Not having wedding favours

Favours can be a nice thing for a guest to find on the table (depending what it is) but I don't think any guests notice if they are not given one. They are certainly not standard practice and expected by guests anymore.

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Thanks for your reply Hayley,

I didn't think they were standard practice but people keep weighing in and I started to wonder if this had changed over the years, thanks for putting my mind at rest.

I think paying for your guests food for the day with a disco in a pretty venue is enough for the guests! I don’t think people will mind not having anything. I’m not doing them as I think they are a waste of money.

Favours traditionally were only given to the females at a Wedding. They were usually little netted packs of sugared almonds, supposed to bring luck and fertility I believe!!! Nowadays every guest gets them if you have them but, as others have said, absolutely not essential. Then again, nothing at wedding is essential except to have two people marrying each other. The rest is a matter of taste and affordability x

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This was my exact outlook on it if I am being honest. we're already paying for people to have a good time without adding on extra expenses. thanks for your reply.

That's a lovely idea, thank you for your advice xx

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That's really interesting to know, never knew where this tradition came from, though I definitely don't want any fertility omens ;')

Thanks for your reply

I can't see the point of favours unless they are something so significant to the bride & groom that they carry an important meaning for the guests. I have only ever kept one wedding favour and that was something that was handcrafted by the couple for each of their guests. Otherwise, it's just another way for the wedding industry to wring money out of the bride and groom.

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Thanks for the reply, I wholeheartedly agree! I've never seen the point in them other than the wedding industry trying to make more money. I think I've made up my mind and we're definitely skipping the wedding favours because we're paying enough for everything as it is.

We're having wedding favours but charity ones which I think have been mentioned above. We've got prostate cancer pins for the men and breast cancer ones for the women (the breast cancer ones are pink so we didn't want to get those for everyone). Both of our fathers have prostate cancer and my mum has had breast cancer twice so we went with that as its a charity donation where our families have been affected. I don't think we'd have had them otherwise. x

The charity donations sound lovely. We are having little packets of sunflower seeds as they are relatively environmentally friendly, they can be planted in which case they would last a long time, or eaten! It's been quite inexpensive and we think it will be a nice little touch on the tables as the packets have our wedding date and names on. They definitely aren't necessary anymore and most get wasted.

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I like the idea of seeds, but unfortunately I think most of our family and friends would end up leaving them behind because they're not into 'gardening' so I wouldn't want them to be a waste. but what you're doing sounds lovely

View quoted message Thank you. I really wouldn't worry about having favours if nothing springs to mind, just save the money and potential waste

I’m only having name tags as I have never known anyone to keep them x

View quoted message Oh that a wonderful idea, I think we will pinch that idea, I lost my Dad to cancer so it would feel an appropriate nod to him and his absence

I am not planning on traditional wedding favors but instead having a sort of favor station. We are having quite a relaxed day and it would be nice for people to have something to take away but I don't want the cost either! I'm planning on making things like hair scrunchies, seed bags, lavender bags, etc., and getting some silly little things like bubbles and party poppers and some small paper bags with our names printed on them for guests to help themselves to if they want, and if they don't want I will make use of leftovers with my Rainbows and Brownies!

I would have loved to have a cute personalised favour but the money we’d be paying for it is crazy, and with the cost of everything else we decided it wouldn’t be a necessity.
However, our cake maker does little wedding favours in the form of biscuits, macaroons and little cake popsicles, so that’s what we may do as ours just as something small

I completely agree that it’s an unnecessary expense as more often than not after the meal most are forgotten about despite the sentiment or expense behind it. We wanted to do something simple like lollipops with flower petals and names but for 100 it was going to cost a pretty penny, so I ordered all the materials of Amazon for £30 and made them myself with edible flowers and attached the name tags to them with some olive branches and they came out beautifully. Most guests either ate them or they were small enough to fit in pockets or clutch bags. I do agree it’s a nice touch which is why we decided on something but it’s absolutely nothing more than that, it comes in the same category as having a few extra candles on the tables in my eyes.

We've decided not to have favours. We opted for a drinks token each which i feel our guests will prefer more. I don't think they're missed as much as everyone thinks. Also, completley my view but the people who are invited, are typically just happy to be there and don't expect anything for it!

Hi there,


I completely agree with you, I’m in the same boat - seems like wasted money but I also feel that tables can look a little lost without them.
Have you thought about doing some personalised biscuits with a icing stencil ontop? They’re so cheap to make and bulk to do it, could get a fair few done with a few extra bands. Makes a lovely touch, plus it’s edible! X