Wedding Blog

With wedding budgets decreasing, I have noticed anxiety increasing over things to cut from the wedding. Many think that cutting the wedding favors is a good way to help maintain the bottom line, but before you strike them from your budget, here are ten inexpensive options you may want to think about for your wedding favors.

1. Find a cookie cutter that matches your theme. Print your favorite cookie recipe on a nice card and attach it to the cutter with a ribbon that matches your wedding colors.
    
2. Purchase a packet of seedlings from your local nursery or hardware store, put the envelope in a terra cotta pot, wrap in tulle and tie with a ribbon that matches your wedding colors. Enclose a nice thank you note for attending the wedding.
    
3. Go to a dollar store, purchase little class containers and fill the jars with candies that match your wedding colors.
    
4. Purchase a little container of bath salts from the dollar store and attach a card with five romantic/relaxing ideas for an evening at home.
    
5. Donate $1.00 per guest to your favorite charity and put a note on each table explaining why you made the donation to that particular cause.
    
6. Build your centerpiece out of potted plants (one per couple seated at the table) and have the DJ announce that guests should take the plants home and plant in their gardens. You will save money on your centerpieces and favors!
    
7. Personalize a Christmas ornament to match your wedding theme and give to each guest.
    
8. Present each guest with a slice of wedding cake in a box to take home.
    
9. Purchase romantic movies off the discount movie rack, tie a package of microwave popcorn to the movie. Put it at every other place setting with instructions to have a relaxing/romantic evening at home.
    
10. Purchase inexpensive tea cups and put tea bags in each cup, wrap with tulle and a ribbon.

If you would like more information on choosing your wedding favors go to: http://www.perfectweddingguide.com/planning/invitations-gifts/wedding-favors/9-tips-for-selecting-wedding-favors/ As always, if you have comments or questions on ordering wedding favors or on anything wedding related, please leave a comment here or email me at susan.southerland@pwg.com.

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan Southerland

I really seem to be into chocolate lately. Could it be the hustle and bustle of wedding season? Definitely! However, I also seem to be finding chocolate everywhere I look. Last week I saw those great chocolate wedding cake favors by Godiva (inspired by wedding cake designer extraordinaire, Silvia Weinstock); this week, I was perusing weddingbee.com (another fabulous wedding blog) and I saw these great wedding favors.

The very talented bride who posted this photo is making them herself with molds that she purchased from a craft store. If you are not so crafty, or just don’t have the time, a local chocolate shop should be able to assist. There are many resources online for interesting packaging, or a simple cellophane wrap can do the trick.

I love multipurpose items!

I had the very good fortune of attending a seminar yesterday where Sylvia Weinstock was was one of the speakers. For those of you who are not familiar with Sylvia, she is an endearing, engaging lady (her advice to us yesterday was insist on a cake as delicious as it is beautiful, after all, if you find a handsome man who sounds like a jerk when he opens his mouth, you would toss him in the trash. Same thing for cake it should be good inside and out!) who happens to make the most spectacular wedding cakes. You cannot begin to describe with words her confectionery masterpieces.

Well for those of us who love wedding cake (and who of us doesn’t?) you will soon be able to read Sylvia’s advice, see her sketches and her finished wedding cakes when her new book is released “Sylvia Weinstock’s Sensational Cakes.” I am the proud owner of an advanced autographed copy. It is beautiful.

We were treated to another sweet surprise. Sylvia teamed up with Godiva Chocolates to create a beautiful chocolate wedding cake favor. (Please excuse the blurry photograph. I am definitely not a photographer!)

I ate one after I took the picture. Yummy!