Everything You Need To Know About Making Wedding Favors For Guests

Making your own wedding favors for guests is both a more personal way to thank your guests for attending your wedding and a great way to help you stay on budget.

If you read our article “DIY Wedding Favors On A Budget?” you have gotten many suggestions for both edible favors and gifts for your guests to take home.

“Edible Wedding Favors – How To Choose” covers what to give if you prefer giving your guests something that they can eat or drink. Be sure to read that article to help guide you through the edible choices.

So, in this article we are going to give you some specific instructions on how to make several different take home wedding favors for guests. Included are directions for making custom luggage tags which would be a great gift if you are having a destination wedding.

Or you might want to make candles to symbolize your romantic wedding.

And finally if you are getting married in the spring or summer or having an outdoor wedding you may want to give your guests a plant or some flower seeds to take home.

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This article will cover the specifics of creating all of these great wedding favors for guests.

Luggage Tags

A handmade luggage tag would make a fun and useful wedding favor for your guests who have joined you for your destination wedding or traveled a distance to attend your ceremony. Everyone can use a luggage tag! Luggage tags are easy to make and you can customize them to match the theme, colors and even season of your wedding.

The materials you will need to make a luggage tag:

Cut (3) 4” x 6” rectangles of a sturdy fabric – choose something that goes with the style and colors of your wedding – a fun pattern would be great
Cut (1) 3 ½” x 5 ½” rectangle of a fusible interfacing
Optionally you will need a 3” x 5” clear plastic or vinyl to us as a ‘window’ in the tag to protect the address card
Coordinating thread
Pencil or erasable sewing marker
Scissors for cutting the fabric and different scissors for cutting the vinyl (if using)
Fabric glue
Sewing machine
Sturdy ribbon or twine

Fuse the interfacing to the back of one of you fabric pieces
On the interfacing draw a 2” x 3 ½” rectangle 1” up from the bottom
Draw lines connecting opposite corners – creating an”X” in your box
This is the name tag window
Cut the “X” from the center to the corners but not down the sides of the rectangle
When you are done cutting you will have 4 triangles attached at that the sides of the rectangle that you can fold the points to the interfacing side and press.
There is your window
Press the top edge down to the inside ½”
Press the other 3 sides to the inside ¼”
If you are using vinyl window tuck the vinyl under the ½” top edge and use fabric glue to help it stay. Allow to dry
Top stitch around the frame ¼” from the opening
Put the remaining 2 fabric pieces together right sides facing each other
Stitch fabric together with ¼” seam but leave 1-2” opening at the bottom for turning the fabric right side out
Turn the fabric right side out but clip the corner fabric to remove some of the bulk before turning
Press tag very flat, making sure the edges and corners are nice and crisp and making sure that the edges of the unsewn opening are pressed to the inside
Lay the tag top on the tag back with the wrong side of the front facing the right side of the back
Topstitch ¼” from long top side, down the short right side and along long bottom edge. Leave the short left side open
Snip a hole just large enough to thread your ribbon or twine through in the unsewn left side
Slip a piece of paper or cardstock in the tag through the open left side. This is where the name info will be filled in.
Cut a generous piece of ribbon or twine and thread it through the hole. Tie ends together
And that’s your attractive and personal luggage that will always remind your guests of your special day.

Candles

Another lovely and romantic wedding favor is a handmade candle.  And candles can be so easily customized to your coordinate with your colors, style and flowers.

Here are some easy to follow instructions for making your own soy candles in the microwave.

Begin by clearing and covering a large, flat work surface
Supply List: All supplies are available from Michael’s, Etsy, Walmart and other stores
Soy Wax Flakes
Bottle of candle wax fragrance oil
8 oz. container for candle (tins or jars)
Wick Bars
Wick Stickers (large)
Warning Labels 2 Inch
Candle and Soap (Kitchen) Scale
Stirring Utensil
Microwave safe container for melting (never reuse this container for food)

Prepare the candle containers by attaching warning sticker to bottom, standing it on flat work surface, attaching the wick stickers to the wicks and putting wick in center of container
Put melting container on scale and zero it out
Weigh 16 oz. of wax flake into container
Put container in microwave and heat at High for 5 minutes – keep your eye on the wax in case it melts more quickly
After melting remove from microwave using oven mitts
If the wax hasn’t melted completely, stir it and microwave for another 30 seconds and check again – repeat the process until the wax is melted
Add 1 oz. of fragrance oil to the wax and stir for 2 minutes
Pour the wax into the containers, filling them evenly
Center the wicks in the container using wick bars and let the candles cool overnight
Once the wax has hardened, take off the wick bar and trim the wick at ¼ inch
If you are using a covered tin, put the top on.
Let the candle cure another 24 hours before you burn it
Clean the melting container after each use. You can reuse it as often as you wish for candle making
This ‘recipe’ creates 3 – 8 oz candles. Simply multiply the quantities of supplies that you used to make as many candles as you need
Add a pretty tag or label to personalize your candle wedding favor

Herbs And Flower Seeds

If you are having an outdoor wedding or if you and your fiancée love plants, a potted plant or seed packets are perfect choices for wedding favors.
Here are some ideas for simple ways to give living wedding favors.
Garden centers have inexpensive terra cotta pots that you can easily paint in your wedding colors and plant with an aromatic herb. Tie a pretty ribbon around the pot with a tag with care instructions. Your guests can take the herb home and enjoy it on their window sill. And the herb will add a tasty touch to their cooking long after your wedding is over.

Glass or plastic mason jars are available from Michael’s, Amazon and many, many other places very cheaply. Create a home planting kit by putting a seed packet, a tiny bag of potting soil and a tag with planting instructions in the jar. Add a label, ribbons or a tag and you have a fun take home gift that symbolizes you and will be enjoyed for a long time to come.

If the idea of dealing with potting soil does not appeal to you, create pretty bundles of a few, colorful seed packets. You could choose flower seeds that will bloom in your wedding colors. Tie them together with ribbons in your wedding colors and you have a very transportable and unique wedding favor.

One last idea if you want to make something fun for the ladies at your beach wedding, how about barefoot beach sandals? Check out our How To article.

In this article we have offered ideas of how to create luggage tags, candles or plants and seeds as clever and personal wedding favors. All of these wedding favors for guests were easy to create, reasonably priced and very personal. Consider making your favors rather than buying them. Your guests will always remember your special gift.