6 Tasks to Check Off Before Ordering Wedding Favors

Few events in life require as much planning as a wedding. It’s understandable, of course: You want your special day to be perfect, to remain in everyone’s memory as a stellar example of everything a wedding can be. That’s the dream, right? Achieving this effect is easier said than done, but you can do it by creating a streamlined and seamless theme that draws guests in and remains consistent throughout the day and night.

Wedding favors, though they’re a small slice of the pie, should do their job by complementing the rest of your wedding rather than standing out from it. Too many people simply tack on some Jordan almonds and call it good, but if you want a truly fabulous effect, it helps to plan the perfect gift with the perfect matching gift bag. Here are six tasks to check off your list before you order your wedding favors.

1. Choose a Theme

With the exception of picking a date and a venue, choosing a theme is the most important thing you can do to get your wedding headed in the right direction. Your theme will tie everything together, from your food and table decorations to your flowers and bridesmaids’ dresses. It will determine the style of your save the dates and invitations, as well as any other stationery you use for the big day.

Not sure where to start? We don’t blame you: It’s a pretty big decision! If you need a little help, check out The Knot’s Wedding Themes page. They’ll help you narrow down your choices into vintage, rustic or beach weddings, and tack on some theme advice and etiquette to boot. Once you decide which direction to go, they offer tons of great examples for each.

2. Create a Logo, If Desired

Many couples these days choose a logo to represent their wedding. That way, you have something to emblazon your wedding website, save the dates, invitations and gift bags with, not to mention menus, programs and any other paper collateral you may be using on the special day itself.

You could, of course, hire a designer to make a logo for you, especially if you know someone who will give you a friend discount. You could also design a logo yourself if you’re handy with Photoshop or Illustrator. If none of these describes you and you can’t afford to pay a professional, try a site like Logomakr.

3. Choose Fonts

Like your theme and logo, your fonts help tie your wedding together and lend it a certain flavor. An old typewriter font, for instance, is perfect for a vintage wedding. A more modern font complements a city wedding perfectly, especially if the venue is indoors, and a willowy or graceful font goes well with a beach wedding. Rustic more your speed? Choose a font that looks like handwriting for down-home appeal.

When searching for fonts, use a site such as fontpicker, which shows you all the fonts on your computer and helps you narrow them down to the ones you like by deleting (just from the list) ones that won’t work. If you want to install additional fonts on your computer to play with, you can always turn to Google Fonts, which has a practically endless selection.

4. Send Out Save the Dates

Once you put your save the dates out into the world, you’re much less likely to change your wedding theme. Whether you order professional stationery online or from a designer or make it yourself, be certain it’s what you’re looking for first. That way, once it goes out, you’ll have a theme template from which to work instead of having to start from scratch.

5. Pick Your Wedding Favors

Finally, it’s time to start looking at favors! There are many different types from which to choose. Some people give their guests a very small token gift, figuring they’ve wined and dined them and that’s enough. Others choose to go a more lavish route, giving out bottles of wine embellished with custom labels and nested in single bottle wine bags. Some strike down a middle road with cute customized corkscrews. Other potential gifts include:

• Chocolates
• Candles
• Soaps
• Notebooks
• Decks of cards
• Personalized glassware
• Coasters
• Candle holders
• Bell jars
• Mason jars
• Ornaments
• Mini gum drop machines
• Jewelry
• Picture frames

… and much, much more.

Keep in mind you don’t necessarily have to choose the same favors for everyone. Perhaps you want to pick something different for men and women, or for kids and adults. Some people use favors as place cards. The sky is really the limit. But before you order, there’s one more step to complete.

6. Decide on Gift Bags

Gift bags! Not only are your bags important for helping guests transport their favors home, they are also another great opportunity to show off your logo, fonts and themes.

Paper bags and totes are always a great and affordable option, especially for small or delicate gifts that need some tissue paper padding. For simpler favors at smaller weddings, consider placing bottles of wine, liquer or even something unique like maple syrup in jute bags.

Finally: Time to Order

Only after you have a fully realized wedding theme, have sent out your save the dates so you’re sure you won’t change your mind, have chosen on favors and found gift bags that will go with them nicely, only then should you put in your order for the actual favors themselves.

Remember, although you want them ready for your special day, you don’t want to order them so far in advance that you change your mind, the goods spoil (if it’s food), or you lose track of them. Instead, place your order a month or two before the wedding, giving yourself several weeks to put the favors together and box them up. Make sure to order your gift bags at the same time. That way, on your special day, they’ll be one less thing for you to worry about.