Cheap Wedding Favors and Ideas

With oil and food costs going up with no promise of relief, brides and grooms everywhere are starting to cut costs.  Whether it’s offering cocktail snacks at an afternoon reception instead of an evening buffet or finding cheap wedding favors, brides today are more aware of cutting wedding costs than ever before.  Trimming your wedding budget doesn’t mean that you have to cut corners though – there are hundreds of cheap wedding favor ideas that will still leave your guests impressed without leaving a big impression on your wallet.

Takeout Containers

Craft stores and online warehouses offer nifty little favor boxes that are made to look like popular Chinese takeout cartons.  Many of them come in a variety of colors and patterns, so it’s easy to find ones that match your wedding palette.  This cheap wedding favor cashes in at around $1 or less per carton, and you can make a great wedding favor by simply throwing in a handful of mixed chocolates and other candies and using a ribbon to tie the two wire handles together.  Voila!  Just a few simple steps and you’ve got a cheap wedding favor that looks elegant and is simply delicious!

Going Green

Vellum or paper envelopes are extremely cheap wedding favors – they’re simply plain versions of the flower seed packets you see in the gardening section of your local supermarket.  They’re available at just pennies each and you can fill them with birdseed, flower seeds or any other small growable item.  This is a great cheap wedding favor idea because all you have to do is dab a spot of glue on the front of the envelope to adhere a bow or tag and you’re done!  Your guests can enjoy feeding the birds or planting flower seeds in their own garden or their favorite park in your honor.

Soap Favors

If you’re really a do-it-yourselfer, you’ll love the idea of crafting handmade soaps for each of your guests.  It’s a great cheap wedding favor because the cost of the raw ingredients all together is significantly lower than purchasing premade soaps for your guests.  You can have a lot of fun with your groom when experimenting with scents for the soaps!  Let your groom design the scent for the men’s soaps while you come up with something delicious for the gals.  All you need is a standard soap mold (or you can go with different shapes if you like) and bulk soap flakes that only need to be melted down.  Add the fragrance, pour the melted soap in the molds and let cool.  Once your soaps are done, you can tie some raffia around them for a natural, rustic look or use traditional ribbon.  You can even put them in organza bags for a little extra!

Get Baking

Everyone loves homemade brownies, cookies and other down home desserts.  For a cheap wedding favor idea, grab some cellophane bags, a little ribbon and a whole lot of flour, sugar and butter.  Bake up a storm in the days before the wedding and give a small batch of cookies to each guest.  It’s a simple and delicious way to thank your guests for attending your special day, and it’s surprisingly easy on the wallet!  You’ll save a nice chunk of change by making your own cookies or brownies and wrapping them yourself instead of buying premade confections.  Plus, homemade items just taste better!

Personalized Champagne Flutes

This may sound like an expensive option, but if you’ve got more than 150 guests at your wedding, you can actually get a personalized champagne flute for less than $1.50 per guest.  This cheap wedding favor idea is one of the best – you can fill the glass with candy or simply put inexpensive curling ribbon so it spills out of the top of the glass. 

More often than not, you’ll be able to create cheap wedding favors by simply doing it yourself rather than buying prepackaged or premade items.  You can still find traditional favors, like silver wine bottle toppers or small photo frames, at a discount but you’re far better off making a cheap wedding favor on your own.  If you use a little creativity, you can create almost anything!  Browse for ideas in bridal magazines or look online for inspiration!  There’s nothing that says “thank you” than a homemade gift or treat crafted by you and the groom yourselves.  What a great way to both show your guests how much you care and to save money!