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Wedding favours are the perfect way to get creative while giving thanks to your guests for sharing your special day.
But we feel it’s also our responsibility to be as sustainable as possible in every area of our wedding prep, so without further ado, we give you 15 awesome eco friendly wedding favours.
The History of Wedding Favours
Like many aspects of matrimony, wedding favours are a centuries-old tradition, with historians suggesting they date back to old-school French aristocracy and were known as ‘bonbonnieres’ – sweets or other confectionery in a crystal trinket box.
Because sugar was a rare and expensive luxury way back when, a small gift like this for wedding guests would be a symbol of wealth and status.
However, other historians argue that the origins of the wedding favour date all the way back to ancient Greece.
A traditional wedding favour in Greece (and indeed many countries all over the world) is sugared almonds, which harkens back to Greek mythology and the tale of Demophon, the King of Athens, whose beloved wife died and was said to be reincarnated as an almond tree.
The bitterness of the nut meat coupled with the sweetness of the sugar symbolises the bittersweet nature of love and wedlock.
Fast-forward a couple of centuries and there is no right or wrong wedding favour, and couples can unleash their creative side and come up with something cute/fun/silly for their guests.
Photography by Wildling Weddings
Eco Friendly Wedding Favours For Guests
Sustainability should be at the forefront of all our actions, but this doesn’t mean putting a cap on the fun and creativity of wedding favours.
Quite the opposite, actually.
Here are some of our favourite eco friendly wedding favours for guests:
Foiled Glassine Goody Bags
If you want to have fun creating goody bags for your guests, an eco friendly bag option is foiled glassine.
For those unfamiliar, glassine is 100% naturally biodegradable, 100% curbside recyclable, and free of harmful chemical-based dyes and coatings.
These bags can be ideal for storing homemade sustainable confetti (more on this later) or a few delicious vegan chocolates or sweets. Oh, and they can be personalised!
Plantable Place Cards
This uber-sustainable idea kills two birds with one stone – your place cards and your eco friendly wedding favours.
If you’re wondering, what is a plantable place card? Well, it pretty much does exactly what it says on the tin.
These are place cards (that can be personalised, just FYI) made from seed paper, which, when planted will then grow into whatever flowers/herbs/trees stated on the particular seed packet.
It’s the perfect low-cost, low-maintenance gift that gives back to Mother Nature – and there is no shortage of UK-based indie companies offering this service!
Reusable Drinkware
You can have your coffee and drink it too without harming the earth with reusable drinkware – and it also makes for a fun and unique eco friendly wedding favour.
This can include reusable mugs, wine glasses, festival cups, metal straws, water bottles, and more – all of which can be personalised to each guest as the ultimate wedding favour and keepsake.
Vegan Soaps
Offering handmade natural soaps is a gorgeous way to support local sustainability-focused trade.
Many options come in a cute heart shape and are made from 100% natural plant-based ingredients (from Fairtrade-approved companies), are biodegradable, and are palm oil and plastic-free.
Although it is unlikely you will find a company that will personalise the soaps, you can always make your own cute label to add a creative touch.
Soy Candles
Little soy candles in a gorgeous decorative holder or recycled jar is an ideal wedding favour – especially for rustic-themed weddings!
We really love these candles in particular, which can be personalised in whichever way you desire (initials, names, or dates) and come in an array of divine fragrances including peony and blush suede, English rose, vanilla, and sweetpea.
Personalised Mini Vases/Glass Flower Bottles
Simple and gorgeous – and a great way to incorporate your wedding flowers as a gift to ensure they don’t get wasted!
These pretty vases can be engraved with guests’ first names or initials to make them extra special. Bear in mind that most companies won’t include flowers with the bottle purchase, so factor this into your budget.
Vegan Chocolates/Confectionery
Everyone loves a sweet treat, so a small box of personalised vegan chocolates/sweets will be a surefire hit with peckish guests!
This can be a perfect DIY option for those who enjoy making sweet treats (this will certainly save you in cost too!), or you can hire a local vegan chocolate company to sort it for you.
Biodegradable Confetti
Confetti is one of the OG components of a wedding celebration – but some of the older confetti methods (such as sequins or polyvinyl chloride) aren’t good for the environment at all.
However, little personalised bags of biodegradable confetti allow your guests to partake in the age-old ritual without harming the earth.
There are many sustainable options, including 100% biodegradable confetti made from natural dried flower petals or rice paper.
Photography by Wildling Weddings
Personalised Mini Alcohol Bottles
If your guests love a cheeky tipple as much as we do, a personalised bottle of booze can be a great way to get the party started.
You could opt for a generic party drink, such as champagne or prosecco, or you could do some digging and find out what your guests’ favourite beverage is (this is probably better for smaller weddings).
A great way to find this out is to ask on the wedding RSVP along with menu choices.
Mini Succulents
Who doesn’t love an adorable little succulent?!
Many sustainability-focused companies also create mini succulent wedding favours in compostable pots or tin planters – for extra eco-points – as well as tissue paper in your wedding colour.
Useful Wedding Favours
Charitable Donation
The ultimate good deed.
Many UK-based charities, such as Macmillan Cancer Support, offer donation-based wedding favours from as little as £3.
This doesn’t mean your guests will have to muffle the disappointment of “a donation has been made in your name…”. They can revel in the selflessness of the favour while having a real keepsake to take home, such as a cute pin badge or a personalised table place name card.
Other charities that offer wedding favour options include British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society, Marie Curie, and Save the Children UK.
Flower Seed Bundles
We all need to be planting more florals and greens, so giving the gift of a flower seed bundle as a wedding favour is the ultimate sustainable gift.
Whether you opt to make this gift yourself or purchase from an indie company specialising in flower seed bundle gifts – this favour will be a hit with your guests and the environment!
Tote Bags
Tote bags are the saviour of shopping without the use of hideous single-use plastic bags, so offering these as a wedding favour is a big step towards encouraging sustainability.
There are companies who will do the work for you, or you can order plain tote bags and personalise them yourself for the ultimate personal touch.
Sponsorship
Do your bit for conservation and sponsor a creature in need in the name of your guest. This is particularly thoughtful for endangered animals, or species like bees, that play a crucial role in our survival.
These ‘Sponsor a Bee’ cards can be personalised too, making them great table gifts with a cause.
Bird Seed Hearts
The perfect wedding favour option for couples with a special love for our winged friends.
These romantic bird seed hearts come with customised printed tags in a shape of your choosing, coloured jute twine or ribbon, and completely natural ingredients for a yummy bird feast!
DIY Eco Friendly Wedding Favours
Going DIY in as many areas of your wedding as possible will not only drastically save on cost but is great for your carbon footprint.
It is important, however, to shop sustainably and use products that are consumable, biodegradable, or recyclable.
Some of our favourite DIY wedding favour options include:
- Glass jars/cardboard boxes filled with sweets/chocolates/biscuits.
- Homemade soap (yes, soap making kits are a thing!).
- Homemade mini flower bouquets.
- Homemade Christmas-style table name crackers.
- DIY personalised keyring/keychain.
- Mulled wine spice kit (SO easy to make yourself and ideal for winter/Christmas weddings!).
- Homemade alcohol (such as wine, cider, or limoncello).
- Flower/rice paper confetti cone.
FAQ
The sky’s the limit when it comes to wedding favour options and ideas, and you and your spouse can get creative and choose something that mirrors your personality and wedding theme.
Some popular options include small boxes of chocolate, jewellery, tea light holders, succulents, mini bottles of alcohol, sweets/candy, or something silly and fun like a personalised tub of bubbles or a toy.
Some couples like to incorporate classic wedding traditions into their big day, so in the case of wedding favours, traditional options include candied almonds or other confectionery inside a glass or crystal trinket box.
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