Wedding favour ideas: 15 that won’t end up in a drawer

Favours are a double-edged tradition: well chosen, they make people smile; badly chosen, they are in the bin before the party is over. The rule that sums them all up: give something people use, eat or plant.

What it really costs

The sum is simple: the price of a favour, multiplied by the number of households, not guests. A £3 favour for a hundred guests is £300, but if you give one per household (couple, family) the bill falls to around £200. That budget sits in the “everything else” line of the wedding budget calculator.

Fifteen ideas, by use

What gets eaten

• Sugared almonds in small bags, the classic (say so if they contain nuts)
• A mini jar of honey or jam made near the venue
• A shortbread biscuit with each guest’s name, doubling as a place card
• A tea or coffee sachet from a local maker
• A wrapped sweet treat for the journey home, to eat the next day

What gets planted or kept

• A packet of wildflower seeds, with a card saying when to sow
• A small succulent in a pot, the only plant that survives a weekend without watering
• A hand-poured scented candle in a small reusable jar
• A lavender sachet, light and easy to slip in a suitcase
• A mini handmade soap, a pound or two each in a small batch

What gets used on the day

• A paper or wooden fan, essential in high summer
• A notebook and pen for the children’s table
• Foldable flip-flops for those who finish the night barefoot
• An instant photo taken on arrival, tucked in the place card
• A QR code to a shared playlist or album, so nothing is spent on an object

Favours by season

The best favour often suits the weather as much as the couple. A summer wedding calls for something light that won’t melt in a hot car; a winter one for something warm or comforting.

• Spring: seeds or a bulb to plant, a small pot of herbs, a lavender sachet
• Summer: a fan, a bottle of homemade lemonade, sun cream for an outdoor ceremony, nothing chocolate
• Autumn: a jar of chutney, apple juice from a local orchard, a small bag of roasted nuts (labelled)
• Winter: a hot chocolate kit, mulled wine spices, a candle, a pair of cosy socks for the dance floor

When to order, and when to make

1. Three months beforeChoose the favour and order anything personalised or printed: labels, tags, bags. Small makers often have waiting lists in summer.
2. Six weeks beforeOnce most replies are in, count households and children, and add 5 per cent.
3. Two to three weeks beforeMake or assemble non-perishable favours: candles, seed packets, soaps. Store them somewhere cool and dry.
4. The last weekBake, fill or collect anything edible, and hand the boxes to the person setting the tables, with a note saying where they go.

Rules that avoid waste

• One per household, except children, who get their own
• Nothing with your names and the date if you want it kept: a dated object is one that gets put away
• Choose local and small: a jar of honey from down the road pleases more than an imported trinket
• Set them out on the tables or at the end of the night, not at the door where hands are already full
• Order five per cent more than the number of households, for surprises

Instead of a favour

If none of these ideas feels right, spend the same money on something guests share on the night. It is often what they talk about on the way home.

• A late-night snack around midnight: bacon rolls, chips or toasties for the dancers
• An instant-photo booth where every guest leaves with a print
• A donation to a charity that matters to you, explained on a small card at each place
• A better bottle of wine on every table, with a word about why you chose it