Wedding Favours...when they are left behind

This was my worry to. I am also guilty of (sometimes) not taking the wedding favours home....we decided that we didn’t want to be wasteful, so we opted for a charitable donation to a local humane society instead. We are both animal lovers and have 2 rescued pets from the organization. Pets are our life. So, we thought it was a great way to incorporate a little bit of “us” into the wedding and put that money towards something that will do some good. Also, the donation ideas don’t always have a minimum spend so if you’re looking to save some money- a small donation could be made.

That’s fair. As part of our favours we Are doing professional family photos for the guests that will be framed along with our thank you pic on the back. We are also doing small boxes of chocolate because most ppl tend to eat it 🤷🏻‍♀️

Unless you have something amazing and useful like a soap or santizer or kitchen utensil most people just leave them around. i would do something edible that way people can eat while they listen to speeches. i find with candles i always see them on the floor by the end of the night ahha

Thank you, everyone!

It is something to think about. We selected botanical favours; however, I will be talking to my fiancé about the possibility of making a charitable donation instead.

We have also gone down the Charity route. We ordered pin badges from British charities that my family and I have been involved in in the past. We feel that if people don't take them it won't matter as the money has gone to a good cause, and if they do then they will be raising awareness by wearing them.

We gave a nice crystal tealight holder in a box at the tables with the cards towards each household (family), couples and individuals. The left overs were taken home and given to friends at Christmas time as gifts who didn't get one. It all depends on what your giving and how your setting up on the gift table.

I am all for edible wedding favors as well. I think the trinkets get left behind or collect dust, or in the case of my best friend and her wedding, the forgot to put most of them out so they now have a ton of hockey pucks to use up!

I think it definitely depends on the favour itself. I agree making a charitable donation seems like a great idea! Also something edible would be great! Trinkets will most likely get left behind or just gather dust. If you do something edible, you can take the rest home/share with immediately fam if there are a lot left over. I'm doing baby food sized jars of this amazing salsa my mom makes, and little bottles of infused olive oil.

We are skipping favors and making a charitable donation. They are frequently left behind.

I thought I was one of those people who loved favors and would never forget any, but then I forgot the one from the only wedding I went to. I think the problem with them is if they are on the table where the guests have dinner, after dinner the guests leave the tables and the favors are forgotten. They're kind of annoying to carry with you everywhere

For sure depends on the favours. If you have favours like mine (blankets), nobody is going to knowingly leave theirs behind. If you have favours like a car freshener (yes, I have attended a wedding where the favours were car fresheners...) then they will be left behind. I will say that like the others mentioned - as long as you don't have your names on them or the date I'm sure you would be able to sell the leftovers no problem.

It really depends on the favours that you are using. Some guests like them, some don't.

I have a ton of favours from weddings that are just sitting in cupboards, or we gave away.

We decided to do chocolates, and honestly many of them were eaten while we were dancing. I know my cousin also went around to any tables where they were left and took them home.

Any of the left overs we took home and ate.

I've heard a lot get left behind at most weddings. I would recommend something inexpensive, or something that you can use yourself if people leave them behind.


Plants are also popular lately, and all I can picture is hundreds of baby succulents dying because people like me took them home and over watered them (I have the opposite of a green thumb).
If you do get favors you could put them on a separate table and get .5-.75 per guest so that you'll either run out or have fewer left over. Of you put them at every place setting it's much harder to have fewer favors.

This is the main reason why we chose not to go with wedding favours. It’s like money in the garbage. Ultimately is you day and you should do what you want, but there is a chance many will left behind.

Wedding favours are a hit and miss unfortunately. I've been to weddings where there was some left behind and to others where they were all gone. I think it really relies on the type of favours and the guests. Some guests are sentimental and will keep it as a memory and some would rather have a functional favour such as a wine stopper, etc. I mean if you and your fiance love the idea and it goes with your theme, absolutely go for it!


The other thing you can do is find an alternative way to do wedding favours. For example, instead of individual favours for my wedding, we are doing a candy bar. It will be a mix and match that we both like, and should there be left overs at the end of the day at least we know it wont go to waste.

Unless the favours are edible, I've rarely ever taken favours home. Most are things that just get put in a drawer and forgotten about. But if they're edible then they're more likely to be taken or eaten right away. FH and I got our favourite chocolate bars and wrapped them up. It's a personal touch and if people don't take them then they're easily taken care of since FH and I can take them back home and eat them over time 😂
If people don't take the favours you selected then you can always sell them later on Facebook Marketplace or something similar if there's enough for that to be a feasible thing to do