Favor Favorites
The latest and greatest in mementos for your guests.

Ah, wedding favors. Every bride wants hers to be memorable. Seasoned wedding guests, on the other hand, often have a love 'em-and-leave 'em attitude. They're happy to take favors but often forget about them. The fate of the favor after the wedding depends on the nature of the item itself.

Often festooned with the bride and groom's names, favors range from simple and inexpensive to ornate and perennial. According to Beverly Bedell, owner of Special Memories by Beverly, favors are not really necessary. "Some people don't notice them or keep them," she says. "A lot of people have gotten away from even having them because of that."

However, many people do notice and like favors, especially if they are edible or fit in with the wedding's theme. The couple's family will be the most appreciative of a remembrance of the day.

Martha, Martha, Martha
To make them or not to make them? That is often the question when it comes to wedding favors. Because favors range in cost from less than a dollar to $10 or more each, some brides opt to save money by making them.

Unusual or highly personalized items may be cheaper to make than buy. Consider the retail price of the favors, the price of bulk raw materials and, in particular, the value of the bride's time. "If a bride wants to do everything on her own, definitely she should make the favors. However, most people leave the favors until toward the end of the planning period, and that's when the bride is also busy with showers, bachelorette parties and other last-minute details. Making favors can be overwhelming and no fun if done at the last minute," says Jesika Doty, wedding consultant for A Bride's Best Friend.

Of course, bridesmaids and family members can be involved in favor-making activities. Brides can host a party where guests assemble the favors in a few hours while enjoying good company. The favor-making can actually be a fun bonding ritual for the bride and her attendants.

Sometimes, despite everything, making favors is not actually cheaper than buying them retail. When that's the case, the bride should carefully weigh how important homemade favors are to her.

The Perfect Little Reminder
Before choosing the type of wedding favor, whether bought or homemade, determine how much to spend on them overall. Doty recommends spending about 2 percent of the entire wedding budget on favors. "Probably 85 percent of the brides that we see are going with a simple favor that will be familiar to most people. Favors are something you could spend a lot of money on, but they could also cost $200 or less for chocolate-covered almonds," says Doty.

Edible favors are quite popular. According to both Doty and Bedell, little candies in a bag are the most common wedding favor. Jordan almonds, chocolate kisses or cookies are always a hit, especially when left on the dinner tables for quick snacking before the main course arrives.

Growing in popularity are flowers and seed packets. Bedell made 600 topiaries for her daughter's wedding last year, and after the big event, only 10 were left over.

"I always stress to my brides to have something eye-catching and useful that knocks their socks offthen they will remember it. Potted flowers are great for that," says Doty.

And the Theme Will Be
According to Margo Howard, etiquette expert and author of Slate magazine's "Dear Prudence" advice column, wedding themes are quite appropriate. "Themes are fun if one occurs to you that jibes with the occasion," she says. If the wedding is quite formal, the bride should not be handing out miniature pi�tas, although they could be a hit at a casual backyard wedding. The most important point is to keep the theme consistent, from the initial invitations to the favor carried away at the end of the night.

For Kansas City brides looking for some local flair, favor options abound. "I've seen brides do miniature bottles of wine from Missouri vineyards or smaller bottles of Gates barbecue sauce. I've even seen locally made candles with the couple's names on them," says Bedell.

Going to Extremes
Of course, the more extreme the favor, the more memorable it will be. One couple that worked with Doty gave their guests a wedding survival kit along with the invitation. The guests were asked to bring plain white T-shirts to the wedding, where a screen printer hired by the couple personalized the shirts. Another bride hand-made lip balm and hand soaps for her wedding guests. Bedell worked with a couple who gave out Italian silk calla lilies. Within each lily was a Jordan almond in a silk leaf.

Regardless of how common the favors are, the key is good taste. "Do not choose anything bordering on risqu�for anything wedding-related," says Howard.

And above all, the bride should choose a favor that she really loves. Whether it's a CD filled with the couple's most-loved songs or little bags of their favorite candies, guests are sure to appreciateand remembera favor that the bride has put her heart into.