Let's face it. When it comes to weddings, too many cooks can spoil the broth. Fortunately, when it comes to wedding favors, you can exert greater control. You can leave the planning of the stag and hen parties as well as the bridal showers to others but favors, gowns, themes, foods and venue should be your own call.



And because wedding favors are your call, you can choose from among four basic types. Just choose which one suits your personality, budget and theme the best. Your guests will appreciate your thoughtfulness in providing them with small tokens of appreciation so you basically will not go wrong no matter what type you go for.

Traditional Favors

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in your shoe. If you followed this old wives' tale about tying the knot, then you are a traditionalist. And as such, you will most probably go for traditional wedding favors, which often tend to be of the timeless types.

Even your mother will agree with your choices because she probably also considered these favors for her wedding. Choose from items like glass and ceramic figurines, plants and flowers, tea candles and even small vases. And with the wonders of technology, you can even have these traditional favors personalized!

Practical Favors

The danger with wedding favors is that these might not see the light of day after you provide them to your guests. They can either be thrown into the trashcan never to be remembered or displayed as knickknacks to collect dust.

But if you provide practical favors, you are assured that our guests will have use for them long after the wedding. Choose from items like bottle openers and cookie cutters for the kitchen, throw pillows and scented candles for the living room, bubble baths and bath items for the bathroom, even nice T-shirts. Just make sure that you don't overly personalize the T-shirts that your guests can't wear then without feeling embarrassed.

Novelty Favors

Traditional and practical are nice but if you want to add a carefree touch to a casual wedding, then novelty wedding favors are the way to go. Of course, you have to be careful not to go overboard as you want your favors to spell fun, not tacky.

So, you can choose from items like coloring books, yoyos, water guns, small stuffed animals and other children's toys with an adult bent. You must, however, ensure that you don't lean too much in the tasteless side of things. Keep it tame but fun.

Romantic Favors

For romantic wedding favors, make your guests go "Aww, Isn't that sweet!" Besides, wedding are all about romance, so it makes sense to go for romantic favors.

You can choose from chocolates in cute tins, cookies in containers, personalized CDs of romantic ballads, sensually scented candles, and other edible foods. Some even recommend baking your own cookies but if you don't have time for such highly-personalized favors, just choose another one. Nobody will carry a grudge if you do.

Again, when choosing the favors for your wedding guests, it's your call. So, don't feel guilty if you choose something cheaper, something smaller, something bluer, something baked, something costing a sixpence. The important thing is that you took the trouble of thanking your guests for their attendance during your wedding.