If you are in the beginning stages of planning your wedding, you’ve most likely started an extensive to-do list. Hopefully, by now, you’ve already checked a lot of to-dos off your list. One task you may not have gotten to yet is what to give your guests as wedding favors. What you definitely haven’t thought about yet is when. Though traditionally wedding favors are given at the reception, there’s a lot of things that you can only order after your big day! Plus, in 2019, who says you have to follow tradition?
At this point, you’ve looked through all the beautiful wedding favor ideas on this blogs and browse Pinterest religiously. So you already know there are endless possibilities to what you can give your guests. While you shouldn’t stress too much about the wedding favors, you want to make sure it’s something nice that shows your guests your appreciation. Your guests are taking time out of their lives to celebrate your special day with you and your beloved, so give them something that they will remember for years to come!
We live in the age of Uber Eats and Amazon Prime, so the instant gratification of giving the wedding favors beforehand is a tempting choice. But, the reality is, you may be able to provide them with a much more meaningful gift after the actual wedding day. Let’s take a look at some of the wedding favors you can order before and after your day!
Order Before
Engraved wine glasses, candles with your engagement photo on it, and candy bags are some of the typical wedding favors sprinkled all over Pinterest. Let’s not forget all the posts that match the wedding favors to the theme of the wedding. A rustic theme may include a mason jar printed with the couples name and filled with homemade jam, or even M&Ms with the couples’ faces on them. While these are adorable ideas that usually bring a smile to your guests’ faces, small trinkets or edibles are not something your guests usually hold onto forever.
One timeless gift could include a customized vinyl uploaded with your wedding day playlist to give a more classic feel. It is an excellent way for guests to listen to music from your memorable day. Vinyl is not like an iPod, every time they listen to your record, they will look at the cover as they remove the LP, carefully place the vinyl on the turntable, and think of your big day as the playlist goes. Though you should be ready for a chatty Kathy to bring up that she had to spend $100 on a turntable to use your wedding favor. Remember, ignore her and everyone else!
For destination weddings, a customized travel tag for each guest is a great idea! This way you ensure every guest will have their names on their luggage while traveling home and to many destinations after. Each time they travel, or at least every time they pick up their bags from the airport baggage claim, they will recall traveling to your wedding destination.
Order After
Some of your guests may think it’s strange to send a wedding favor after the event. In fact, some of them may even think you aren’t going to do wedding favors. They’ll learn as soon as they get their gift that there is so much you can only do after the wedding! Remember that vinyl idea? Well, now you can add the speeches of the parents, best man, and maid of honor to side 2. Speeches aren’t the only thing you can use after your wedding!
Considering the groom can’t even see the bride’s dress before the day of, you don’t even have pictures to use until after the big day! Plus, if you hired a photographer, which you most likely did, you’d be receiving hundreds of photos of all the special moments from the day. That’s when you can use the pictures taken with each guest and have them printed on a canvas. Printing a photo on any material such as on metal, glass, and wood is possible. You can decide which option fits your taste and budget best. Even a simple small wooden canvas printed with the couple and their guest is something they will want to hold onto for a long time.
Another idea is getting customized flash drives downloaded with your wedding album. USB drives are simple to ship and very versatile when it comes to styles. There are classic, wooden, card, and custom shaped styles to choose from when shopping. With a standard flash drive, you can get them printed or engraved based on the one you prefer. The outside of a flash drive is the perfect spot to put your couple name, wedding date, and maybe even a picture of the two lovebirds on it as well. If you are looking for something really unique, you may want to consider custom flash drives. You’ll be able to take any shape or logo and transform it into a 3D USB. What’s great is that these flash drives come wholesale so that you can get one for all your guests and probably have some left over—all for a reasonable price.
Both
There is no reason you can’t do both. It’s great to give a small wedding favor the day of, and then send an even more meaningful gift as part as your thank you. While this may not be in the budget, if you do gifts the day of you can be selective who you send a second gift to after. Your second gift will be unexpected and show your infinite appreciation to your closest friends and family.
Remember, the decision of what to give and when to give it is solely up to you and your partner. Don’t feel pressured to stay in the norm just because your best friend or family member had their wedding a certain way. Get creative and do something that you love because remember, it is your big day!
Leave a Reply