Wedding Planning Timeline: When to Start Thinking About Gift Favors

Wedding Planning Timeline: When to Start Thinking About Gift Favors

Memorable weddings are the result of meticulous planning and careful preparation. One often overlooked and last-minute aspect of wedding planning is the selection of memorable souvenirs and favors. These tokens of gratitude serve as tangible elements that etch the wedding experience even more beautifully and thoroughly in the guests’ minds. Read on to get an idea of the wedding planning timeline and for tips that will help you plan the wedding souvenirs and favors.

Planning and Prep Stages

In the months and days before the wedding, every plan you make and every decision you take will bring you closer to the wedding of your dreams. A timeline will provide you with direction, structure, and organization amidst the whirlwind of wedding prep chaos. Although the timeline will need adjustments to suit your specific needs and circumstances, this is what a general planning and prep timeline looks like:

wedding favors

Early Planning (12-18 months before the wedding)

You’re probably newly engaged at this stage. It’s time to celebrate before you get on with the preparatory work. The first task that awaits you at this point is setting the budget. The budget will affect your decisions and vice versa may also be true at times. Once you have a budget, prepare a guest list with your partner. Then comes the all-important debate of wedding date vs. venue.

In an ideal situation, you’ll be able to land your dream venue on your chosen date. But this is really difficult, so your best bet is to start early. In many cases, couples have to choose between a beloved date and a perfect venue. Decide what’s more important to you: to hold the wedding on a favorite date at an available venue or to secure the ideal venue on any date. Other factors that may also come into play here are the wedding theme, the level of formality desired, and of course the budget. After you’ve finalized the wedding date and venue, you might want to hire a wedding planner or start researching and booking vendors yourself.

Suit with white rose
Wedding dress

Mid-Planning (9-12 months before)

It’s time to send out the save-the-date cards to all those who are on your guest list. You should also start shopping for your wedding attire, and plan the ceremony and reception details. Finalize your contracts with the key vendors. Also, start looking for potential destinations and plans for your honeymoon. You could, at this point, also browse wedding invitation designs.

Souvenir and Favor Planning (6-9 months before)

Souvenirs and favors are tokens of appreciation given to guests for joining the wedding celebration. Favors are small gifts that you can think of as practical tokens of appreciation. For favors, you can choose between practical items such as keychains or candles and edible treats such as chocolates, cookies, or brownies.
Souvenirs, on the other hand, are sentimental keepsakes, often more substantial. Ideally, souvenirs should be personalized and meaningful. Prepare items such as picture frames or custom-made glassware for souvenirs. So do you have to choose between souvenirs and favors? The best option would be to combine practicality and sentimental value and provide your guests with both, souvenirs and favors. A box of Fairytale Brownies would make scrumptious favors.

Your Fairytale Wedding

Later Stages (4-6 months before)

By now, you’re probably starting to feel the excitement and rush a bit more. You’ll be dealing with some very important tasks in this period. One of your significant tasks is to purchase the wedding rings. Also, schedule your dress fittings, and decide on bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen attire. Plan the rehearsal dinner and finalize the wedding menu as well as the cake design if you’re going to have one. The trend this year is leaning toward dessert tables featuring an assortment of bite-sized treats such as brownies instead of traditional wedding cakes. Place Fairytale Brownies on your table and see how your guests relish them!

Final Touches (2-4 months before)

Send out your wedding invitations and enjoy the buzz of anticipation the invites generate. Apply for your marriage license and write down your wedding vows. This is also a good time to create a wedding day timeline. Confirm RSVPs, and finalize guest count as well as the seating chart.

Wedding venue seating

The Wedding Month

It’s the final lap! Finally, after months of preparation, it’s THE month and your wedding is merely days away. Attend your final dress fittings, and go for hair and makeup trials. With your wedding planner, and if possible, your photographer in tow, go for a final walk-through of the venue; discuss the wedding timeline with the staff and confirm the decor.

During the last week before your wedding, pick up your wedding attire and break into your wedding shoes. Also, practice your wedding vows and delegate tasks to your wedding party. After this stage, let your trusted squad take over the tasks while you relax and prepare mentally for the most special moments of your life.

Idyllic Wedding Venue

Conclusion

With adherence to a wedding planning timeline, you can craft an experience for your guests that they will remember for a lifetime. And with the wedding favors and souvenirs, you’ll give them something tangible to cherish and make the experience sweeter. Whenever you get exhausted with the wedding preparation tasks, how about taking a break and sharing a box of brownies with your partner?

Create a memorable wedding with Fairytale Brownies treats

Perfect for table favors, thank-you gifts, souvenirs, and reception desserts – include Fairytale Treats in all your wedding festivities.

Your Guide to Personalized Wedding Favors Made Simple

Your Guide to Personalized Wedding Favors Made Simple

Dress, venue, flowers, cake, caterers, invites… it seems the wedding to-do list never ends! Wedding favors and bridal shower favors are just more items on the list. While favors tend to be on the small side, if you’re already overwhelmed by all the planning, it might feel like the straw on the camel’s back. 

Luckily, gift favors don’t have to be especially complicated or expensive. You can choose to keep it simple, stick to inexpensive gifts, or even decide to skip favors entirely. At the same time, you can quickly and easily get your hands on personalized wedding favors if you find the right vendor. 

We’ve put together some quick, easy guidelines on putting together gift favors for your special day. While it feels overwhelming at the time, it’s worth it for a day you’ll remember forever!

Are wedding favors really necessary?

It’s your wedding, so you call the shots. If you don’t want to coordinate wedding favors on top of everything else, nothing requires you to do so.

That said, wedding favors are a tradition many couples choose to participate in. It’s a fun, memorable way to thank everyone who took the time to celebrate with you.

Favors can range from simple to extravagant. If you want to keep things simple, you could offer something like individually wrapped cookies or brownies with a custom label. Bath bombs or candles are great single-item gifts as well. 

Keepsakes such as magnets are also popular, since guests can take the favor home and remember the day every time they look at it. You may even choose to include a variety of small items in a wedding favor goodie bag.

If you do choose to hand out favors, it’s common courtesy to prepare one for everyone at your wedding. That means not just adult guests, but children, entertainers, and your photographer as well. Employees work hard to make your day special, and the favor will keep up their energy and encourage them to continue doing their best.

What are some ways to personalize wedding favors?

Usually, couples will personalize a favor with their new names and the wedding date. Depending on the item, you might have the option to include a photo. You can personalize it by guest, too. For example, some couples will order personalized name place settings. This could be a card, an engraved piece of wood or metal, or a Fairytale Brownie with the guest’s name written on top. It adds a sweet, personal touch that makes your guest feel special — and clears up any confusion about who’s supposedFs to sit where! We’ve had many brownie-loving couples come to us for personalized wedding favors, too. Since we offer a few different ways to customize favors, we can match what you have in mind. Whether that’s printing a full-color image on the box, designing your own treat label, or picking out your own flavors, we can help make your dream day come true. Side note for brownie lovers: You can get pretty creative when it comes to incorporating brownies into your wedding! Check out our list of ways to include brownies in your wedding

What can I put in wedding favor bags?

There’s no rule on what you can and can’t include in wedding favors, so get creative with it! Keep in mind your wedding’s theme and color scheme as you pick out items.

Here are a few common things couples will choose to include:

  • Thank you note
  • Personalized keepsake (magnet, keychain, etc.) with a photo or your wedding date
  • Individually wrapped brownies, cookies, or candy
  • Bubble blower mix 
  • Confetti for guests to toss 

Favors are often handed out at the end of the wedding so guests don’t have to carry them around, but that’s up to you, too. If your favor includes something like a scrumptious, bite-size brownie, your guests might appreciate a snack to tide them over until the meal is served.

While you can include whatever you want, keep guest ages and dietary restrictions in mind. 

For example, if you want to tuck mini alcoholic samplers into your goodie bags, make sure to prepare a kid-friendly version of the bag for any children in attendance. If you take us up on our idea to include brownies, you can prepare some sugar-free or nut-free versions for those with dietary restrictions or preferences.

What if it’s a destination wedding?

Destination weddings are trickier for your guests since they have to manage plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, and all the other hassles of travel. In these cases, couples sometimes offer a “welcome bag” to those who have flown or driven in from out of state. 

This is completely optional, especially as the cost can quickly build up if you have an extensive guest list. However, it’s a sweet way to greet your guests, help them settle in after their journey, and thank them for traveling so far to celebrate. 

Here are some ideas to include in your wedding welcome favors:

  • Soap or small bottles of shampoo/conditioner 
  • A list of local restaurants 
  • Local souvenirs
  • Hangover kit (pain pills, vitamin tablets)
  • Water bottles
  • Treats (Like brownies!)

How can Fairytale Brownies help?

You’re here because you love brownies, and we don’t blame you. And while you already know us as brownie experts, did you know we’re gifting pros, too?

Gifting should always be fun and filled with joy. When you’re spreading the love during your special day, that’s the part that matters – spreading the love! That’s why we do everything we can to make gifting as effortless as possible for you. 

Our personalized gifts have no extra fees or set-up costs. Since we do all our printing in-house, we can also offer quick turnaround times.

For your wedding, that means easy personalization, too. Our gifting experts are happy to talk to you if you want help picking out the perfect wedding favor, or you can do it yourself online. Just head over to our custom wedding favors page, upload a photo from your desktop or smartphone, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Ready to Plan Your Fairytale Wedding?

Take advantage of free white glove service for all your wedding event needs. Our brownie specialists are here to help make your dreams come true. Get in touch today and let’s chat!