Long considered optional and even unnecessary, the wedding favor is now taking its rightful place among a wedding’s more important details.  Wedding favors have been around since 400 B.C., and have mostly consisted of small confections or almonds wrapped up in tiny packages and given to guests.  However, the most popular  trend for the wedding favor for 2010 is fast becoming the keepsake favor.

Whether a favor is personalized, such as etched glassware, useful, such as bottle stoppers or small frames, or a local form of artwork, such as candles, the idea is all the same.  Couples appreciate their guests and want to show that appreciation by giving them something to keep and remember their wedding by.  More thought is being put into the type of ‘thank-you’ gift that is given out and this enables the type of wedding favor to be incorporated into any style of wedding ~ traditional, ethnic, elegant, or any of a thousand kind of theme weddings.

Favor boxes are such a versatile tool when it comes to presenting your guests with their one-of-a-kind ‘thank-yous’ for sharing in your special day.  I recently received these pictures from a newlywed to show how he and his fiance took the Kate Aspen Miniature Silver Chair Favor Boxes up a notch and personalized them with their own unique touches.  He writes:

“We added our own style by creating a logo for our day and then I was able to get clear stickers and print our logo on it and then affix them to the favor boxes.  My fiance sewed the heart charms onto the ribbon.  They are unique and fantastic.”

He also shared with me that since his guests would be riding the cable cars to their wedding venues, they had delicious chocolates specially designed in the shape of cable cars to place inside each favor box.  The final wedding favor made a truly elegant statement as well as a greatly appreciated gift for their guests. 

Very creative!  Thank you for sharing this wonderful idea!

You don’t have to shop very long before you realize there are literally thousands of types of wedding favors out there.  Choosing the perfect wedding favor is not only fun, but it’s one of the best ways to express your own unique style. 

There are several different favors that seem to be emerging as 2009’s most popular.  Candle wedding favors have been a top favorite for some time now and it looks like it’s going to keep that honor for this year as well.  They’re not only beautiful and practical, but you can find candles in almost every shape, color, scent and size that you want. 

Small framesare another wedding favor that is growing in popularity.  If you’re planning a reception that will have an assigned seating arrangement, these frames can double as placecard holders.  After the reception, you simply invite your guests to take their frame home to hold they own personal photograph. 

Eco-friendly favors are definitely taking their place as one of 2009’s popular favors.  With the increased interest in ‘going green’, these favors are as conscious-friendly as they are earth-friendly.  Seed packets, or favors embedded with wildflower seeds are just a couple of the available environmentally-friendly favors.

As for bridal shower favors, the growing trend seems to be toward manicure & pedicure sets as well as cosmetic bags.  Keeping the favors as personal as possible is the goal when it comes to the bridal shower. 

Shopping for wedding favors is one of the most enjoyable jobs of planning your wedding.  There are so many wonderful items out there to choose from.  The only tricky part is deciding on when to order them. 

It’s probably best to start looking for your favors as soon as you’ve decided on a general theme, if not before.  In fact, finding the perfect wedding favor may even help you choose a theme for your wedding.  Shop online and compare prices.  Remember, as I’ve discussed in earlier blogs, ‘low price guarantees’ are not what they seem to be.  Check out shipping prices and policies, return policies, and quantity requirements.  Find out where your favors will be shipped from and the number of travel days it will take before you receive your order.  Place mock orders (without putting in your payment information) and check out the cost of shipping.  Many companies inflate shipping costs in order to make their favors appear less expensive. 

Narrow down your favor choices to 2 or 3.  You may even want to choose several favors that could work in combination with each other.  This could save you money and help avoid the whole ‘more guests than favors’ dilemma, especially if you need to reorder at the last minute and one of your favors is out of stock. 

If you’re planning on a seasonal wedding, such as a winter or fall theme wedding, order your favors as early as possible.  These type of favors tend to be more difficult to find in stock if you delay placing your order until a month or two beforehand.

I was browsing the Internet lately looking for the best price I could find on some hiking shoes.  I noticed that I kept finding more and more online stores that had the words: ‘LOW PRICE GUARANTEE’ emblazoned across their websites.  Naturally, I clicked on the links that led me to their ‘low price guarantee’ description.  Every single one claimed that they would meet any price I found as long as:

1.)  I found the website with the lower prices myself.
2.)  The item that I found the lower price on was identical in every way (including color & size) to the one I wanted from their website.
3.)  I emailed them a link to the product page of the lower priced competitor.

Then, after they had verified the lower price, I would be contacted and given the price that matched the other guy’s price.  In other words, I spent hours doing the ‘leg work’, had to prove that I had done the leg work, had to wait for my leg work to be legitimized, and then I would be granted the same price that I had already found.  What kind of guarantee is that?  If ‘time is money’, then this kind of guarantee is costing a small fortune.  I may save 5 cents on a favor, but I’ve lost hours in the ’search’.  A true guarantee should save you not only money, but your time as well.

That’s why at Wedding Favor Reflections.com, don’t give you a pseudo low price guarantee; we just give you low prices!  This is how we know our prices are the lowest they can be:  We only carry high-quality Kate Aspen brand favors.  All Kate Aspen retailers are required to abide by a minimum price that these favors can be sold for.  In other words, we can sell them for much more if we want, but there is a ‘bottom line’ as far as the lowest price is concerned.  This minimum price is where all of our favors are set all of the time.

What this means to our customers is that they can be assured that they have found the lowest possible online price available ~ and, they didn’t have to spend hours hunting it down.  Check out our testimonials; we also provide excellent customer service!

You put so much of yourself into planning your wedding that it truly becomes of reflection of who you are.  Your favorite colors, flowers, theme and style are all represented on that special day.  You are unique and your wedding will showcase that individuality.  Wedding favors are just one area where your unique style can shine through.

Consider the line of Personality Favors from Kate Aspen.  All the personality favors are available in 25 different packaging designs in 5 different personalities, which will compliment any style wedding and fit you perfectly. 

*  If you are an ‘Elizabeth’ bride, you are the picture of classic elegance. 
*  The ‘Katie’ bride is a princess; full of dreams and child-like fantasies.
*  Old-fashioned romantics will easily fit into the ‘Victoria’ style.
*  ‘Lexi’ brides are unique, unpredictable and creative.
*  If chic and sophisticated describes you best, then you’re definitely an ‘Audrey’ bride.

Each style comes in a a variety of colors to fit any wedding decor, and matching personalized ‘personality’ tags are also available.  Letting your unique style shine on your special day is made just a little easier with these fun favors.

Who says party favors have to be strictly for party guests?  Favors make wonderful little ‘inexpensive luxeries’ for yourself too. 

My daughters and I have hosted many bridal showers, baby showers, anniversary parties and receptions, so I’ve ordered a lot of favors for each occasion.  Every time I place my order, I find a few items that I’ve always wanted but wouldn’t order by themselves due to prohibitive shipping costs.  I’ve found that when I place my regular favor order, the shipping rarely, if ever, goes up by my  additions and I get treated to my own little gift.

I have elegant silver salt & pepper shakers that I use whenever we have guests over for dinner.  I display photo coasters every day and never cease to get great compliments on them.  I’ve decorated with unique candles, sweet-smelling soaps and beautiful little picture frames. 

So, the next time you put together a party of any kind, do yourself a ‘favor’ and give a little thank you gift just to you. 

It doesn’t take a fashion expert to know there are so many different shades of every color out there, that it’s difficult to match colors perfectly without clashing.  All you have to do is go shopping for a top to match that beautiful navy blue skirt you just bought to know what I’m talking about.

With all the wedding accessories you want to match, such as: napkins, flowers, bridesmaid dresses, cake decorations, wedding favors, etc., it can be difficult to find even similar shades of the same color.  When planning my daughters weddings, I found that purchasing a spool of ribbon, or 1/4 yard of fabric of the colors they chose, came in very helpful.  I would cut a small swatch of the fabric and take it with me wherever we went shopping.  I left samples of the colors with the bakery, florist and stationers in order to insure a color match.

You may even be able to visit the paint section of any department store and find paint sample cards with your color on it.  The cards are free and you can take several to hand out to your wedding vendors.

HELPFUL HINT:  When shopping for personalized napkins, be sure to ask how old their display is and if any of the colors have faded.  We made the mistake of matching the display napkins, which were the perfect shade of red, only to have them arrive a purplish shade.  Most vendors will replace such mistakes free of charge, but time may also be an issue if the wedding date is fast approaching.  Asking a few questions may help to prevent this problem altogether. 

Mother’s Day is a wonderful time of year.  It’s a time to show those very special women in our lives just how very much they mean to us and how much we appreciate all the love and sacrifice they’ve given throughout their lives.  Many places help celebrate this day with small tokens of appreciation.  Restaurants, hotels, and churches are just a few establishments that will present a ‘little something’ to their visiting ‘mothers’ on this special day.

Flowers are a particular favorite, however, the problem with flowers is that they don’t really last too long.  I’ve found that wedding favors make a great small gift that really doesn’t cost much to give on occasions such as this.  Photo coasters, small salt & pepper shaker sets, heart-shaped calculators or tape measures, or even rose-shaped candles and soaps make a perfect small keepsake.

It doesn’t need to cost a lot of money in order to say ‘I Love You!’  It just needs to come from the heart!

Picking out your wedding favors can be the most enjoyable part of planning your wedding.  You can literally spend hours browsing through all the adorable favors that are available today. 

Once you’ve chosen those perfect favors for your dream wedding, consider finding a favor to give out at your rehearsal dinner as well.  No matter how elegant your wedding will be, the favors you choose for the rehearsal dinner can be just plain fun.  You can coordinate them with any theme, or they can be totally unrelated.  After months of hard work and planning, this is the time for a well-deserved evening of relaxation.  Let yourself be a little silly with your favors.  Then share that silliness with your friends and family!