Wedding Favour Ideas: 50+ Unique, Affordable and DIY Options for Every Style
Wedding favours are the one detail couples tend to lose the most sleep over, and yet they’re also the thing guests are most likely to leave behind on the table. If you’re searching for wedding favour ideas that guests will actually remember to take home, you’re in the right place.
The best favour ideas for a wedding are edible, useful, or personal – and they don’t need to cost a fortune. Whether you’re after something DIY, eco-friendly, or a little unexpected, there are 50 ideas below to suit every style and budget, from cheap wedding favour ideas that come in under £1 per head to luxury favours if you want to splash out.
For wider context on how favours fit into the bigger picture of your day, our wedding budget breakdown is worth a read.
Wedding favours cost at a glance
Wedding favour type | Cost per guest (approx.) |
Seed packets / single wildflower | £1 or less |
Sweets, pick-and-mix, chocolate | £1-£2 |
Homemade jam, biscuits, fudge | £1.50-£2.50 |
Small candles, matchboxes | £2.50-£4 |
Personalised items, such as key rings | £4-£6 |
Macarons, artisan honey, premium gifts | £6+ |
Disclaimer: Supplier pricing, availability, and product offerings are subject to change. Always confirm current pricing and delivery times directly with the maker or retailer before ordering.
Edible Wedding Favours
Food is, without question, the most popular category of wedding favour, and for good reason: guests love to devour them! Not everyone needs another packet of matches or a drinks coaster, but a bag of pick-and-mix? Gone before the speeches. Here are 10 edible wedding favours ideas worth considering.
1. Personalised honey wedding favours
A classic sweet wedding favour choice for good reason. Buy the jars and labels and make your own or look for ready-filled options like these personalised honey pot favours from Requin Prints at Etsy, which also come with their own honey dippers and hessian lid covers.
2. Scottish shortbread wedding favours
If you’re not confident in the kitchen, allow us to point you in the direction of Mimi’s Bakehouse for some traditional Scottish shortbread lovingly baked in Edinburgh.
These crowd-pleasing nibbles can be personalised with a message or names, and tied with coordinating ribbon of your choice.
3. Artisan fudge wedding favours
Fudge is one of those sweet wedding favour ideas people love to receive. Source a flavour that feels personal to you; salted caramel, clotted cream, vanilla, or something more adventurous like gin and tonic, and package it in a small kraft or cellophane bag with a label.
These favours from Marj’s Kitchen at Etsy are available in six flavours and come sealed with a personalised sticker.
4. Hot sauce wedding favours
Great for couples who want something a bit different! A punny label goes a long way here: “We tied the knot, now let’s turn up the heat”, “Sauce-ome that you could make it”, and so on.
Small-batch hot sauces are widely available from independent makers, and the labels – like these from Custom Sticker & Tag at Etsy – do all the work.
5. Pick-and-mix wedding favours
Inexpensive, colourful, and universally loved. Buy your sweets in bulk from a wholesaler (Costco is brilliant for this) and fill kraft paper cones or choose ready-filled bags like these from West London Pick & Mix, which has options for cones and striped paper bags, too.
You could even match the sweet colours to your wedding theme and colour scheme if you want to go the extra mile.
6. Artisan popcorn favours
Salted caramel, cheddar, or sweet chilli: pick a flavour that feels like you, source from a popcorn maker (we like Joe & Seph’s), and decant into small bags or boxes like these from Blossom Paperie at Etsy, with a custom label.
7. Personalised macaron favours
Two macarons per guest in a small box, tied with ribbon, looks and tastes far more expensive than it is. Macarons are widely available in bulk or elevate the look with these personalised designs from Sugar Glaze Bakery, available in a range of flavours and customised to match your wedding theme.
8. Alcoholic lollipop wedding favours
Sweet-toothed guests will love these treats from Holly’s Lollies at Not on the High Street, which come in a range of vibrant cocktail-inspired flavours. From peach Bellini to cherry amaretto, espresso martini to gin and elderflower, there’s something for every (adult) palette – just keep them away from the kids!
9. Personalised limoncello shots
A small bottle of limoncello, either homemade from a batch made in advance or sourced from an Italian deli or independent producer, feels both generous and a little bit special. It’s also a great way to nod to a second celebration in Italy or Italian heritage.
Purchase bottles and tags, like these from KC Weddings at Etsy, and fill your own for an easy DIY option.
10. Personalised pretzel wedding favours
After all that champagne, even the discerning foodies amongst your guests will love having a savoury snack to grab on the way out of your wedding. Salted pretzels are a great option – and the perfect excuse for these cool pun paper bags!
Personalised Wedding Favours
Personalised wedding favours feel considered but don’t need to be expensive. The key is to choose something genuinely useful your guests will want to keep, rather than something random with your name and date printed on.
11. Wax-sealed envelope with a personal note
Order a custom monogram wax seal stamp or some custom wax seal stickers, like these from Cartalia at Etsy, and use them to seal a small envelope with a short, handwritten note tucked inside.
There is something genuinely touching about receiving a personal message from the couple on their wedding day; it turns a small note into a real keepsake. Simple, elegant, and affordable.
12. Personalised wood slice place names
Allow your place names to do twice the work, with these personalised wooden wedding favours that double as favours. They look super cute for rustic or woodland weddings and can be used as a hanging decoration when guests take it home.
13. Engraved keyring wedding favours
A small, flat keyring engraved with the date of your wedding is practical enough that guests might use it. Keep the design minimal: a date, a set of coordinates, or a single word.
14. Miniature personalised candles
Don’t trust anyone that says a candle isn’t a good gift. In fact, we’d go as far as saying a pretty candle makes the perfect gift because it’s something lots of people love to use but generally don’t buy for themselves (bonus points if it’s scented).
These personalised candles from Cheshire Scentsations at Etsy come with a range of personalisation options and have garnered tons of five-star reviews.
15. Personalised mini pouches
If you’re hosting an intimate wedding and looking for luxury wedding favour ideas to gift your loved ones, these beautiful scalloped mini pouches from Martha Brook London are perfect for things like earphones, cards, coins, keys and any other bits and pieces.
16. Custom favour fans
Personalised with your name and wedding date, these white fabric fans are perfect wedding favour ideas for destination and outdoor summer weddings. Place one on each seat at the ceremony in place of the tables.
17. Personalised matchbox favours
Not only do they look cute, are easy to personalise and come in a range of styles to suit your wedding theme, but matches are a genuinely useful wedding favour idea. Add a pun to show off your playful side… “We got lit”, anyone?
18. Personalised mini soap wedding favours
Handmade in small batches by The Natural Spa in Devon, these adorable, engraved soaps from Not on the High Street are guaranteed to go home with your guests. They even come beautifully wrapped and finished with a custom sticker.
19. Personalised chopsticks
Looking for Asian wedding favour ideas? Whether it’s a nod to your Japanese-inspired menu or Chinese heritage, personalised bamboo chopsticks make rather unusual but very cool wedding favours.
These ones from Allincork at Etsy not only come engraved with your wedding details but also presented on customisable glossy card stock for a sleek finish.
20. Personalised coasters
Anything customised with your guests’ names can double up as place names, but we think drinks coasters are an especially useful option. For a range of colours and styles, including chic mirrored options, we like InkEtch at Etsy, which can be engraved with whatever you like.
Budget Wedding Favour Ideas
If you’re working with a tight per-head budget, you can still do wedding favours beautifully. These cheap wedding favour ideas all come in at under £3 per guest and look as impressive as their more expensive counterparts.
21. Tea bag wedding favours
Are you partial to a brew? Delight your guests with their own teabag wedding favours, which they can use on the day or take away with them for an emergency cuppa. ‘The perfect blend’ pun optional (but highly recommended).
22. Homemade jam
Make a big batch of strawberry, raspberry, or blackberry jam (or any flavour you love), pour into small jam jars, like these from Glass Shop Girl at Etsy, and attach a handwritten label with your names and the date. Voila! One of the best affordable wedding favour ideas.
23. Individual chocolate wedding favours
Individual chocolate wedding favours work perfectly in place of petit fours, and these from House of Allum at Not on the High Street come with personalised cards.
24. Seed packets in personalised envelopes
One of the most cost-effective handmade wedding favour ideas for guests out there. Buy wildflower or herb seeds in bulk, decant into small quantities, and seal inside a printed envelope designed to match your stationery. (More on seed favours in the eco-friendly section below, too).
25. Personalised pencils
Whether it’s for table trivia or filling out the wedding guest book, we guarantee these personalised pencils from Secret Creations at Etsy will come in handy (and be going home in your guests’ pockets).
26. Fortune cookie wedding favours
Another of our favourite Asian inspired wedding favour ideas, fortune cookies can be ordered with personalised messages. Most allow for a few message variations, too, so you can have a heartfelt thank-you, a favourite quote, or a perfectly placed in-joke.
Or why not elevate the humble fortune cookie with these from Maple Molly’s, which come in white, dark, milk or strawberry chocolate with sprinkles in a colour of your choice.
27. Lottery tickets or scratch cards
The easiest way to bring a little excitement to your wedding favours is to gift lottery tickets or scratch cards tucked inside personalised cards or envelopes, which can be surprisingly more affordable than many other wedding favour ideas.
Don’t forget to pop a penny inside each one so your guests aren’t scrabbling around for loose change!
28. A single flower stem
Place a single fresh wildflower (cornflowers, sweet peas, and lavender all work beautifully) on each guest’s seat at the wedding breakfast table, wrapped in a strip of brown paper and tied with twine.
A small tag with your names completes the look perfectly.
29. Wedding sparklers
For priceless photos, you can’t beat wedding sparklers at the end of the night. Leave them in a bucket for guests to help themselves, rather than leaving on the tables, and personalise with bespoke sparkler covers to make them feel extra special.
DIY Wedding Favour Ideas
If you enjoy making things (or are willing to enjoy making things for one weekend, at least), homemade wedding favours can be genuinely lovely and significantly cheaper than bought alternatives. These ideas are all achievable with basic crafting skills.
30. Homemade candles
Melt some soy or ethical beeswax, add a few drops of essential oil, pour into small tins or glass jars, and add a wick. It sounds involved, but candle-making kits make the process very straightforward, and beeswax candles in particular have a beautiful, natural look.
The materials for 100 candles can cost as little as £60 to £80 in total.
31. Pressed flower cards
Press flowers from your garden (or order dried flowers in bulk) and mount them onto folded card with a line of text printed or written on the front. These take time to make but the result is genuinely beautiful. The cost is around 40p to 60p per card in materials.
32. Homemade matcha blondies
Gen Z called – and they want matcha wedding favours! Look up a recipe and have a go at baking your own tasty treats, much like these from Velveteen Rabbit Confections at Not on the High Street.
Brownies and blondies are brilliant options for DIY wedding favours because, when stored well, they can be made in advance and still taste fresh on the day. Wrap in paper packaging and leave one at each place setting or pile high in the centre of each table.
33. Cork coasters
Buy plain cork tiles from a craft shop, cut them to size, and stamp or paint a design on each one. A rubber stamp with your initials or a simple botanical motif works well. The cost of materials will set you back around 50p to 80p per coaster.
34. Homemade bath salts
Mix Epsom salts with a carrier oil and a few drops of lavender or rose essential oil, pour into small glass jars, and label. This is one of the quickest DIY favours to make in bulk, looks beautiful, and costs around £0.80 to £1.20 per guest in materials.
35. Hot chocolate stirrers
Melt chocolate and pour it into small silicone moulds around a wooden spoon or lolly stick. Once set, wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon. These make brilliant winter wedding favour ideas. Total cost in materials is around 60p to 80p per stirrer.
36. Painted pumpkins
These look super cute for October weddings as autumn wedding favours, and can be painted to suit your colour scheme and personalised with your guests’ names in gold or silver to double up as place names.
37. Cinnamon stick and orange slice bundles
Another brilliant idea for autumn and winter weddings, and Christmas wedding favour ideas. Bundle two or three cinnamon sticks together with a dried orange slice, tie with twine, and attach a small card. They smell incredible on the tables and the cost is around 40p to 60p per bundle, making them a wonderfully affordable option, too.
Unusual & Unique Wedding Favours
For couples who want to avoid the more expected options, these favour ideas for weddings offer something a little more memorable. The brief: if a guest tells someone about your wedding favour at a dinner party, you’ve nailed it.
38. Personalised blind boxes
A small, sealed gift box, ribbon tied and contents unknown, that guests open at the table. Inside could be a mix of miniature treats, a personalised item, or a combination of both: the element of surprise is half the fun.
This is one of those ideas that gets people talking across the table before the starters arrive, and the contents can be scaled to fit almost any budget. Work with a small maker on Etsy to curate the contents and packaging or fill your own. We love these individual boxes from Paper Tree.
39. Seeds for a plant that shares your surname
This one requires a bit of research, but many plant varieties carry surprisingly common surnames. If you can find a variety of rose, vegetable, or wildflower that matches your name (or your married name), the seeds make a genuinely unique favour. Seeds like these can come in at under £1.50 per guest, depending on the variety and where you source them.
40. Pressed flower bookmarks
For the literary lovers amongst you, and those planning a flower-filled celebration, these pressed flower bookmarks are a beautiful gift for your tables.
41. A locally made artisan product
A small wedge of local cheese, a miniature jar of chutney, a bag of locally roasted coffee: something made near you or meaningful to your area gives your wedding favours a sense of place. This is a particularly lovely option if you’re looking for destination wedding favour ideas, or if you live somewhere with a strong food culture. Expect to pay anything from £2 to £7 per guest.
42. An engraved bottle opener
Practical, durable, and used every time a guest opens a beer at home. A simple flat bottle opener engraved with your names and date is one of those wedding tokens that earns its place in a kitchen drawer – or, in the case of these from Favours 4 Ever at Etsy, on the fridge!
43. Custom temporary tattoos
For a quirky wedding favour idea that’ll get lots of laughs, these personal and playful temporary tattoos of the happy couple will garner some great photo opportunities!
44. Printed tin candles
No, it’s not a can of tinned fish. If you want to gift your wedding guests something completely different, we think these adorable printed tin candles from Anthropologie would make great luxury wedding favours.
Pictured is Chilli & Mango Piment, but you can pick up all sorts of delicious-sounding styles and scents to work with your wedding theme. The pops of colour will work beautifully at a place setting.
Eco-Friendly & Sustainable Wedding Favours
More couples are thinking about the environmental impact of their big day, and favours are a natural and easy place to start. These green wedding favour ideas are all genuinely sustainable and give guests something to do, grow, or use rather than something to feel guilty about throwing away.
45. Potted herbs or seed bags
A small pot containing a basil, thyme, or mint seedling is practical, beautiful, completely plastic-free, and doubles beautifully as a table centrepiece. Buy seedlings in bulk from a garden centre or market, repot into small pots, and add a handwritten label.
Or, staying with the herb theme, consider something like these hessian wedding herb favour bags.
46. Tree planting donation
Instead of a physical object, how about a charity wedding favour idea? For something eco, plant a tree in every guest’s honour through a scheme like Trees for Life or the Woodland Trust. Create a small card for each place setting explaining what has been done in their name. This costs from around £1 to £3 per guest depending on the scheme, and it is hard to argue with as a gesture.
47. Wildflower seed bombs
These are small compressed balls of seed, soil, and clay that guests can throw straight into a patch of bare ground in their garden. They look rustic and lovely in a basket on the table, or presented in individual matchboxes to suit your colour scheme, like these from Lisa Angel.
48. Reusable tote bag
A custom tote bag is both fun and functional and can be left on the chair of each recipient. They make an especially lovely eco wedding favour idea for weddings abroad when guests have extra baggage, or just a memorable keepsake for all their shopping errands to come!
49. Fair trade chocolate wedding favours
Chocolate is always a welcome gift, but Tony’s Chocolonely is a treat that’s bound to please even the most discerning chocolate lovers. The brand offers wedding favour bars wrapped in recycled paper (of course) with your choice of design and personalisation. Cute!
50. Plantable wildflower place cards
Plantable seed paper is embedded with wildflower or herb seeds and these from Olivia Morgan at Not on the High Street double up as place cards. Guests soak the paper in water and plant it in compost, and it grows!
It is one of the most elegant sustainable favours available, looks lovely on a table, and can be fully customised with your wedding details.
Do You Have to Have Wedding Favours?
No. Genuinely, no. Wedding favours are a lovely touch when done well, but they’re not compulsory, and if your budget is tight, this is one of the first things you can cut without anyone noticing (or minding).
If you would rather redirect the money, there are a few alternatives worth considering. Charity wedding favour ideas, where you donate to a charity in your guests’ names, is becoming increasingly popular, and a small card on each place setting explaining what the donation is and why you chose that charity can be just as meaningful as any physical gift.
Alternatively, put the money into better food, behind the bar, or into your table decorations, all of which guests will notice and appreciate far more than an item they probably wouldn’t have chosen for themselves.
If you do want wedding favours but are short on budget, our guide on how to save money on wedding favours is full of practical ideas. Aim for something inexpensive but thoughtful rather than pricey and generic. A single flower and a handwritten note will be remembered far longer than a branded keyring, for example.
How Much Should Wedding Favours Cost?
There is no set rule on how much your favours should cost, but here is a realistic framework for UK couples planning their wedding favour budget:
At the cheaper end (£1 to £3 per guest), you’re looking at seed packets, homemade jam, chocolate bars with custom wrappers, or DIY options where the cost is mostly your time. For 80 guests, that is £80 to £240 in total.
At the mid-range (£3 to £6 per guest), you unlock personalised items, higher-quality edibles, miniature bottles of spirit, and small plants. For 80 guests, that is £240 to £480 in total.
At the premium end (£6 to £10 per guest), think engraved key rings, bespoke candles, illustrated prints, or artisan food gifts. For 80 guests, that is £480 to £800 in total.
The most important thing to factor in is cost per head, not total spend. A £500 favour budget sounds generous until you divide it by 120 guests and realise you are working with £4.16 each. Know your numbers before you fall in love with an idea, and if you haven’t already, Bridebook’s wedding budget tool is the easiest way to keep track of it all in one place.
Wedding Favour Ideas FAQ
What are the most popular wedding favours in the UK?
Edible favours consistently rank as the most popular, particularly miniature jars of honey, personalised biscuits, and sweet bags. Miniature bottles of alcohol are the most likely to be used on the day itself.
Seed packets and small plants are increasingly popular as couples look for more eco-friendly options.
What is a good wedding favour for under £1?
For budget wedding favours that come in under £1, look at items such as seed packets, single flower stems, or individual chocolates, and consider adding a personal DIY element such as a handwritten thank-you note.
Are DIY wedding favours worth it?
Yes, if you enjoy making things and have the time. DIY favours can cost less than bought equivalents and often look more personal. The key is to be realistic about how long they take: 80 hand-poured candles or 100 pressed flower cards will take significantly longer than you expect. Start early and enlist help.
What are good wedding favours for guests who do not eat sweets?
There’s a whole range of favour ideas for weddings out there that work for guests who don’t eat sweets. If you want to go down the edible route, homemade preserves, miniature boxes of popcorn, or personalised biscuits and pretzels are a delicious option, otherwise consider something else entirely, such as small potted plants or seeds, or personalised items like key rings or bottles of spirit.
What can I give instead of traditional wedding favours?
Edible gifts, eco-friendly wedding favours such as plants, wildflower bombs, or reusable tote bags, and charitable donations all make great alternatives to traditional wedding favours.
How far in advance should I order personalised wedding favours?
How far in advance you should order personalised wedding favours will depend on where you choose to purchase them from and how many you order.
Favours from the likes of Etsy can take 1-3 weeks to arrive – but don’t leave it until the last minute. Aim to order your wedding favours two or three months in advance of the wedding so you have them ready to go.
Do you need to give wedding favours to children?
As with adult guests, wedding favours for children are not a necessity. However, if you are gifting favours to your adult guests, it might be nice to gift your younger attendees something appropriate. Lots of couples choose to include sweet treats and activity packs on the tables for children as an alternative to individual wedding favours.
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Bridebook is the world’s #1 wedding planning platform, used by over 2.8 million couples. Our content is informed by real data from the Bridebook UK Wedding Report, which draws on responses from thousands of couples planning their weddings each year. Where expert input is included, contributors are named and their credentials verified. We update our articles regularly to ensure prices, statistics, and advice reflect current market conditions.
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