Eco-friendly wedding favour ideas.
If you're trying to have a sustainable wedding then items such as favours can be a nightmare. Quite often they contain plastic of one sort or another and you end up with lots left over that people don't take with them at the end of the night. So here are 20 ideas for sustainable favours that your guests will want to take home!
1. Herbs or succulents
Potted plants are a great way to give a sustainable gift to your guests. Why not give a little pot of your favourite herbs or small succulent or cactus. You can pot these in small individual biodegradable pots and tie a tag around with your guests name and a message. These can also then serve as your place names too!
2. Bamboo straws
Give your guests something that they can use throughout the evening and then take home with them and keep on re-using!
3. Homemade preserves
If you feel like getting your cooks hat on then why not make a batch of your favourite preserve and give each of your guests a little pot sweetness. You could use an old family recipe or make up a new flavour especially for your day.
4. Seeds or seedlings
Give your guests something they can remember your day by. Personalised seed packets with your favourite flowers inside that they can plant in their own gardens or window boxes when they get home.
5. Plant a tree initiatives
If you don't want to actually give your guests something to plant personally, why not give towards a tree planting initiative for each one and let them know what you have done.
6. Bee or butterfly friendly wild flower bombs
Bees and Butterflies are an important part of our eco-system and we need to encourage them more into our gardens. So Bee or Butterfly wild flower bombs are a great gift to do this. Your guests can take them home and throw them into their gardens and watch the wild flowers bloom. No green fingers needed!
7. Handmade soap/shampoo bars
Bars of soap and shampoo are much more eco-friendly than soaps and gels in plastic bottles. So why not give your guests a pretty handmade bar of soap or shampoo.
8. Charity gifts
If you don't want to give favours at all, you can always give money to a charity of your choice on behalf of all of your guests.
9. Re-useable tote bags
We all like tote bag and they are so much better to do our shopping with than using plastic carrier bags. Why not gift your guests a canvas tote bag? You could even personalise them with a reminder of your day.
10. DIY organic hot chocolate mini jars
Get creative and gift your guests a cup of organic fair-trade hot chocoalte in a jar, you can even include chocolate sprinkles and marshmallows for the top!
11. Fair trade coffee
If you are coffee connoisseurs then consider gifting bags of your favourite fair-trade coffee beans or ground coffee.
12. Organic tea blends make your own wedding blend
If you are more tea people then a special blend of tea for your big day could be a great idea. Gifted in brown paper bags with sprig of one of the ingredients tied to the top.
13. Bird seed favours
Bird seed favours are a cute idea, you can buy or make these yourself with a shaped ice cube tray and some ribbon.
14. Beeswax candles
Beeswax candles are environmentally friendly and safe as they burn with very little smoke and are 100% natural. They also help to clean the air of pollutants.
15. Homemade cookies or sweet treats
If your are a keen baker then why not get your bake on and get creative, you can make cookies or other sweet treats and package them in cute recycled paper bags. These look great as part of your place settings.
16. Choose a glass and then they take it home
If you are embracing the vintage, then why not collect a selection of vintage glasses and let your guests choose one on the day to keep and have their drinks in throughout the event, and then they can take it home at the end of the day.
17. Handmade personalised napkins made from vintage fabrics
This one is for the more crafty brides out there. Collect old vintage fabric remnants or old tablecloths, tea towels etc and make them into napkins for your guests, you can personalise them by embroidering their names and they can take them home as a keepsake of the day. They will also look great as part of your vintage table decor!
18. S'mores kit for outdoor events
This is one of my personal favourites, especially for outdoor events where you are having a bonfire or fire pit of some kind. Put together individual s'mores kits, biscuits, chocolate and marshmallows and let your guests toast them over the open fire at the end of the day.
19. Individually sourced vintage gifts for each guest
If you're having a smaller wedding and you want to get really personal then why not source a small vintage gift for each of your guests. If your trawling the second hand stores and car boot sales anyway for decor items for your day then why not pick up some cute personal favours for your nearest and dearest?
20. Menus on seed paper with a pot to plant it in after the event
Make your favours part of your table decor. Print your menus on plantable seed paper and source some cute plant pots for each person, then use these on your place settings and your guests can take them home afterwards and plant the menu and get some pretty flowers or herbs.
If your planning a sustainable wedding and are looking for ideas and tips to make your day eco-friendly but still unique and special, then follow my blog at willowandrustweddings.com .