DIY wedding favors

We’ve talked before about DIY party favors, and that led to a reader request for a post on wedding favors. While a lot of party favors will work for many types of parties, there are a couple of things wedding favors in particular need to have: they need to be very cheap (because everything else is so expensive!), but they can’t look cheap. And they can’t be too hard to make, because you’ve got more than enough going on already. With those goals in mind, I went hunting for crafts that will save you money while looking beautiful for your special day.

Cheap but gorgeous wedding favors

1. One of the simplest ways to dress up a party favor and make it memorable is by putting it in an adorable container of some sort. Sew Mama Sew has a lovely triad of wedding favor bags you can make yourself to save money or make use of coordinated fabric left over from other wedding decorations. They include a cone and two types of drawstring bags, all designed to be simple and quick to make, since you’ll probably need quite a few. Incidentally, I made a batch of drawstring bags just like these about eighteen years ago to sell handcrafted jewelry in, and the ones I still have, I still use. They’re gorgeous, truly easy to make, and your guests can reuse them for years.
2. ZakkaLife has an even simpler recycled paper bag. No two will be quite alike, because you take the paper from magazines or gift wrap and other sources of loveliness.

What would you fill these little bags with? Seeds, candy, jewelry, trinkets or even soaps. Some more ideas for wedding favors, in or out of the bag:

1. Personalized candles with the bride’s and groom’s smiling faces. It’s easier than it sounds to make this yourself!
2. Spoonful of Kisses. Perfect as table favors, these are spoons with chocolate kisses beautifully netted onto them (with ribbons and all that). Just a gorgeous little presentation of candy and a spoon to keep.
3. Ribbon Roses. These beautiful little favors can be given to guests as is, or you can put a safety pin on the back and make them wearable.
4. Bags of almonds. This is traditional, so it’s all in the presentation. You could use one of the above bags, or the even simpler one shown in the linked project.
5. Illusion necklaces and earrings. Sets like these can sell for $30-50 at malls, but you can make them for a small fraction of that cost.
6. Chocolate wedding bell lollipops. Gorgeous and delicious, these are sure to be a big hit.
7. Candy Flower Pots. Paint and be-ribbon little cheap flower pots beautifully and put pieces of candy in as the “soil” for fake flowers.
8. Satin treasure chest (scroll down for it). Make gorgeous satin boxes for your guests to store mementos for years to come.
9. Martini gel candles. These colorful candles are super-easy to make, and affordable too.
10. Aromatic pomander balls. A bit like sachets, but more nostalgic.
11. Sachets. Make sachet pouches and fill them with potpourri. You can use recycled material for the bags – even old (well-washed) pantyhose! Or lace.
12. Pinwheels. Make these pinwheel bouquets as centerpieces, then let each guest take a pinwheel home as a wedding favor.