and ahhing! maybe cancer research charity donations and a pin.

And thinking of making a basket of cds, the soundtrack of our wedding lol. Ceremony music, first dance, evening music and most importantly our hour long hip hop and rnb mix made by our dj friend for the end of the night!

I think its perfectly acceptable to not do any favours but I do think small gifts for the wedding party and people that have helped should be done. We gave ours out the night before/on the morning, it wasn't during the speeches but I do think a little something to thank them for their help is a nice idea

We are not having favours as I think they are a waste of money and I don't like them. I think unfortunately that quite often they get left behind or binned or left in a jacket pocket and then binned 6 months later.

We are not having bridesmaids or groomsmen, but if we were we would probably get them something simple to say thank you - box of posh chocs or a bottle of booze I should think.

We are giving everyone a free drink voucher instead of a favour and buying the bridesmaids and flower girl some jewellery( of their choice) to wear on the day as a thank you. Not sure about what to get the ushers yet!

Not having favours, like others have said they just get thrown away or left behind. Waste of money.

But presents for the bridal party, best man, parents - 100%. They have done so much and i couldnt not thank them with some token. I am giving all presents at dinner the night before as i personally dont like gift giving during the speeches, i want it to be much more personal.

I'm having favours for the pure reason that I can do them for very little money. I am going to make Tablet (as everyone I know LOVES my tablet) put it in red and white striped bags sealed with a little sticker with our name on them.

Adding to my characteristic of being super cheap I decided that I am also going to put a sticker on them with the person's name so they can double as a placecard.

Roughly it will work out at about £20 for favours for both day and evening guests.

Thanks - we didn't want to really do stuff that would just get chucked away; although I'm talking to OH's dad to see what his mum's favourite flower/plant was and we might have a bulb/small bag of seeds that people can plant should they wish afterwards. Any leftover can be brought back with us and planted

We'll see.

Oh yes, and also I will make gifts for:

groomsmen: cufflinks

bridesmaids: necklaces

flower girls: charms (my daughter and her 2 cousins are flowergirls; I made each one a charm bracelet when they were born and I add to it on birthdays and special occasions)

Parents: no idea yet, but something awesome!

We haven't decided on favours yet- I never really understood that tradition when we're already buying our guests dinner and drinks- but I am a sucker for these details! I really like the charity pin idea and we will certainly be buying gifts for our close friends and family who help out with all of the prep, etc.

I'm glad to read some people are opting out of favours, I have been racking my brains to think of something to have that would be relevant and I really can't so I feel like I might just not bother with them. We plan on having a paid bar, a photobooth and a flip flop basket for near the dancefloor so I think there is enough going on for people to hopefully not notice the lack of favours!

The only idea we did like was miniature alcohol bottles as they look very cute, and will be drunk straight away probably so nothing left behind! But our venue has just told me they charge corkage of £1 per miniature! So I may have to forget that idea!