I’ve helped out at a huge number of weddings and am always impressed by a wedding favor that shows that the bride put a lot of thought into the matter. After all, the point of a wedding favor is to show – through some small token – your appreciation for the guest’s making the time and effort to celebrate the joy of your marriage.  Today, we also give these tokens to symbolize the love and friendship we have for our guests.

No reputable wedding or etiquette book would dare claim that wedding favors are required. They’re not.  But well done, they’ll leave a long-lasting smile on everyone at your wedding. In the long run, all your efforts to choose the right favors are rewarded.

Let’s face it. While favors are not required, it is virtually guaranteed that their absence will be noticed, even at a very casual beach wedding reception or dinner. This small gift need not be expensive or elaborate. But it should be a little something that’s meaningful, fun, or useful for the guests. Whether it’s an engraved sterling silver picture frame or a single piece of tulle-wrapped gourmet chocolate, use this opportunity to reciprocate the honor and love the guests are showering on you by witnessing your big event.

If you do nothing else, remember to personalize each favor somehow with your name or initials to remind the guests of the joy they experienced at your celebration.  

And don’t forget that with a little clever thinking, the favors can do double duty as place card holders or, if grouped well, as table centerpieces.

One more thing: If your favors are not clearly unisex items, by all means involve your fiancé in the selection process, especially for the favors intended for the male guests!

I’ve assembled next some of the more interesting beach wedding favors that I’ve seen recently. For those into DIY and crafts, you can’t go wrong shopping for more ideas in books from Amazon.com. If you will have a professional wedding planner, she will certainly be able to point you to some local specialty stores. Just to cover every base for you, we’ve included some cute ideas in our Bargain Boutique for great wedding favors..

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