Guest Thank yous

At your reception it is customary you give a little something to your guests for coming. It doesn't have to be huge, but a small token of appreciation shows to your guests that you cared that they came. At my wedding reception I had a candy bar where guests they were given a small Chinese takeout box with our wedding "logo" on it and they went through and filled it with different candies to take home. I have seen people give out CD's of love songs, homemade caramel apples, chocolates, cookies, magnets, and plants just to name a few. You really can do anything and make it work. Make sure you order your thank yous two months before.

Be sure that you have more than enough just in case more guests come than originally expected, or (as was the case at my wedding) if children take more than is intended. If you want to monitor your wedding favors then you can have someone passing them out, or if you're having a sit-down dinner have it waiting at their seat. You can put it at the guest book table so guests know that's what it is. If it's food you're giving then you should give one per guest, if it's a CD, plant or something like that then one per family/couple is plenty.

To help you decide what you are going to do for your thank yous, your budget might be determining that for you. Be sure to set aside a predetermined dollar amount while budgeting your reception to be used for these and stick to it. Again, these don't need to be expensive and can even be handmade. So have fun with them and make these thank yous fun, cute and something your guests will enjoy. It's their final take from your wedding and you want them to remember it and how wonderful it was.

As one last point of advice, if the favor itself is inexpensive, you can make sure it doesn't look it by spicing up it's presentation. A cute bag or some crafty design design could help you accomplish this without spending hardly anything extra. Also consider getting something with your color scheme and theme.

Here are some neat ideas I have seen for wedding guest thank yous.

 Chinese boxes from my wedding with our logo used for the candy bar