We planned to have our candy buffet serve as a sweet wedding favor for our guests, but with the amount of vases we accumulated and a surprise diy from my grandma, there were more goodies to take home.Remember our centerpieces? Well we had about 150 white ikea vases throughout the reception and there was no way we were taking all of them home with us, so we let everyone know that they could take one, two... all five home.
My friends loved this idea :)
They even handled the vases with care.
We did get to keep about 10 vases for ourselves, but I am happy each vase found a loving, new home.When my grandma first arrived from the Philippines, she gave me a call and told me about a "surprise" favor she created for the wedding. My mind raced with questions like: what it could be, would it match the wedding style, how would the guests receive it, would anyone take it home. She would not tell me anything about it and I don't think it is fair to surprise a bride so close to the day (my stress and frustration factor was quite high since it was 5 days before the wedding and I don't like surprises) but I told her that we would display them anyway.Lucky for me, the diy was a very cute knit phone holder and cute phone charm. My mother decorated a basket with purple and yellow ribbon to match our colors.I loved how each piece was different and the whole basket was filled with colors.I made a sign that acknowledged my grandma for making 200 holders.
And my friend Ryan especially enjoyed them.
What did you do with your centerpieces? What were your favors? Were there any last minute surprises?
Blog title is from song by Eddie Money
A few months ago I collected inspiration for favor boxes to use in our candy buffet. The take-out boxes were our favorite shape and size, having them on sale was our sign to purchase plenty. After many trips to Paper Source, I had amassed a good collection of beet, cement, plum, and curry colored boxes and brads. The boxes are die-cut meaning so I would just have to fold along the lines and secure. Some added embellishments and a note of thanks to our guests would make this a fun semi-DIY project.
For embellishments I used a flower punch from Michael's, 1.25" round labels in curry from Paper Source, and 1.75" and 2.25" circle punches from Michael's. The punches created fun shapes in various purple and yellow papers and would provide a nice layering effect.
Above are a few of the pieces we used to decorate the take out boxes. The flowers added a fun and whimsical touch to everything. The labels read "Thanks for making our day sweet" and also featured our monograms (I'm trying to get as much use of them as possible/create a cohesive look with all of our stationery). And the fiances diligently punched out each flower and circle for me :)Upon decorating the boxes, I went for a style that layered each piece but left open the color combination. This would give the boxes a uniform yet personalized look.
Some boxes had flower punches added to where the brads secured them.
Some were just secured by brads in complementary colored.
Each had a the circles layered on top of one another, and some had the flower punches for accent. 
Some were simpler, but still fun, without the flower.
And all were lovely. The different colors, patterns, and textures helped to give each box a unique look, while the use of similar shapes and layering kept the style steadfast. I really love the ease to this project and hope our guests enjoy the containers as much as what they contain ;)What kind of favors will/did you have? How did you decorate your favors?
Blog title is from lyrics by Eddie Money
A cherished childhood memory was taking home party favors after friends' & relatives' birthday parties. Favors wrapped up in themed goody bags, filled with lots of yummy candy. I loved the treats just as much as the bags/boxes they were packaged in. Yet, as we grew older, the parties remained but the favors departed. Well until weddings. Through the beginnings of my planning process I fell for cute favors like shot glasses, golf balls, candles, and mini photo frames. They'd come personalized with names and the wedding date. Beach themed favors were topping our favorite favors list, given our beach side location. But my mind keeps going back to beautifully packaged favors. Boxes, pillow boxes, takeout boxes, and bags. We could decorate them with printed paper, cut-outs/stickers/decal, or our monograms. Each box could note a sweet saying, a "thank-you" from us, and our wedding colors.Pillow boxes have a fun shape and can be filled with a lot of goodies.My favorite style are take-out boxes. With a familiar shape, these are reminiscent of taking home yummy leftovers from your favorite restaurant. Paper Source was having a huge sale on take-out boxes about a month ago so I picked up a few in varying purples and yellow. Also picked up brads in the aforementioned colors.
Next step is decorating the outside and figuring out what to put in them.Will you be having favors at your wedding? Are you considering favor boxes?Blog title is from the Sound of Music
