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Need a favor with favors

By Catherine Toth Fox • May 3, 2012 • Musings, The Daily Dish

A friend of mine is getting married in Hilo. And for her reception favors, she’s giving out strawberry mochi from the famed Two Ladies Kitchen. (She has connections.)

To me, that was a super cool favor, one that’s practical — you can eat it — and one that everyone will want, perhaps even steal from tables with empty seats.

As I’m planning my upcoming wedding, I feel like I have everything under control. Dress, check. Music, done. Invitations, coming soon. But favors? I don’t know where to begin.

So, like any 21st century bride-to-be, I went online.

There are tons of favor ideas, ranging from stainless steel measuring spoons to candles engraved with the couple’s names. There are bottle openers, bottle stoppers, just bottles. There are coaster sets and picture frames and shot glasses and decks of personalized playing cards.

It doesn’t end.

So what do I do? How do I choose what’s best? How do I know what favors best represent us as a couple?

Can’t I just serve cake?

Any advice?

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Catherine Toth Fox

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34 Comments

  • Reply Fzuckit May 3, 2012 at 10:45 pm

    Definitely do an edible favor because all the knick knacks just end up in the trash! Chocolate covered fortune cookies with personalized messages is always a hit! And they’re pretty reasonable! Hokulani does mini cupcakes for $1.50/ea and who doesn’t love a cupcake? Or maybe your cereal killah in cute packaging?

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:48 pm

      I do love a good fortune cookie!

  • Reply 808pooh May 3, 2012 at 11:25 pm

    cookies- there are a lot of places that does special packaging for wedding favors honolulu cookie company, bi candies, mikeys, ono kuki….
    mochi- maybe kansai yamato can do something special
    cake pop
    seasoning salts (homemade)
    whats the theme?
    how about magnets?
    How about something that you both like or that resembles you both.
    don’t do the tacky bottle openers
    I think you have higher standards.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:48 pm

      Great ideas! Thanks! I’d make the cake pops myself, but after a couple of months doing them, I’m over it! Too hard! Seasoning salts is a great idea, too!

  • Reply Honey's mom May 4, 2012 at 1:42 am

    Check out candy art Hawaii! It’s hand sculpted hard candy lollipops! Thats what I’m doing for mine! It’s something different and they can do pretty much anything you want! I’m doing 2 designs per guest (like one for my personality and one for his) so that every person gets 2 lollipops to take home. And the people at candy art are doing a demonstration during the beginning of my reception of how they hand craft the candies. So I get pre-made favors and she is going to make some during the reception as a form of entertainment. It’s really interesting seeing her hand sculp the candy! Just email me if you have any more questions!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:47 pm

      Hi Honey’s Mom! (LOL) Sculpted hard candy lollipops — I’m liking that. I’ll definitely check on that. Wonder if they can put li hing seed inside…

  • Reply Makiki May 4, 2012 at 3:08 am

    How about Koa bookmarks that look like surfboards and double as placecards with the persons name on one side and a note from you folks on the other side.

    • Reply matt May 4, 2012 at 7:35 am

      that’s awesome!! those would be favors to remember. if koa is too expensive (or not sustainable or whaterver) mango, monkeypod ohia or some other local wood would be just as beautiful.

      • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:46 pm

        Koa is WAY outta my price range!

  • Reply J May 4, 2012 at 3:51 am

    Photo booth. They get a souvenir and you might end up with some nice blackmail shots. Win, win.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:46 pm

      I looked into photo booths. They look super fun. But super expensive and outside my budget. 🙁

  • Reply Annoddah Dave May 4, 2012 at 8:24 am

    CAT: Have you tried Happy Mochi? Check their website…their stuff is guud!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:46 pm

      Happy Mochi? I already like it 🙂

  • Reply J May 4, 2012 at 9:11 am

    Candy Bar, as in glass jars of different candy set up on a table. I’ve printed the couple’s monogram on stickers and used those to seal the bags. You’d want to use small bags as I was at a reception where the bags provided were too generous and the mostly yobo crowd wasn’t shy. 500 pounds of candy disappeared very quickly.

    Could do the same with crack seed or your favorite snacks. The bar set up is easier than having to make individual favors. Folding cranes is enough work for any bride.

    Food is good because everyone eats and nothing to collect dust or throw out later. Can’t count the number of candles, frames etc…that end up getting shoved in the back of a shelf, closet or drawer.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:45 pm

      I think I’m leaning toward food, too, since it’s practical. (I’m super practical.) But the ideas about surf wax and lip balm are cool, too. Man, this is hard!

  • Reply Pacific Reader May 4, 2012 at 2:31 pm

    Favors were the hardest thing for me when I planned my wedding. I thought it would be fun to customize favors for every guest and put surf wax and skeg key for my surf buds, sunscreen and lip balm for beachy people, and candy for all others. Good idea, but tons of work…I also maybe handmade cloth bags too. The favors were the only thing I ended up doing at the 11th hour.

    Food is a great favor but can be pricey. Favors all depend on how
    Many guest you are having. I didn’t want to spend more than $3 a favor. They can really add up fast and I was surprised how much one custom cookie costs! Good luck!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:45 pm

      Lip balm is a cute idea, too. Damn. Great ideas! I need help!

  • Reply Ken May 4, 2012 at 4:59 pm

    Seriously……..it is your wedding, so you can do anything you want!

  • Reply zzzzzz May 4, 2012 at 9:20 pm

    I’ve been to receptions where a bottle of Hennessy’s on each table was both the favors and the centerpiece to be awarded as the end of the reception.

    Following up on J’s photo booth comment, we had one our friends/relatives at the reception desk take a photo of all the guests as they arrived, and we later made an album of all the photos– we didn’t know all the distant relatives or friends of our parents that came.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:43 pm

      Holy. I could give out small bottles of Patron. Too bad the venue doesn’t allow hard alcohol…

  • Reply Carol May 5, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    My cousin’s daughter gave out heart-shaped soil packets that had basil seeds in them, in little pots. Just add water and they grow…such a cute and green idea! Just remind people that it’s SOIL because it comes wrapped in a clear plastic box with ribbon and it looks like chocolate!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:43 pm

      What a cool idea! Did she tie in the centerpieces, too?

      • Reply Carol May 10, 2012 at 8:07 am

        no, but that’s a great idea…maybe a tiny herb garden in a basket? good luck with your wedding planning!

  • Reply Joe May 5, 2012 at 10:02 pm

    surf wax!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:42 pm

      SUCH a great idea! Does anyone make these locally, that can be customized?

  • Reply bumper May 5, 2012 at 10:06 pm

    It’s sad to see that favors often go unappreciated. Even with edible goodies, once guests get their fill of good food and desserts, favors are often forgotten. My favorite was a wedding in which the bride and groom made a donation to their favorite charity in lieu of favors. As a guest, it made me happy that the money went to something meaningful, and I didn’t miss a thing.

    Photo booths are fun and make great memories. I’d rather have that than favors, as well!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:42 pm

      I looked into photo booths, but they are mad expensive! I still haven’t decided… I heard about charity donations, too. In fact, the woman doing my invitation — Stacey Nomura from Bradley & Lily; shameless plug! — suggested it. I still want to GIVE something to people… Ugh, so hard!

  • Reply kalei May 7, 2012 at 2:18 am

    We didn’t do favors, didn’t even think about it, too much work.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:41 pm

      I’m thinking the same thing! LOL

  • Reply WK May 8, 2012 at 12:37 pm

    a) The new cupcakes: MACARONS! A bit of sophistication and a lot of yum. A plus is that one can purchase flavors in stock or customize. Gift flavors that tell a story about the bride and groom to be. My favorite macaron is from Bouchon. Unfortunately, no Bouchon here. La Tour has decent macaron. Best of Honolulu 2011 (Honolulu Magazine) states that readers love Roastmaster’s macaron. Problem is, I couldn’t find info. about the sweet gems on Roastmaster’s website (www.roastmaster.com). If you begin taste-testing the Island’s best, you’ll find the aha! macaron just in time.

    Or alternatively,

    b) Kapuakea Products: Individually wraped, bite-sized Lilikoi Lemon Bars and Kona Fudge Brownie squares. Pretty darn good. Start sweet (kona fudge), end tart (lilikoi).

    I hope this helps.

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 8, 2012 at 9:35 pm

      You know, I thought about macaroons. I haven’t had the ones from Bouchon. But I did recently try a few from Cake Works — and I loved them. Wonder if they would be pricey. I’ll check. Thanks for the suggestion!

  • Reply TD May 13, 2012 at 2:57 pm

    To me, wedding favors are a waste of money. As a guest, I’d much rather my getting-married-friends spend their money elsewhere than on favors that go unappreciated. Instead of favors, spend that money on pupus, champagne, a charity, your honeymoon! No one will miss the favors…

  • Reply leslie May 19, 2012 at 11:40 pm

    For my wedding, I like to say I was totally ahead of the trend for cupcakes as my wedding cake. At the time, i actually impressed my guest with them. In fact, Cake Creations still use the pics of ours on their website (yellow and white w/ daises if you want to take a peek). Anyways, for the guests, instead of serving cake, the centerpiece was a cake plate and cover with cupcakes in the middle. At each place setting, there were individual Chinese take-out boxes for those who wanted to take theirs home to eat later (we had a buffet that included desert).

    We also had a self-serve candy bar with some of my favorite candies and using my wedding colors, yellow and white. We totally thought it would be geared more towards the kids, but the adults were not shy!

    • Reply Catherine Toth May 21, 2012 at 7:52 am

      I love the idea of a candy bar. My girlfriend did that and it was both decorative and practical. But I heard it’s expensive…

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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