The favour is the smallest item in the wedding budget and somehow the one couples agonise over most. Will guests use it, keep it, or leave it in a neat pile by the door at midnight?
The answer depends on what it is. Here's what actually works.
Do you need them at all?
No. Favours are a tradition, not a requirement, and no guest has ever left a wedding offended that there wasn't a tiny bag of sugared almonds waiting at their place. If the budget is tight, this is the first line to cut and nobody will notice.
The favours that do work fall into three groups: something edible, something useful, or something genuinely personal. Everything else is a gamble.
What guests actually keep
Edible favours disappear by the end of the night, which is the point. Useful ones live in a pocket or on a desk for months. Personal ones live on a shelf for years. Aim for one of those three and you've succeeded before you've spent a penny.
Twenty-plus ideas, by budget
- Under £1: a lottery scratchcard, a mini jar of honey or jam, a packet of wildflower seeds, a personalised biscuit, a teabag with a note, a sachet of hot chocolate.
- £1 to £3: a small candle, a succulent cutting, a bottle opener, a mini bottle of something, a pack of playing cards, a lip balm, a fridge magnet with a photo.
- £3 and up: a book that means something to you two, a donation to a charity in each guest's name, a monogrammed tote bag, a potted herb, a personalised keyring.
What gets left behind
Engraved shot glasses with your names and date, because nobody keeps a glass with someone else's date on it. Bubbles, because they get opened once and abandoned. Anything breakable that has to survive a coat check and a dancefloor. And anything that says your names too prominently, a guest wants a favour, not a souvenir of your wedding.
Cost and timing
Budget £1 to £3 per guest and you'll land somewhere guests actually appreciate without it becoming a line item you regret. Set them out at each place before the meal, or hand them over at the end of the night, the end-of-night handover is how the edible ones actually make it home.