Cutting Down on the Expense of Personalized Wedding Favors

Most brides today want some type of personalized wedding favors; after all, wedding favors are meant as a reminder of that special day and this means having their name and wedding date somehow included on those favors.  But do any type of shopping today for personalized wedding favors and you'll see that these can be somewhat expensive, some costing four or five dollars per piece and even more than that in many cases!  So how can you cut down on this particular expense for your wedding but not compromise how beautiful and unique this option is?  There are actually some simple ways to do this.

Many couples today want personalized wedding favors that include a favorite photo of them.  However, give this some consideration.  You may love this photo of you and think that the favors look wonderful with it, but what about your friends and family?  Will they really want to use coasters with your faces on them?  Or keep a key chain with that picture dangling from their keys?  There may be several guests who immediately think that this type of item is just a bit tacky, if not downright pushy. 

Including the option for a photo is usually the biggest expense when it comes to personalized wedding favors, more so than just your names and date, and may include a set-up charge along with the charge for the favors themselves.  Ask yourself if this option is really worth the expense for an item that your guests may not even appreciate or enjoy using anyway.

Another big expense when it comes to personalized wedding favors is the need to have your name and date engraved in the item.  Anything crystal, silver, pewter or another hard element is probably going to cost you more than anything made of paper.  For instance, if you look at most small crystal paperweights that are offered as wedding favors, you'll see that they typically cost around four dollars per item, whereas most personalized candy bar wrappers are less than a dollar.  This may be a small difference per item, but consider how many guests you're having at your wedding.  A three-dollar difference in favors, multiplied by the hundred guests you're inviting, means an additional three hundred dollars for those paperweights alone.  Since most couples today are trying to plan a wedding on a budget, choosing a more affordable option for personalized wedding favors may not be a bad way to go.

Of course, if you have some talent you can always make up your own personalized wedding favors by way of bookmarks you create yourself and have printed at the office supply store, or sugar cookies decorated with your names and date.  These are not only affordable options, they're also very creative and a fun way for the bride to express her thanks to her guests.

In the past few years, the business of personalized wedding favors has been booming, with an endless variety of options for brides.  This is good news for those looking to save a few dollars on this part of the wedding and reception, as there are many affordable and still very nice choices, if you do a bit of shopping and comparison.