wedding favor

Wedding season may be over, but the cutest cookie favors have just hit the market! The appropriately named Cutie Pie Cookie Company offers sugar cookies that would look stunning at any wedding, birthday party or big event. Their couture collection is designed by Oh Joy! Studio and features beautiful floral patterns — I especially love the delicate heart design shown at right — and the customized option works for logos, photographs and everything in between. They start at $3.25 per cookie and there is a minimum order of one dozen. A little pricey, but they're not for everyday consumption, so I think it'll be okay to splurge.

I find them absolutely adorable, but what I really want to know is: When are they going to branch out to cutie pie pies?

M&M's aren't exactly what come to mind when you think of a nice unique, Mother's Day gift. But what if, instead of being stamped with an "m" it was stamped with a personalized message instead? This year the M&M's folks are touting their personalized messages as "the perfect gift to bring a fun and heartfelt connection to mom" and it looks like a few folks are biting, including Blair "I've done a bunch of other things, but you probably remember me as Dr. Leeds from Sex and the City" Underwood. This year Blair will be presenting his mom with personalized messages that say "I Love U XO Blair" and "Thank U Mom." Personally, I think it's a pretty cute and I think moms (and just about anyone) will love the idea. Just don't think this means you don't have to get her something else too.

The custom printed M&Ms come in 17 colors (you choose 2), and you can have 2 messages (one on each color) consisting of 2 lines with 8 characters per line. Prices start at $11.99 per 7oz bag, but you have to order at least 4 bags. There are other gift options to choose from as well. And if you don't think mom will love them, how about using them as a wedding favor?

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If you are looking for a way to cut costs on your wedding think about using a favor that doubles as a decoration like these fabulous frosted beaded tea light holders. They come in a variety of colors and can add a touch of glowing light to a table. Place each one on the guests' plates and they will know that when the night is over they can blow the candle out and take the votive home. A useful favor that both you and your guests can enjoy. Or if you prefer to give out other favors arrange these candles around a vase filled with flowers on top of a mirror for a beautiful and simple yet stunning centerpiece. Can't afford tons of flowers for each table, create the same effect with the mirror and votives and scatter rose petals (which you can get day old from the florists) in between the votives.

Since Earth Day is right around the corner and we're still riding the Wedding Planning train here at the Sugar Network, I decided to go out and find some environmentally sound wedding favors. Personally, I'm not really into wedding favors - I'm a pack rat and keep everything, so things just sort of sit around collecting dust and taking up space in my small house - making me a little irritated. However, when I saw these wedding favors that you can plant, I thought they were fantastic. You get to give a great, environment-friendly wedding favor that the person can plant in their backyard, pot, etc! There are a lot of great designs (birds, butterflies, flowers, hearts, cakes, etc) in the plantable seed paper category, and there are quite a few options in the "cards that come with a seed packet" too. However, my favorite ones are the plantable love tag - which also doubles as a placecard setting ($2.50 each) and this "Love Blooms" personalized seed packet (set of 24 for $32).

I'm an avid traveler and big time country dropper. I like to pretend I'm a jet-setter and really do have friends all over the world. When I saw these cute little travel tags, I suddenly wished I wasn't planning Julie's Wedding but my own! Travel tags are something everyone can use, but don't necessarily buy for themselves - making the little tags a wonderful and practical favor! Slide a small piece of paper with each guests name written in the most beautiful calligraphy and voila! The favor becomes a placecard! Name the tables after your favorite travel destinations and loop a card that resembles a boarding pass with the name of each destination (table) through the black leather strap of the travel tag. Hang all of the travel tags/placecards on a large map with pretty glass head pins. In the future when your guests travel the world they will remember back to your wedding day!

While searching the web to find the best wedding planning ideas out there, I came across these personalized wine & champagne labels. You choose from a label template, personalize it with your information and images, and choose the bottle of wine you put it on. It would make for a great anytime gift (favors for your bridesmaids perhaps? housewarming? anniversary?) or as a superb wedding favor (assuming your wedding favor budget is larger, or your wedding is small, half bottles are $10+ each).

Alternatively, you can order the customized labels only from Stoney Creek Wine Press. The price is around 80 cents per label with an additional setup cost starting around $10.