As Chicago Wedding Planners we have planned and designed many weddings, so we know a lot of couples can panic about trying to find affordable, usable, or customizable favors. Some clients even ask us, “do we have to have wedding favors, and if so, what should we do?” Well the answers are, “no,” and “whatever you want!” If you were to set up a poll with all your guests, you’d probably find that most don’t truly care about them—they are at your wedding for YOU! But, if you do decide to have some favors, we recommend choosing something that is either on theme with your event, or something that represents you as the couple. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Candles

Lot’s of people love candles, and so it’s a wedding favor that will actually get used. You can even purchase them from your favorite local shop! Maybe you find your favorite smell, purchase different scents for each guests, or you create a custom smell that represents you as a couple. You can get as personal as you want. Candles also allow you to customize the label to have a cute or comical phrase. If you want to get real fun, maybe your candles work as escort cards for your guests.

Candy

Tons of people love sweet thangs, so having candy as a favor will satisfy any sweet tooth (they might not make it through the end of the night). You can get cute customizable boxes/wrappers for your candy, or you can have them at a table for guests to take as they leave, or you could even have them as table decoration. Maybe you have your favorite candies and have people “pick a candy side”, or maybe you have some candy that works as a pun like “here’s a kiss from the couple” and you provide Hershey’s kisses. Depending on the type of candy and your presentation style, you could also get creative with your escort cards—maybe all your guests are on a lollipop and on the reverse side you have their table number.

Honey

We have had a few clients take this route. It’s a very unique and sweet favor! Who doesn’t love a little honey with their tea, or with their pastries? Honey is a favor that has multiple purposes in the culinary world, so it’s bound to get devoured by each guest. We once had a couple host a medieval tea party themed wedding, so they had honey as the favor to stay on brand and continue the sweet tea party at home.

Seeds/Plants/Terrarium

It’s a sweet guest favor that keeps on growing! If you are a plant lover and want to pass on ‘the green thumb’ to your guests then this could be a wonderful favor. You could even reach out to your local plant shop and see what they have to offer. You can offer seeds, small succulents, a cactus, or the start of some flowers. We once had a wedding with a “make your own terrarium” station so the favor turned into a proud craft the guests could take home. There also might be something special about attending a wedding at a botanical garden, and then leaving with your own botanical wonder. With this one it is important to keep in mind that some guests might not be the most keen on taking care of a living plant, but remember to do what you want!

Sunglasses

Sunglasses are a fun practical gift that can be used after the wedding. They are easily customizable and probably a bit more on the affordable side. You can find some places that can customize the glasses with your names, wedding hashtag, or anything else you desire. You can even find some super fun shapes to make them more unique. As a fun bonus, you could treat guests to light up glasses and share them across the dance floor—makes for a memorable reception, and some remarkable photos.

Hangover Kits

A comical gift that guests will DEFINITELY use is a little “self care” kit for the next day. You can have some Vitamin C, maybe some Liquid-IV, sunglasses, lotions, some pain medication, whatever you think is practical…and maybe a bit comedic. Whether or not they use it the next morning is different question, but guests will most likely use each element in some capacity.

Tattoos

We have had clients create temporary tattoos of their pets, and even of their own faces. It’s a fun gift that will most likely be used during the reception, and guests will remember you forever…or until the tattoo washes off the next day. If you actually want to make it a more permanent memory, we once had a couple bring in a certified tattoo artist to their reception where guests could get an actual tattoo.

Cookies/Macarons/Baked Goods

You could always provide something sweet that everyone loves. It can work as a late night snack, or as a “little something to remember us by.” You can pick a blend of cookies, or you could have some customized sugar cookies that are decorated specifically for you or your event. They might even be a fun way to incorporate a fur baby into your reception. We also had clients once use a small box of macarons as the escort cards. Guests found their box of sweet treats and knew where to sit.

Personalized Letters

If you want something more personal, you can write letters to each of your guest. This probably works best for more intimate weddings, but be our guest if you want to write them for your grand wedding. It might not be much of a physical object, but it will definitely unlock memories and warm hearts. These could also be a great way for guests to find their seats, as they will find their name/envelope in the appropriate spot.

Lottery Tickets

A cheap but super playful guest favor are lottery tickets. You can easily grab a bunch at your local gas station or supermarket, put them in envelopes, and give one to each guest. It’s a small memento that can be playful as guests mingle and see if anyone won something—You might have a big winner in your family. If you want to make them a bit more practical, we have had couples even use the lottery ticket envelopes as escort cards as well—two for the price of one.

Live Artwork

A fun and memorable favor is a personalized piece of art. We have had couples hire live artists to draw guests during cocktail hour. The guests not only get to interact with the artist and see the art being made, but then they get to keep the piece of art. You can choose any style of art—oil paint, water paint, doodles, caricature, cute, goofy, or glamourous. It’s a much more immersive and memorable favor than a potential piece of plastic.

Something based in the city of your wedding

Maybe you are having a destination wedding, or the place you live is considered a destination wedding for many of your guests. You can brainstorm some ideas based on what the city has to offer and treat your favor as a souvenir. For example, in Chicago, you might consider Garretts popcorn, single servings of Malort, or Chicago dog kits. It’s a super cute way to incorporate the city they are in into your celebrations!

Weed/Liquor

We are based in Chicago so weed is legal here. Because of that, we had a couple give out tiny bags of weed for all their legal guests. It was fun to see all the surprised and smiling faces. It’s definitely a unique favor, and if guests don’t take it…means more for you. In a similar way you can mix-and-match some single serve bottles of liquor. You can customize them, have silly puns like “you’re the fire to my heart” and serve Fireball Whiskey, or you can have a mystery grab bag situation. Might be a fun thing guests take to an potential afterparty, or enjoy on the dance floor. Another common favor are wine bottle stoppers, or customized beer cozies.

Blankets/Fans/Slippers

You can have some guest favors that make your guests more comfortable during your wedding. If your wedding is outside on a slightly colder day then you can gift everyone a personal blanket. If your wedding is on a scorching summer day, then maybe provide some fans for guests to shade themselves or fan off. You can even be creative with the shape, as we once had a couple create fans of their cat’s face—it also was their ceremony program. Slippers can also be a sweet touch if anyone desires to change into more comfortable shoes during the reception.

Merch Table

So this was a specific idea when we designed a “music festival” styled wedding, but it can certainly apply to your wedding. The couple decided to order custom shirts, props, coasters, etc. and set them all out as a storefront. As guests could pick and choose their items, the couple had a suggested donation QR code for guests to donate to the their favorite charity. This was a fun way for guests to feel like they were picking something they wanted, while also enjoying the silly personalized shirts, and feeling good about donating to a cause. So if you are conflicted about picking a single favor option, then don’t hesitate to get a few options and have guests decide.

None!

As mentioned, you don’t need to have guest favors. Guests will remember the experience more than anything. If you are panicking about making your budget work with favors, then it’s an easy thing to remove.

Need support planning out your wedding day?

Fierce Productions is a Chicago based event planning company specializing in curating unique, bold, non-traditional weddings and events. Our talented team of professionals can handle all of your event needs including planning and coordination, design and styling, vendor and talent management, fundraising, marketing support and beyond - get in touch to learn more!

Unique Wedding Favor Ideas