Unique Wedding Favor Ideas to Delight Your Guests

Wedding favors are a fun little way to say thank you to your guests for celebrating your big day. They’re also a great way to personalize your wedding since there’s a huge variety of wedding favors to choose from. With so many different ideas, you may not even know where to start. That’s okay, though – we’re here to help! 

Hi, we’re Olio, an open modern/industrial event space in Peabody, Massachusetts. We have over a decade of experience organizing weddings and events in the Greater Boston Area. One thing we love is seeing clients get creative with our large, open space.  

We celebrate creative wedding ideas at Olio, and that means we’ve seen plenty of creative wedding favor ideas. So, we can help you come up with the perfect wedding favors for your wedding. 

Photo by Meghan Kannan Photography

Wedding Favor Tips  

Before we start throwing ideas for wedding favors at you, you may have a few questions about wedding favors that need to be answered. No worries! Let’s clear things up. 

Are Wedding Favors Required? 

There’s no tradition that says you must have wedding favors. Even if there was one, who doesn’t love a wedding that’s a little nontraditional? Wedding favors are like small thank-you notes to your guests. So, if it's not a priority for you or you are looking for ways to scale back the budget, it's totally fine to let this one go. If the stress of making the right choice is just too much, then forget the favors! Your guests are there to celebrate your wedding; they probably won’t mind if they leave without a present. 

Does Everyone Get a Wedding Favor? 

For the most part, yes. You should plan on giving every guest a wedding favor, one per person. Don’t lump couples or families together, unless it’s a larger or more elaborate item. It’s usually best to buy a few extras just in case some go missing or someone ends up taking more than one. However, there is one exception to this rule: if you allow people to bring children or babies to the wedding, you are probably safe to skip giving favors to the kids.  Or you can customize and make a special kid-friendly favor.

Photo by Angelina Rose

How Much Do Wedding Favors Cost? 

You'll want to budget at least a few hundred dollars for favors, although this is super variable based on your guest count. Typically, couples spend around three or four dollars per guest. Remember, this is only the average, so it’s definitely possible to spend a lot less or more.

Personalizing Your Wedding Favors 

Here’s the great part about wedding favors – they're very customizable! If you want to personalize them, you can try putting creative name tags on each one. Or you can make the favors themselves something personal to you and your guests. A favorite memory, an inside joke, or maybe just something that goes with your wedding theme. This is where your creative side gets to work its magic. 

When Do You Hand Out Your Wedding Favors? 

When and where you want to hand out the wedding favors is also entirely up to you. They’re typically given at the reception, but you have two great options.... For a seated dinner, you may consider placing them at each guest's place setting. This way they also work as table decorations! Alternatively, you can make a display for wedding favors, attach them to people’s escort cards, or place them near your seating chart. Whatever’s easiest for you and your guests and the venue, go for it! 

Wedding Favor Ideas 

Okay, now let’s get to the fun part! Here are some of our fun and unique ideas for wedding favors for your guests. 

New England Theme Wedding Favors 

We’re only twenty minutes from Boston, so New England weddings are our bread and butter. Here are a few ideas for some New England treats you can give as wedding favors. 

• Maple candies, syrup, fudge, etc. 

• Blueberry Jam 

• Saltwater Taffy 

• Lobster Lollypops 

• Donuts  

Edible Wedding Favors 

Snacks and edible goodies are often top of the list when it comes to wedding favors. Some advise against this because of food allergies or the personal preferences of the guests. But if you know your guests well enough, universally loved foods can easily make the cut. 

• Chocolates 

• Honey 

• Hot Sauce 

• Jams and Jellies 

• Candies 

• Mints 

• Macarons 
  

Drink-Related Wedding Favors 

The other item that’s top of the list for wedding favors is, of course, beverage or drink-related items. If you are considering a favor with alcohol in it, it’s important to remember that some venues require officially licensed bartenders to serve all alcohol so this may be prohibited. Keep a variety of drink ideas in mind, like these: 

• Coffee 

• Tea 

• Hot Chocolate 

• Soda 

• Wine Glasses 

• Bottle Stoppers 

• Shot Glasses 

• Mugs 

• Drink Koozies 
  

Self-Care Wedding Favors 

Another common wedding favor theme is toiletries or self-care items. Things that smell nice, feel nice and keep us clean.  What better way for guests to remember the wedding day than with useful items!

• Soaps 

• Mini Bottles of Hand Sanitizer 

• Lip Balm 

• Shampoos 

• Skin Care Items 
  

Floral Wedding Favors 

Floral wedding favors are wonderful because they can be multipurpose. Depending on the favor, you can use them as decor for the reception on top of being wedding favors for the guests. It’s fun, your guests will appreciate it, and it’s less wasteful! Just keep in mind that if you have a lot of guests traveling from out of town, this may not be a fit (plants don't pack nicely into suitcase). If folks are local, here are a few ideas.

• Flower Arrangements 

• Succulents 

• Seed Packets 

• Flower Pots 
  

Photo by Paul Robert Berman

Travel Themed Wedding Favors 

Are you planning a destination wedding for your big day? Imagine you’ve invited your friends to a beautiful location for this occasion. They’ve traveled far for this, so maybe they want something to commemorate the trip. Well, rather than have them spend extra money on a keepsake before they leave, try incorporating one of these travel-themed gifts into your wedding favors. 

• Personalized Luggage Tag 

• Reusable Tote Bag 

• Location-Specific Keychains 
  

Candle Wedding Favors 

Candles deserve their own section as they are a very popular and practical favor option. Everyone loves a nice candle, so they’re pretty much the universal gift. Plus, they’re one of the easiest gifts to personalize. With so many scents to choose from, it won’t be hard to find something that fits your wedding’s theme. Plus, you can always find businesses to make you custom scents, as well as custom labels. Candles are multipurpose, too! Whether your guests are into aromatherapy, candle collecting, or just making a room smell nice, candles are a perfect go-to for a wedding favor. 

Miscellaneous and Alternative Wedding Favors 

Of course, there’s still the chance that most of these ideas don’t really click with you, so maybe you need something a little different. Since we’ve now covered all the typical wedding favor ideas, how about we delve into some ideas that don’t really fit into these categories? You could always try... 

• Sunglasses 

• Snow Globes 

• Wedding Photos or Portraits 

• Photobooth 

• Blankets 

• Commemorative Coins 

• Custom Wedding Keychains 

• Wedding-themed Stickers or Bumper Stickers 

• Donation to Charity 

That’s a lot of ideas! If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the number of possibilities, just remember that this only means the possibilities are endless. Wedding favors are one of the most customizable parts of a wedding, so like we said at the start... don’t be afraid to get creative! And if you need any more ideas, tips, and tricks, feel free to contact us. We’d love to hear from you! 

Cheers, 

Sarah Narcus 

Owner, Olio