Your special day is approaching, and your friends and family have marked their calendars and cleared their plans to come be a part of it. With so much going on leading up to your wedding day, it can be tough to share your appreciation with each and every guest. Luckily, you can show your thanks with thoughtful wedding favors.

Wedding favors are a fun way to show your guests your thanks for being a part of your wedding day. Wedding favors can be as simple or elaborate as you like and the favors you choose will depend in part on the budget you allocate for them. Generally, most couples spend between $2 to $3 per wedding favor, but there’s no hard and fast rule to how much you should spend.

The wedding favors you choose can be whatever you want them to be, whether they fit the theme of your wedding or have a special meaning to you and your fiance. If you’re scratching your head trying to come up with your favorite wedding favor ideas, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading for some of our favorites, and be sure to shop Zola's curated party favors for endless inspiration!

• Traditional Wedding Favors
• Edible Wedding Favors
• Bath and Body Wedding Favors
• Crafty Wedding Favors
• Plants and Floral Wedding Favors
• Home Keepsakes
• Trendy Wedding Favors
• Printable Wedding Favor Gift Tags

Do you need wedding favors?

Whether or not you need wedding favors is a decision that depends on your preferences and budget. Favors offer the opportunity to show appreciation to your guests and enhance their experience. They also serve as a thoughtful gesture and can add an extra touch of excitement to your special day.

However, it's important to consider the cost, logistics, and practicality of wedding favors. They are not a requirement, and you can still create a memorable wedding by focusing on what Zola's Wedding Guest Report says guests value the most: seeing family and friends, witnessing your love, enjoying the dance floor, dressing up, and savoring delicious food.

Ultimately, the choice is yours to make, so if you're considering what's best for your day, here are some ideas:

Traditional Wedding Favors

Gifting your guests with wedding favors is a tradition dating back to the 16th century—if you have a penchant for the traditional, here are the wedding favors that started it all.

1. Bonbonnieres

Bonbonnieres were first used centuries ago by French and Italian aristocrats. A bonbonniere is a porcelain or crystal box containing sweet, sugary delicacies, and these gift-wrapped confections are where modern day wedding favors stem from.

2. Jordan Almonds

As wedding favors continued to evolve throughout history, confectioners eventually started making candied almonds to share at momentous occasions such as weddings. Often brightly colored and wrapped in sugar or another sweet outer layer, Jordan almonds are a marker of traditional wedding favors.

3. Wedding Bells

The tradition of handing out wedding bells to wedding guests is customary in Irish weddings and still makes a lovely wedding favor to this day.

Edible Wedding Favors

It’s hard to go wrong with edible wedding favors—you won’t have any issues letting your guests know how much you appreciate them if a scrumptious treat or delicious drink is involved!

4. Honey Pots

If you’re hosting an outdoor or garden-themed wedding, small jars of honey make the perfect wedding favor. Bonus points if it’s locally sourced!

5. Mini Jam Jars

Treat your guests to something sweet with mini jam jars. Personalize the jar labels and finish them off with some twine or a ribbon for a decorative touch.

6. Barbeque Sauce

If you’re hosting a rustic-inspired wedding, spice up the rustic elegance with mini barbeque sauce favors.

7. Mini Cocktail Kits

If your wedding crowd loves a good party, send your guests home with a miniature cocktail kit to keep the party going. Personalize them with your favorite liquors or even some locally made spirits for a special touch.

8. Mini Champagne Bottles

Mini champagne bottles match the spirit of celebration at your wedding—send guests home with their own mini bottle of bubbly to show your thanks.

9. Homemade Pickles

There’s something special about homemade canned goods, and if you’re a pickle fanatic, you’ll love gifting your guests with a homemade snack to take home with them.

10. Bite-Sized Pies

If you couldn’t decide on what desserts to serve at your wedding, using bite-sized pies as your wedding favors means no dessert gets left behind!

11. Maple Syrup

To play up the sweetness factor at your wedding, jars of maple syrup are a unique gift your guests are sure to enjoy.

12. DIY S’mores Kit

If your outdoor wedding features a campfire, gift your guests with DIY s'mores kits and end the night with your loved ones gathered around the campfire.

13. Themed Cookies

You can have cookies decorated in just about any design you can think of, and using themed cookies as your wedding favors is a sweet way to show your guests your appreciation.

14. Loose Leaf Teas

Simple but elegant, sachets of loose leaf tea are a unique way to show your guests your thanks.

15. Hot Chocolate Kit

If you’re hosting your wedding in the fall or winter season, hot chocolate kits are a great way to add a sense of warmth to your event.

16. Personalized Mints

A batch of personalized mints is a simple but thoughtful wedding favor your guests will appreciate, and they can be easily displayed by the bar or reception tables.

Bath and Body Wedding Favors

What better way to say thank you than with a gift guests can pamper themselves with? After all the dancing they’ll be doing at your wedding, a spa-inspired gift is just what they’ll need.

17. Handmade Soaps

Your guests will appreciate the subtle scents of your favorite handmade soaps, and you can customize your labels for a personal touch.

18. Personalized Hand Sanitizers

Hand sanitizers make an easy and functional wedding favor amid COVID-19 that your guests are sure to appreciate.

19. Bath Bombs

Send your guests home with bath bomb wedding favors to help them wind down after a night of celebrating your special day.

20. Sugar Scrub

Treat your guests to a spa treatment at home with jars of sugar scrub.

21. Lotion Jars

Perfect for winter weddings or weddings hosted in a colder climate, your guests will thank you for this wedding favor.

22. Bath Salts

Give your guests something to soak their feet in—they’ll need it after dancing the night away! Bath salts look lovely when packaged in clear jars, which you can further personalize in whatever way you fancy.

23. Mini Sunscreen

If you’re throwing a destination wedding, or even just hosting your wedding in the hot summer months, keep your guests protected with some personalized sunscreen bottles.

Crafty Wedding Favors

If you’re a lover of all things DIY or want to get creative with your wedding favors, the ideas below are a great place to start.

24. Message in a Bottle

Whether you DIY them or order them premade, message-in-a-bottle favors add the perfect touch to a beach-themed wedding. Fill each bottle with sand and miniature seashells, along with a sweet note inside commemorating your special day.

25. Custom Stickers

If you have a flair for the creative, consider creating custom stickers for your wedding favors. Add an illustration of you and your honey or even your pet—the sky’s the limit with this fun favor idea!

26. Macrame Keychains

If you want to gift your guests something beautiful that they’ll be able to use after your wedding, a macrame keychain makes a unique and thoughtful wedding favor.

27. Mini Watercolor Prints

Mini watercolor prints give you the chance to get creative with your wedding favors and create a special keepsake for your guests.

28. Temporary Tattoos

Temporary tattoos are a fun and whimsical way to show your guests your thanks, and can add a sense of creativity to your wedding day.

29. Personalized Tumblers

If you’re looking for a practical wedding favor that your guests will get some use out of, go for personalized tumblers to show your thanks.

30. Mini Embroidery Hoop Art

Use mini embroidery hoop art as wedding favors to add some artistic flair to your wedding.

31. Potpourri

Take potpourri wedding favors to the next level with a potpourri station at the reception, where guests can add the herbs of their choice into personalized sacks.

32. Personalized Face Masks

Face masks are the new norm, and weddings are no exception—so why not add some flair to them? This functional wedding favor idea is something guests can use after the wedding, and you can have peace of mind knowing you’re keeping everyone safe.

Plants and Floral Wedding Favors

Whether you have a green thumb or are simply looking for a way to repurpose your wedding flowers, these wedding favor ideas have you covered.

33. Flower Seed Packets

Flower seed packets make a unique wedding favor that your guests can take home and plant themselves. You can choose whatever type of flower seeds you like, or use a variety of different flowers for guests to choose from.

34. Mini Succulents

Your guests will love taking home their potted mini succulents—add in staked tags to each one, and they can double as place cards at your reception tables.

35. Mini Dried Bouquets

Mini dried bouquets offer something beautiful for guests to take home with them, and they can even double as reception decor when placed on the table in front of each guest’s seat.

36. Baby Trees

This unique wedding favor will live on long after your wedding day. Give your guests a mini tree to take home and plant, along with an instruction card for how to plant them.

37. Pressed Flower Art

Pressed flowers are a beautiful way to show your guests your thanks, who can take home a special piece of artwork to enjoy for years to come.

38. Glass Vases

This wedding favor is the perfect way to repurpose your wedding flowers. Gather small glass vases for your wedding favors, then have someone break down your floral arrangements or centerpieces and add them to the vases for your guests to take home with them.

Home Keepsakes

There’s something special about a wedding favor that guests can take home and use long after your wedding day has passed. Consider a home keepsake wedding favor as a sweet reminder of your special day.

39. Personalized Playing Cards

If you and your honey love a good card game, create personalized decks for your wedding favors. Include instructions on how to play your favorite card game, along with a note of gratitude your guests will appreciate.

40. Candles

It’s hard to go wrong with candles, and you can choose your scents based on the season of your wedding. Earthy scents like moss and rose are perfect for spring, while scents of fir and firewood can play up the winter season.

42=1. Customized Mugs

If you’re hosting your wedding in the fall or winter months, personalized mugs make a functional and on-theme wedding favor for your guests to use long after your wedding day.

42. Customized Shot Glasses

Give each guest a personalized shot glass, and fill them with your liquor of choice at the beginning or end of the reception and have the whole crew take a shot together. Then, they can take it home as a reminder of your wedding celebration.

43. Copper Moscow Mule Mug

If you’re looking to think outside the box of shot glasses and mason jars, consider copper Moscow mule mugs for a unique wedding favor guests can re-use.

44. Tea Towels

Tea towels are a unique wedding favor that can be personalized any a variety of ways. Add a special quote or personalized message, or even a printed menu if you want to incorporate them into your reception tablescapes.

45. Agate Coasters

For an eye-catching wedding favor, agate coasters are a beautiful way to express your thanks to your guests.

46. Wine Bottle Stoppers

A wine bottle stopper is a lovely wedding favor your guests will get some use out of—and the next time they open a bottle of wine and don’t finish it, they’ll be reminded of your special day!

47. Personalized Blankets

If you’re hosting your wedding in the chilly fall or winter months, personalized blankets make a special wedding favor that will keep your guests warm and cozy all night long.

48. Bottle Openers

A functional wedding favor like a bottle opener is something guests will use after the big day is complete. Look for shapes and styles that match your wedding theme for a creative touch, such as pineapples or palm trees for a beachfront wedding.

49. Mason Jars

Mason jars are a perfectly on-theme wedding favor for any rustic-inspired wedding. Instead of gifting them at the end of the night, present them during your cocktail hour or reception for guests to use for their beverages.

50. Ornaments

Hosting a winter wedding during the holidays? Play off that theme with sweet ornament wedding favors, a keepsake that guests can cherish for years to come.

51. Cocktail Shakers

Classic stainless steel cocktail shakers will remind your guests of your special day the next time they’re serving cocktails at home.

Trendy Wedding Favors

52. Custom Luggage Tags

If you’re hosting a destination wedding, custom luggage tags make a thoughtful, on-theme gift your guests will appreciate.

53. Customized Phone Grips

Keep your guests' phones secure and stylish with personalized phone grips. Choose designs that reflect your wedding theme or incorporate your monogram for a personalized touch.

54. Customized Engraved Glassware

Elevate your guests' barware collection with customized engraved glassware. From wine glasses to whiskey tumblers, choose designs that reflect your wedding theme or incorporate your initials for a sophisticated touch.

55. Artisanal Chocolates

Delight your guests' taste buds with artisanal chocolates. Opt for unique flavors and beautifully designed packaging to create a luxurious and delectable wedding favor.

56. Personalized Mini Notebooks

Inspire creativity with personalized mini notebooks. Add your names, wedding date, or a heartfelt message to the covers and provide a blank canvas for your guests to jot down their thoughts and ideas.

57. Personalized Matches

A set of personalized matches makes for useful and classic wedding favors, and the personalization options are endless.

When it comes to wedding favors, many people opt for personalized wedding favors featuring labels with your names and wedding date—but you can always give a non-branded gift too. If you do decide to gift your guests with something neutral, you can always add a cute gift tag to the favor! Check out our printable gift tags with sweet messages below to make your own.