Money as a couple: Wedding favors cost: are they worth it?
Wedding favors cost little each but add up fast, and many guests leave them behind. For 100 guests, favors at 4 each come to 400, while a single sweets table might cost 150.
By Wealtie Team · 3 min read
Key takeaways
- Wedding favors cost little each but add up across a guest list.
- Many guests don't expect favors, and plenty get left behind.
- Edible or useful favors are the ones people take home.
- A sweets table or donation can replace individual favors for less.
What are wedding favors, and do you need them?
Wedding favors are small gifts given to guests as a thank-you for coming. They might be sweets, a small plant, a candle or something personalised with your names and date. In some cultures and families they're an important tradition, while in others they're a nice extra that many guests barely notice.
You don't have to give favors. Guests come to celebrate with you, and the meal, drinks and day itself are the main thank-you. If favors matter to you or your families, they can be kept simple and affordable. If they don't, skipping them is one of the easiest ways to trim a wedding budget without anyone missing out.
How much do wedding favors cost?
The cost per favor is small, but it's multiplied by every guest. Here's a worked example for 100 guests, in round numbers that work in any currency:
| Option | Total |
|---|---|
| Skip favors | 0 |
| Homemade treats | 100 |
| Sweets table | 150 |
| Boxed favors at 4 each | 400 |
Boxed favors at 4 each come to 400, before packaging, name tags and the time it takes to assemble them. Personalised items can cost more. Giving one favor per couple or household instead of per guest roughly halves the total. A shared sweets or cookie table, where guests fill a bag to take home, often costs less and gets more use.
Are wedding favors worth it?
Many get left behind
Venues often find favors left on tables at the end of the night, especially personalised trinkets. If a favor isn't edible or useful, there's a good chance it won't make it home.
Guests rarely remember them
Guests tend to remember the vows, the food, the music and the people. Few will recall what the favor was a month later.
They can matter to family
In some families, favors are expected, or there's a traditional favor like sugared almonds. If that's the case, a simple version keeps the tradition without a large cost.
What are cheaper wedding favor ideas?
Edible favors
Homemade cookies, fudge, jam or a few chocolates in a small bag are almost always eaten. Making them in bulk with friends can be fun too.
A sweets or dessert table
A table of sweets with paper bags lets guests choose what they want, and doubles as decoration and a late-night snack.
Seeds or small plants
Seed packets cost very little and are light to carry. Small succulents cost more but last longer.
Something that doubles as a place card
A cookie, mini jar or small frame with each guest's name can act as a place card and a favor, saving on both.
A local treat
A small item from your area, like a local sweet or coffee, is personal and often affordable when bought in bulk.
What about a donation instead of favors?
Some couples give the favor budget to a charity that matters to them and leave a small card on each table explaining it. It costs the same or less than favors and avoids waste. How to plan a charity giving budget covers choosing where to give. A short note is all guests need.
Where do favors fit in the wedding budget?
Favors are a small line, but they're one of many small lines, like signs, table numbers and guest books, that add up together. Deciding early whether you'll have them, and setting a fixed amount, stops them growing as the date gets closer. How to plan a wedding budget covers how to set the total and divide it up.
If you're cutting costs, favors are one of the least noticed things to drop. Putting the money towards food, drink or music usually adds more to the day for guests.
If you do give favors, think about when guests receive them. Favors placed on tables at the start of the meal are more likely to be forgotten than ones handed out as guests leave. A basket by the door or a small table near the exit means people pick them up on the way out, so fewer go to waste and you can order fewer if some guests skip them.
Order a few spares, but not too many. Guests who can't come, children and couples sharing one favor all reduce the number you need, so counting households rather than individual guests is usually enough.
How can Wealtie help with wedding spending?
Set a budget for the wedding and log small purchases like favors, packaging and decorations in their own expense categories. Small costs are easy to lose track of, and seeing them together shows how much the extras add up to before the final bills arrive.
Questions people ask
For 100 guests, boxed favors at 4 each come to 400, while a shared sweets table might cost about 150.
No. Many guests don't expect favors, and the day itself is the main thank-you. Some families see them as a tradition, though.
Homemade treats, a sweets table, seed packets and favors that double as place cards are cheap and usually taken home.
Yes. Many couples donate the favor budget to a charity and leave a card on each table explaining it.
This article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Your situation is your own; check the numbers that apply to you before you act on them.
