10 Budget-Friendly Wedding Favors

I probably sound like a broken wedding when it comes to wedding favors, but deciding on the right ones can seem downright impossible. And what’s so maddening about them is that a large percentage of your wedding guests won’t even take one. Yes, I hate to break it to you…but most wedding favors go unused.

Knowing that cold, hard fact means you basically have two options when it comes to wedding favors: make them memorable or skip them altogether. But since this piece is about wedding favors, I’ll assume you’re not going to forego them, but instead try to come up with a unique and clever idea that will leave guests running towards the favor table. The good news? We can help.

When trying to decide what type of wedding favor to get, I always caution brides again getting something that won’t travel well (IE: a live plant). While I love the idea of giving guests a paperwhite or succulent, if you’re having a wedding where most guests are traveling in and out of town, it becomes really hard for guests to pack said plant. Instead, it’s better to get something that’s well-sealed and won’t leave a dirt trail in your luggage.

Below are a few of my favorite recent wedding favor finds that (hopefully) guests will be excited for…

Have you decided on your wedding favors yet? Let us know what they are in the comments section!

Popcorn Kernels

So I don’t always love food wedding favors (I’ve probably driven this point into the ground), but popcorn kernels are fun because you can bring them back home with you, and they’re always a fun excuse to have a movie night. You can buy glass containers with lids for around $0.30/each at stores like this one, and then use personalized tags (like the ones from Evermine, below).

Popcorn In Jar
Popcorn In Jar

Mini Champagne Bottles

So these mini champagne bottles with straws seem to be popping up everywhere (pun intended), but that’s for good reason. They are fun, festive, and feel oh-so-glamourous. While you can buy top-of-the-line Moet champagne bottles for around $15/bottle, you can save money without sacrificing taste by going with a cava or prosecco instead for around $$4-6/bottle.

Bottle openers/Escort Cards

Double-duty wedding favors are always top on my list, and allow you to spend a little bit more than you normally would on a wedding favor because they’re serving another purpose (and therefore the cost tends to even out). These skeleton key bottle openers come with vintage tags so you can use them for escort cards or place cards.

Bottle Opener Favors
Bottle Opener

DIY Birdseed Favor

This is a sweet and unexpected wedding favor that you can easily DIY at home.

Birdseed Favors
Birdseed Favors via Intimateweddings

Vintage Hankies

Here’s another escort card idea that can double as a wedding favor. Check out my previous love for vintage hankies here, which includes helpful info on where to buy them.

Mini Art

If you hate DIY than just skip down to the next wedding favor, because this mini piece of art is intended to be designed by you, your future husband, your bridesmaids, or anybody else in your wedding party with the slightest bit of artistic skill. You can buy the mini canvases and easels here for around $4/each.

Coffee/Tea Wedding Favors

A caffeine jolt is always a winning gift/favor, and they’re an inexpensive one at that. Buy your favorite coffee bean or tea in bulk and put them in metal canisters with a cute DIY label. For tea I like using the saying “Tea for Two” somewhere on the tag. For detailed instructions on this project, click here.

Hot Chocolate (with alcohol)

Seriously, nobody is ever upset with alcohol wedding favors. And tiny bottles are so cute (as evidenced by the mini champagne bottles, above). I would buy small glass containers, fill them with a yummy cocoa mix and marshmallows, and affix a tiny bottle of Baileys or other alcohol. If you’re using a speciality cocoa I would also include the recipe for the perfect “hot cocoa” on it. Try this beyond yummy-looking recipe here.

Chocolate In Jar
Chocolate in Jar via The Knot

Lotto Tickets

I haven’t seen this wedding favor everywhere yet, but I think it’s really cute. It could work well with a Gatsby-style or kitschy retro wedding theme. Buy a lotto ticket and put them in a gift card sleeve (like this one from Etsy), and either handwrite or use a typed label along with a custom stamp you’ve ideally used somewhere else in your wedding decor.

Coffee Mugs

I was obsessed with getting those lettered Anthropologie coffee mugs as wedding favors/escort card holders, with every guest’s first initial on them. But after I realized how much time that would take me I gave that up. I like the idea incorporating a graphic you’ve used somewhere in your wedding decor (such as your wedding invitations, programs, etc.) and using it as your logo for a personalized coffee mug for guests. I tend to stay away from emblazoning wedding favors with your wedding date and names, because I feel like guests might be less inclined to use something that way. You can buy personalized coffee mugs here for around $426 for 126 mugs.

Coffe Mug Favors
Coffe Mug via Etsy

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