Do you really want to make your own wedding favors?

While many brides think they want to make their own wedding favors, often times, this isn’t the most advisable idea.

Photo Credit: Richard Austin
By Marie Hughes

Being a bride-to-be is exciting and stressful – and often not in that order! There are caterers and reception halls to book, photographers to interview, seating arraignments to make, and so much more. Many brides think that they’ll have the time and desire to make their own wedding favors, but as the big day approaches, their schedules are get more and more crunched, and getting the favors done becomes a real dilemma. Before you blindly decide that you want to make your own wedding favors, check to see if you fall into any of the following categories:

You are a Procrastinator Extraordinaire
Be honest with yourself here. If you are constantly leaving things for the last possible minute, you shouldn’t decide to make your own wedding favors. You are going to have a million last minute details to take care of in the last few days before your wedding – even if you have meticulously planned the event. The last thing that you are going to want to do (or have time to do) is sit down and start making dozens upon dozens (or hundreds, depending on the size of your guest list) of wedding favors. Save yourself the frustration and chaos, and just go ahead and order the favors – and don’t procrastinate here either! You should order your wedding favors at least three months ahead of time just in case a mistake is made and they have to be re-done.

You Work a Full-time Job
Many modern brides are working full-time right up until their wedding day or the week before. If you are one of them, don’t put the added pressure on yourself of having to make your own wedding favors. You are going to be stressed out enough as it is, trying to juggle a career while you are planning out the most important day of your life. Save yourself the frustration and just buy your favors. You may think you’ll have some spare time on the weekends, but in all reality, you are going to have so many things to try to take care of that you are going to be frenzied if you try to tack on one more thing.

Your Bridesmaids are Far Away
Making tons of wedding favors all by yourself is no fun. If your bridesmaids live locally, then you could orchestrate a little favor-making party so that you have some back-up for this undertaking. However, if all of your ladies live far away – too far away to come over to help you make favors – you may want to go ahead and just buy them instead of attempting to make them solo.

You Hate Crafts
If making your own favors isn’t something that you want to do or think you will enjoy doing, then don’t do it! In all reality, buying your favors will not be much more expensive than buying the materials to make them yourself. Plus, you can buy favors that have personal touches, such as monograms of your name and your groom’s name and wedding date. Or, you could opt for some semi-homemade favors. For example, you could buy chocolates that are personalized with your wedding date and then you could wrap those chocolates in tulle and tie the tulle into a pouch using a ribbon that has your and your groom’s names on it.