Showing Your Gratitude With A Wedding Party Favor

Of all the guests that attend your wedding this year, none are as prized as your intimate wedding party. These are the men and women you and your fiancé have specially chosen to stand up and be a part of your special day. Some of these people have probably been friends since childhood.

Some of them are also probably close family members like siblings or cousins. These are people who respect and value this new life you're creating and who will stand by you always.

That being said, it can be pretty tricky selecting the right wedding party favor to show your gratitude for their friendship. Wedding gifts for this party should be thoughtful, slightly more expensive and personalized than the other guests' gifts.

For the groom's men, you may want to go classy and select engraved cufflinks from www.groomstand.com for $18-$50. Along this vein, you can also select personalized sports watches, pocket watches or business card holders to impress your classy friends.

Visit www.mygroomsmengifts.com for more details. Or, another option is go the drinker's route by choosing personalized wedding gifts like a monogrammed flask, beer mug or pub sign, which can be found at www.weddingfavorsunlimited.com.

Home Wet Bar (www.homewetbar.com, $60) also offers little travel bar sets that allow you to transport your favorite cognac, whiskey or brandy in a leather case with glasses, a 10 ounce flask, a funnel and two matching coasters.

The wine-themed wedding party favor is a big hit among both men and women. You can create your own customized wine bottles at www.customwinesource.com, which can be a relaxing treat after the hustle and bustle of a busy wedding. Other interesting items include wine carrying bags (www.thingsfestive.weddingstar.com, $27.98), wine stopper/bottle opener sets (www.thingsfestive.weddingstar.com, $17.98), a wine collar/stopper/pouring spout set (www.brookstone.com, $25), wine and chocolate or wine sampler sets (www.wine.com, $40-$80) and personalized wine glasses (www.engravedgiftcreations.com, $14.99).

At www.wealthwood.com, you'll find a number of unique wine wedding favor ideas, such as personalized wine holders, wine carrier totes, wine coolers, leather carriers, bottle bags and more.

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Better Ideas For Destination Wedding Favors

Having a destination wedding can be very rewarding for the bride and groom, who probably have always dreamt of a far-off, idyllic beach wedding. Yet, for friends and family members, this forced vacation may be slightly outside their comfort zones.

For this reason, many brides and grooms make up special "welcome baskets" that are held at the hotel where their guests are staying to ensure that they feel comfortable. Inside the personalized favor bags they'll find homemade treats, snacks, bottled water or champagne, mints, scented candles, tissues, soaps, guide maps of the local area and other essentials.

In addition to these welcome baskets, the bride and groom will also have to decide on themed wedding favors that further reflect their personality and interests.

Drinks are popular wedding favors, no matter which theme you have. For instance, a Victorian themed wedding might package up coffee and tea in tulle, pearls and vintage wrap.

Tropical destination weddings often feature pouches of cocktail mixes that may include margaritas, cosmopolitans or pina coladas. Asian themed weddings naturally lend themselves to tea favor/party supplies.

All of these special themed items could be given out for less than $1 each but if wrapped thoughtfully, the sentimentality can still make your guests feel appreciated.

Many couples opt to purchase wedding favors upon their arrival at the destination to save the stress of packing them. Often times, local companies include unique wedding favors right in the destination wedding package to make it more convenient for their clients.

If you are packing your own favors, avoid glass and breakable items, as well as chocolate or anything with powder. If you're only having a few guests, it's not uncommon to skip the beach themed wedding favors altogether and simply dole out "thank-you" cards with gift cards or just pay for a post-wedding breakfast meal.

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Popular Wine Wedding Favor Ideas

Trend-setting party planners often recommend the wine wedding favor because it's so widely appealing, fits with many different themes and allows you the creativity to infuse your own personality, taste and interests into the gift.

For instance, you can design your own labels and tags, choose the variety of wine or choose a wine accessory, like a bottle opener, wine glass or bottle topper that fits with your unique wedding theme.

Wine favor ideas can range from $0.60 glass photo coasters and $1.95 themed bottle openers to $10 bottles of wine and $30 wine gift sets. No matter what your budget is, you will find unique party favors to make a lasting impression on your guests.

To find the best wedding favor wine labels, you can check out the classy selections at www.myownlabels.com. These labels range in cost, from 53 cents for 120 to 50 cents for 300. For an extra $25, you can add your own custom artwork if you'd like.

There are other quality sites to check for custom wine label wedding favor ideas, such as www.stoneycreekwinepress.com, www.suvinowinery.com or www.lightninglabels.com. If you don't mind printing your own labels from your home computer, you may want to play around with free computer software like SmartCode Studio Community Edition (www.soft411.com/company/TechnoRiver-Pte-Ltd/SmartCodeStudio-Community-Edition.htm) or LabelXP (www.bestvistadownloads.com/software/k-free-label-software-t-free-labelxp-download-hpiovtnk.html).

Custom wine aside, there are a number of wine-related wedding favor options for under $3. You can go for custom coasters in your wedding theme and personalize them with a photo insertion of your choice.

You can choose wine stoppers in love, beach, casino, vineyard, flower, fairytale, Asian or season themes. Wine pourers also make nice gifts that will keep your guest's table cloths clean when the wine is out in full force.

There are wine collars, coolers and other decorative items that can jazz up the table decor in the home. Some couples opt for personalized wedding favors that contain a sentimental quote, rather than their names and wedding date for a more enduring gift to remember.

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Creating Your Own Unique Wedding Party Favors

There are many benefits to making your own DIY wedding party favors. First, each one will be a personalized wedding favor your guests won't be able to find anywhere else. Each gift will be unique, with your own time and care put into it.

There is nothing more touching than a handmade gift! Secondly, you will also find that you can save a ton of money in merchandise costs and shipping by doing it yourself. Lastly, you will be able to involve family and friends who may be eager to help you out in some way, which can create a fun activity for all involved.

Just think of how impressed your guests will be when they realize you handmade all of the items yourself!

Practical wedding party favors are often as clever as they are useful. Today many eco-friendly couples are making their own seed packets to inspire their guests to plant their own gardens; these seeds can be housed in boxes, packets, buckets, tulle, satin pouches, tiny bags or mini-pots.

At www.do-it-yourself-weddings.com, you can get instructions to make your own decorative soaps. Visit www.soapandcandlemolds.com for a wide selection of excellent molds that will make your soap (or candle) look more professional than ever! Other practical and unique wedding favors include mini decorated notepads, photo coasters, personalized candles, bookmarks, key-chains, potpourri and bath salts.

One of the most important facets of homemade wedding party favors is the presentation. No matter what you're making, you'll likely need some sort of wrapper or container for the favor itself, as well as decorative tags or ribbons.

Containers and boxes are best found at craft stores, dollar stores and discount marts. Look for jars, baskets, bags, dishes, candle holders, pots, mugs or water cans. If you have a quality printer, then you can print custom tags yourself with your names and wedding date or a meaningful quote.

If your printer isn't that great, Kinkos will be able to print an order for you.

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Making An Effort With Personalized Favors

Personalized favors are still a relatively new idea, but they're gaining in popularity among many wedding parties.

For mere pennies, you can have your names and wedding date etched onto just about anything, such as boxes, wrappers, bars of soap, flasks, wine glasses, water bottles, lip balms, mint tins and more! You may also want to consider personalizing the wedding party's grooms men and bridesmaids favors too, although these gifts should be a little more expensive and thoughtful to show your appreciation for all they've helped you with. Here are some thoughtful favor ideas to help you get started.

For bridesmaids, useful personalized favors may include a mirrored compact. For $24.95, you can get personalized, silver-plated, purse-shaped compact mirrors at www.perfectwedding.com.

There is a large selection of personalized mirrored compacts at www.enchantedlantern.com for $30, that include pictures of cherubs, vintage beach wedding favors, western themes, Rosie the Riveter, Chat Noir and more.

Over at the unique independent merchant site, www.etsy.com, you can choose a monogrammed lighted compact for just $12 -- that is, if you don't fall in love with any of their other one-of-a-kind unique wedding favor designs first!

To save money, some people prefer to go with custom party favor boxes, rather than personalized favors. For instance, at www.favorsbyserendipity.com, you can personalize tuxedo and wedding dress favor boxes, which can be filled with breath mints, tea bags, cocktail drink mixes, coffee, hot chocolate, spices or your favorite candy.

These favor boxes can be purchased for $1-$3, depending on the design and can be stuffed for even less, making them one of the most cost-effective gift types. Often times these favors double in function, acting as a take-home souvenir and a placeholder!

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Showing Your Personality With Unique Favors

The most unique favors are items that offer guests a glimpse into your personality, interests, tastes and favorites. One of the most interesting facets of a wedding is that guests can learn even more about you and your new spouse by looking at the decorations, the cake, your outfits, your theme and your color scheme.

The wedding reception party favor of your choice definitely plays into the finishing touches of your overall display. Your favors should complement the design, colors and concept you've already built upon with every other detail. The best favor ideas are items that can be reused or disposed of immediately, rather than little trinkets that will go to a garage sale later on.

Couples are finding new ways to put their own twist on the traditional chocolate wedding favor. Even though Godiva's Grace Yu says "Heart-shaped chocolates are the most popular," using creative presentation can re-invent this old favorite.

For instance, one couple filled gigantic white-chocolate hearts with the San Francisco couple's names written in dark chocolate. When the hearts were broken open, several chocolate truffles were found inside, much to the delight of the guests.

Another couple wrapped dark chocolates in gold foil and wrote place holder cards on them in calligraphy. There are also a number of party favor boxes to house your unique favors.

There are many ways to present your unique favors. You can choose an inexpensive item and dress it up with lavish trim. For instance, you can buy decorative party favor boxes that match your theme for under $1. Or you may use a plain box and slap on a personalized sticker to add personality.

Typing picot-edged ribbon with mini wedding bells adds a finished look. Lining a box with colored tissue paper and securing the top with a charm leaves a lasting impression. Mini Chinese takeout boxes are gaining a lot of popularity, especially with Asian-themed weddings.

With proper presentation, even the smallest gesture can be breathtaking and clever.

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Party Favors For All Your Guests

To the modern party planner, the party favors are so much more than "something cheap to grab from the Dollar Store." Birthday favors, wedding favors and themed favors can, in essence, become an extension of the host's personality and a clever way to reinforce the party's overall concept.

In fact, the reason why many of the best party planners choose themes is to make it easier for deciding on guest gifts, games and food. No matter what kind of party is being planned, online stores should be the first place a party planner goes to because the deals are generally much better than in brick and mortar stores.

One trend in birthday party favors is the functional item that can be refilled and reused again and again. For instance, one of the top selling party favors on www.beau-coup.com is the mini classic gum-ball machine.

Personalized square favor tins, personalized mini glass jars and mini candy dispensers can be used to stash trinkets for kids or to hold candy on an adult's work desk. Another classic favorite is the hand towels that are decoratively folded to look like mouth-watering cake slices, ice cream cones and candies!

For less than $2 you can also give out personalized party favors like playing cards with customized labels! Glass photo coasters are classy, functional and sentimental all at the same time, making them another enduring favorite.

Bridal shower party favors are best kept simple and customized. Popular party favors include personalized packages of baking mix, candy, chocolate, coffee, honey, olive oil, wine, cocktail mixes, cocoa, tea, popcorn, cookies, mints and other delectable treats.

Let's face it -- everyone loves a "thank you" gesture that's edible! Other top-selling items at www.myweddingfavors.com include photo glass coasters, tri-fold cosmetic bags, silver beaded picture frames, personalized flip-flops, sterling silver earrings, monogrammed terry cloth spa slippers and personalized accessory cases.

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Buying Party Wedding Favors Online

"There's a new consciousness, an awareness, that there are other options," says Josie Daga of www.preownedweddingdresses.com. "People are looking for different ways to save." She adds that you can have a very nice wedding on a strict budget by, as a couple, picking a few things that matter most and letting go of the rest.

For many couples, the music and the food must be first-rate. For brides, she may care about her dress, hair, makeup and photographer the most. Some couples would rather splurge on the honeymoon than the reception or the wedding reception party favor gifts. The good news is that you can find many clever party wedding favors for less than $1, which will help to keep costs down significantly.

You'll find unique wedding favors on-the-cheap at www.favorsandflowers.com, where the party wedding favors look much more expensive than they really are! Who wouldn't love a pear-shaped candle in a pail for 80 cents?

Martha Stewart goodie bags (for 65 cents each) let you cram your favorite treats into stylish favor bags. Other adorable party favor boxes are brightly colored or clear, and shaped like beach suitcases, purses, pillows, popcorn boxes, palm trees, dice, wicker baskets and Chinese take-out boxes.

Personalized tea bags can be bought for just 85 cents, or you may want to decorate the wine glasses at the table and give the gift of frosted cherry blossom glass shades for $1. There are many elegant options just over $1 too, including decorative soaps, coasters, wine stoppers and lanterns.

For quick reference, www.littlethingsfavors.com has their $1 or less party wedding favors separated into quick and easy to browse categories. You can find practical gifts, such as cookie cutters, wine stoppers, coasters, personalized tea bags, cell phone charms, fans, chopsticks, poker chips and note pads.

There are personalized Hershey Kisses or miniatures, as well as personalized wrappers. You will find candles in grape, heart, gingerbread or castle shapes; mirrors in the shape of handbags, hearts, purses, butterflies and tulips; key-chains shaped like hearts, photos, bride/groom, castles and shells; gingerbread, castle, heart, butterfly, leaf and shell shaped bookmarks; place card holders shaped like hearts, flowers, castles, Vegas, holiday, silver-plated wedding cake and snowmen; place card frames with rhinestones or in beaded brushed silver; as well as party favor boxes and packaging or shaped bath and soap favors.

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