Wedding favors as I've seen them discussed on Sugar are totally unnecessary- we did little net bags of M&M's and that was enough. Of course we also skipped the cocktail hour in favor of a buffet, but our wedding was afternoon and not evening. Time of event makes a big difference in terms of expense, I think.

Center pieces. OMG they are so annoying.

I've never seen the point of wedding favors. Definitely unnecessary

wedding ceremony programs, IMO.

I loved our favors, but not sure everyone else thought they were as cute as I did! (we're pretty nature-y, so we gave terra cotta flower pots with soil and flower seeds inside the pot, w/saucer on top and tied with a cute ribbon in wedding colors)

also I have loved some favors I have gotten at other weddings (insanely good cookies), and pitched others soon after (who wants a personalized champagne flute with someone else's name and wedding date on it? when would you use that?)

Never been to a wedding so I have no clue. Going to my first one in June so I'll assess the goods then

I was going to do the whole "green" thing and give people seeds to grow flowers. But then I looked at the price -- over $300 for something that people are going to throw away on the way out. I'd rather save my money!

DJs! Who needs a DJ when you can make a wedding playlist on your ipod?

Everyone will probably laugh but I think the cake is a total waste. I have been to a lot of weddings and I never eat the cake. My friend had a black tie wedding with a sit down dinner and the bride decided that instead of doing the cake thing they had ice cream sundae's served to us by the wait staff after dinner. Everyone loved it and nobody even missed the cake more than likely because we were all drunk.

Ah, open bar weddings, cubadog. My favorite.

So true cubadog. I barely eat the cake at the weddings that I have been to. We're all drunk or busy on the dancefloor to even care!

My fiancee and I are planning to make a donation to our favorite charity instead of giving favors. We'll spend less than we would have had to on favors, feel better about it, and no one will miss the favor.

Hors d'orderves aren't necessary — dinner is enough! My thoughts exactly!

those wedding camera couples put on the tables.

Cake! i'm so irritated at how much wedding cake costs....and no one eats it....and the hotel pretty much controls where we get it by charging a "cake cutting" fee if we don't buy from one of their recommended vendors! UGH!

for whatever it's worth, sparkle, I don't think our guests threw away the favors (maybe b/c it would be a lot easier to throw away a package of seeds than a whole clay flowerpot) -- in fact months later people were e-mailing and telling me how their flowers were growing

fancy seating placements, just stick to the free cards given by the resturuant

OMG my cake was the best tasting thing I've ever had AND my guests still talk about it (a year and a half later)

I think unnecessary things are favors, crazy flower arrangements, I second the DJ/band - just make a playlist - and finally a formal sit down dinner (those aren't the norm where I live, we just have buffet style)

my vote goes to wedding favors (sometimes nice, sometimes ridiculous) and ceremony programs.

what are wedding favors? i've never been to a wedding with them.

We actually gave our wedding cake as the favors. We had a dessert buffet so we knew nobody would really need or want to eat cake as well, but we still wanted to have a traditional cake. So we got cute little cake boxes with our names that said something like "sweet dreams" and had the caterers put them out by the exit for people to take. It worked out because our cake didn't go to waste, AND we got to take a bunch of boxes home and ate cake for dessert every night for about a month.

Also I would say you can save a lot on the flowers. All flowers are pretty and a small flower budget can really be stretched a long way. Just get a creative florist.

Hmmmm...let's see....unnecessary costs, IMO, would include the cake, extravagant favors, tons of flowers (especially in centerpieces), ceremony programs, and the latest one I've noticed, personalized monograms that shine onto the dance floor or wall.

lawchick - I LOVE your idea of the pot w/ seeds!
We were thinking of making our own BBQ sauce and putting it in jars w/ our own labels on them... I went to a wedding a few years ago that did it w/ jam and I love it.

lawchick - I LOVE your idea of the pot w/ seeds!
We were thinking of making our own BBQ sauce and putting it in jars w/ our own labels on them... I went to a wedding a few years ago that did it w/ jam and I love it.

Favors ... if it's not edible, I don't want it!

Thanks Ali! They took a long time to put together but ended up cute. Homemade BBQ sauce sounds sooooo good. I would love to get that as a favor.

Favors for sure. Lots of guests leave them behind. I say if you're going to do something, make it edible.

Every wedding I've gone to, people have gone nuts for the cocktail hour and the cake. No one really cares about the favors. Most people just run off with the centerpiece if it's not nailed and glued down.

I think if you get down to it all of a wedding is expendable except the fees to get a liscense and to have someone marry you. It won't stop me from having my own kind of lavish wedding (if I change my mind and decide to ever get married) but I won't be blowing any budgets to get it done.

*license...yikes that spelling.

I agree with runningesq. I'd forgo any favors that aren't edible.

The other place that I would save would be on the photographs. It makes sense to hire a professional, but there are plenty of people who pay 5, 6...10 thousand dollars for the best in the business. If I was looking to save money, I'd definitely save more here.

I think wedding favors are cute, but the likelihood of your guests really cherishing them really isn't very high.

I skipped wedding favors. I have trashed or re-gifted most of the favors I've gotten over the years, and thus I couldn't stomach creating clutter for my friends and family.

I seem to find most often that wedding favors are cooler to the couple than they are to the guests. For example, one couple gave everyone a little sailboat charm with a note attached explaining that they met on a friend's sailboat. That had to have been at least 1K of their budget. It meant nothing to me, though. It was cute. Lots of people went "awww...", but I can't imagine anyone took it home and said, "Now this is just what I've been looking for to complete my nautical jewelry closet." So then, we all take it home, feel guilty for throwing it away due to the sentiment imposed on it, and go about our lives.

I do not like favors edible or not I think they are stupid. I would much rather give the money to a charity or invest into another part of the wedding like my ice cream sundae's.

Who doesn't eat the cake!?! I love the cake part of weddings... Because I love cake! That being said, a good way to save $ on that part it to get a pretty, small wedding cake and then get regular sheet cakes for the guests (they are also easier to cut and many places charge up to $2 a slice to cut cake, so you could get a cousin to cut the cake to save money there too.)

Real flower centerpieces for all the guest tables are crazy expensive and unnecessary. Hors d'orderves are more expensive but are really nice for your guests when you are taking pictures in between the ceremony and reception if they are going to have to wait a while for dinner. I think favors are nice if you can afford them, as long as it is something edible or useful, but I would cut them before cake or hors d'orderves if I had to.

I always eat the cake at weddings.....I'm not sure who doesn't really

I think cakes can easily BECOME the most disposable wedding expense. I'm not saying to sack the cake altogether, but people often sacrifice taste (and thousands of dollars) to get super extravagant, over-the-top fondant masterpieces. If you have the money to blow, then sure you'll get great pictures, but if you're trying to cut cost, then who cares? We're having a simple buttercream frosting with some ribbon decoration for an inexpensive cake, and then putting the money we are saving towards a viennese table of lots of different desserts and a chocolate fountain -- which will be much more popular than a super decorated cake.

Some close friends are getting married this weekend and they are doing pint glasses for the favors. The bride designed a little logo that has a Joshua tree and "2008" on it and it's going to be etched onto the glass. I am excited for these favors, since they won't be blatantly "wedding favors" and I like pint glasses anyway! It's a weekend wedding and everyone is going to use the glasses all weekend (sharing and washing them and all) and then make sure they just take one home with them at the end of the weekend.

calligraphy on the invites is way expensive and unnecessary, esp. if you have beautiful handwriting.

I really have to disagree with some of you regarding favors. I think this is the only thing that your guests actually get to take with them to remember your wedding by. It's your way of thanking them. I personally think it's a little selfish to give up something that you were going to give your guests instead of something that is just for yourself or pure looks....I'd say have a wedding within your budget...if all you can afford is a park wedding, then do that. Prioritize your own needs, but don't take away from your guests. They are traveling, buying you gifts, sharing this joy with you...they deserve a thank you gift....if anything, i'd cut a live band, crazy centerpieces, cake, just keep things simple....

We've skipped tones of things e.g. DJ (iPod replaced), car (my family collects vintage). the question is what would I remove without even considering replacing with an alternative... FAVORS all the weddings I’ve been to had lovely little gifts that no one really looked twice at.

There have been so may things that we have found totally unnecessary and yet we are still near $30k grrrr it's so hard

wedding Favs. and realy expensive invitaions....no need.
I am getting married in 6 months...and am an artist so I am making most of the stuff my self...thus cutting out the middle man... DIY for life baby!

I know! We are at 30K and we've cut out so many things! It's just amazing how much little things add up. Question: do you girls add the cost of your wedding rings to the budget?

Favors...

The best advice I got was pick what's most important to you and spend money on that. We spent a little more on the venue which was really natural so we spent very little on flowers.

I agree with DIY - in lots of cases we got what we wanted for a LOT less. Thank goodness for the internet and online shopping!

wedding favors, who needs them?

I'm getting married July 4 and I've completely planned my wedding for 100 guests in less than 2 months and for less than $7000! I made my own invitations using ones from a craft store (made by www.gartnerstudios.com) = $40, I found a family friend who does photography, I haggled down my reception's per person fee (from $64pp to $50pp for all food and drink and hor d'ouevres), and I'm having my aunt make homemade chocolates in my wedding colors for favors. Beside all of that, if you choose a decorative site you can cut out the need for centerpieces and flowers. Oh, and I made my own guestbook using a fancy scrapbook album. Lots of ways to get this done!

Favors - what a waste, unless it's edible! I don't think guests leave at the end of the night and say "OMG, I came all the way here, bought them a gift, paid for a flight and hotel room and they didn't even give me a wedding favor!" Sometimes favors can be nice (the flower pot idea, the pint glasses, etc.) but they are absolutely NOT necessary. And if your guests actually want to be there to support you on your wedding day they will not care if they get something out of it...and personally, I think a delicious meal and fun evening of dancing is the BEST gift you can give your guests.

I think the fondant cakes are a waste... because they don't even taste as good! I love cake and love pretty cakes, but I want it to be yummy! If you like cheesecake, my cousin did a variety of cheesecakes in lieu of a wedding cake. The guests loved it. She also NEVER mentioned the word wedding in getting any price from vendors. It saved her a ton of money as they hike up the prices for weddings.

Who needs to be buying all their guests dinners and drinks in the first place? I've been to more than a few weddings and none of them had either of these and none of us guests minded. And as far as the cake, a simple sheet cake from a local Sams Club or Wal-mart has always done fantastically well. That or a few home made ones gathered together on the table if the lucky couple has a baker in the family. And as far as wedding favors, if your guests want a souvenier, trust me, lol they'll find one. lol Whether it be taking home a printed knapkin or even just keeping the program or invitations they recieved.

Most important thing, I believe, is to do what makes the day special for you, not what will make the day pleasing to all of your extended guests.