One of the most classic additions to a wedding is the final favor as a small thank you to guests. Favors have been around since the sixteenth century as a very notable way of acknowledging your guests' efforts to participate and celebrate on your wedding day. Favors were traditionally nuts or fruit—something that the guests could enjoy during the ceremony—but favors have more recently turned into special keepsakes or sweet treats. No matter what you choose as your favor, there are several things to keep in mind: your décor, theme, and venue.

Whether or not you realize it, favors actually serve two purposes: the first and most important purpose is for your favor to serve as a thank you gift, but the second purpose, almost as equally important, is for your favor to serve as décor. Your favors will most likely take up an entire table, usually at the front entrance of your reception and will therefore need to blend with the rest of your décor. Make sure that you take your color scheme, colors tones, and patterns into consideration before choosing a favor. The very last thing that a bride would want to have happen is to choose a wonderful favor and have it clash with the rest of the décor. Choosing something simplistic is an easy way to make sure that colors and patterns don't clash. Pick something that has a neutral tone or something that could go with any color palate—silver or gold colored favors work great in this case. If chosen correctly, favors can be beautiful pieces of decoration that add to the décor.

Your theme is also an important thing to remember when picking out your favors. Whether your wedding is indoors, outdoors, in a church, on the beach, or underwater, there are favors to go along with every type of wedding. Be creative when selecting your favors. You want your guests to enjoy and remember your favors at the same time. If your wedding is around the holiday season, consider an ornament as your favor—ornaments are also fabulous for engraving. For a beach wedding, you may want to give your guests flip flops which you might hand out as guests arrive instead of handing them out at the end of the reception. There are no rules to follow when selecting favors, but by being creative you can add to your theme.

The last thing you should consider when deciding on your favors is your venue. Be careful when selecting favors that are unique or delicate. For example, you may not want to have truffles as your favor at an outdoor wedding in the middle of July as they will most likely melt before your guests receive them. You may also want to speak with the event coordinator at your venue to talk about any restrictions on what you can and cannot have at your ceremony and reception especially if you are considering something extremely unique. Taking your venue into consideration before picking out your favors can help you avoid stressful situations on your special day.

Favors are a wonderful way to thank your guests for attending your celebration and by being creative you can add to your theme and décor at the same time.