Tips on How to Package your Wedding Favors

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Sometimes having too many choices can often become a paradox onto itself. You may have found that cute favor box, but it doesn’t fit right with what you want to put inside it. The same applies to that lovely little bag you found, which doesn’t fit anything, but birdseed. If you’ve been given the honorable duty of planning the favors for a wedding or bridal shower party, you may be just wondering how do you package your favors - do you use a bag or box?

The Filling that Goes Inside Matters

The decision on what kind of packaging to use may appear to be a straightforward task at first, but when you think about cost, time, and the resources available to you, the decision isn’t always obvious. Therefore, you may want to consider these questions before you start your research:

What kind of filling do you plan to give at the party?
Where and how are the favors going to be displayed at the reception?
How much is the budget for the favors?
Are favors going to be given to each individual guest or per couple?
Is your favor container meant to be kept as a keepsake or simply thrown away after the wedding?

Ideas to Help Get you Started

Since how you go about selecting the right container largely depends on the type of filling you choose, we’ve gathered some practical packaging ideas and matched them up for you with the most popular wedding candy. Each idea is also presented with a decorating tip using simple materials and creative embellishments.

Using Favor Bags in Organza

If you plan to give wedding cookies at the reception, organza bags are the most flexible choice because they can accommodate the flat shape of a cookie very well regardless of its shape and size. An organza favor bag can be used to present a circular, square, or odd-shaped cookie in a stylish and convenient way. Because of the size of these bags, they are also useful for holding loose items such as spices, herbs, or teas. In this example, we’ve presented some embroidered favor bags filled with Madeleines at a French-inspired tea party.

Decorating Tip #1: At a bridal shower luncheon, display organza bags on a tray and attach them with a place card showing each guest their seat at the table. In this way, you don’t have to create separate place cards in addition to giving separate favors.

Using Keepsake Boxes in Porcelain

These Limoges-style porcelain boxes can been used to serve a dual-purpose as both a keepsake favor and place card holder. Examples of petite-sized confections such as sugar-coated chocolates, Amorini hearts, or French almond dragées can be placed into these types of boxes because of their compact shape and size. Instead of giving something edible, you can also present a scrolled message inside these boxes with a meaningful saying or witty quote.

Decorating Tip #2: To use a box as both a place card holder and container, use a ribbon to hold a small 2×3 card at the top of each box. Position each card in a vertical position - placing it near the knot (i.e., center) of the ribbon. Alternatively, you can also put a tag - tying it directly around the knot of the ribbon. Remember to use a card made of sturdy card stock paper. For a grand and festive scene for your guests, place these boxes on a long table that serves as your welcoming table at the reception.

Using a Favor Pouch

When opting for candles as guest favors, a unique way to present them is to place them in a small drawstring pouch. When packaging each candle, be sure to wrap each one with tissue to protect the bag from any wax stains especially if the reception is an outdoor summer affair. You may also want to include a matchbook inside for convenience. These types of containers are also ideal for preparing sachets with scented fillings such as wax beads, sea salts, or petals.

Decorating Tip #3: For an imaginative way of presenting these pouches, you can use a three-tiered cake stand or cupcake stand decorated with colorful gerbera daisies in lovely shades of pink, yellow, and blue. If you don’t have a cake stand, a basket may work just as well.

Using Specially Shaped Boxes

Boxes of varying shapes and sizes are often ideal for packaging bulky items such as soaps, bath balls, and potpourri. In this picture, heart-shaped boxes filled with heart soaps are tied with a simple satin ribbon. If you prefer to give an edible favor with a sweet twist, you can also place candied pecans, caramel popcorn, or chocolate pretzels inside. For a special filling, you may also want to make something homemade using a favorite recipe from your mother or grandmother.

Decorating Tip #4: For a delightful tropical display, arrange these boxes on a long table decorated with orchids - presenting each box with fragrant plumerias. To add more color, you may want to use alternating box colors or attach the boxes with ribbons that coordinate with your wedding colors.

Square boxes have always been ideal for holding items such as truffles, but you can have a lot of fun using a container in a unique form or shape such as a heart. Here, we decorated a silver box with colorful two-tone organza ribbons. To finish off the presentation of each box, a good idea is to attach a customized tag sprinkled with glitter or confetti.

Decorating Tip #5: For an extra special favor at a Valentine’s wedding, fill a heart-shaped box with some delicious chocolates wrapped in red foil. Present each box in a red, pink, or fuchsia organza fabric, and display the boxes at each guest’s place setting.